A New Context for Understanding Sexual Morality is Christopher West’s next subheading.
My disclaimer here is that West has good intentions, but this is not so much a new context as a development of the whole Church’s teaching. West’s intention is to undo the perception of the Church’s teaching as a series of prohibitions. However, terms like “new,” and “fresh,” are usually and almost always red-flag terms for faithful Catholics. West has good intentions but this heading is not such a good idea because what Pope John Paul II has in mind is a development and clarification not so much an “undoing” or “editing” of past Church teachings.
Let’s continue reading. For those of you well versed enough in John Paul II’s theology or the Theology of the Body, you might be chomping at the bit to get to the good stuff, but I felt we needed some extensive groundwork before undertaking such a dynamic project. Understanding does not come with the acquisition of much knowledge, but in careful and patient examination to understand the Truth.
Last week we talked about the joys of matrimony and the political dimension of conjugal union as well as the ultimate fiat that such union represents. This week we’re going to talk about how the Holy Father, Pope John Paul II, begins to restate ancient Truth with renewed vision. He recontextualizes without change, and reaffirms without slipping into unnecessary silence on the one hand, and verbose licentiousness on the other.
When we come to understand everything we have extrapolated from our survey’s position on the vocation of Christian life, we begin to understand that the Church’s sexual ethic is not a prison, or a list of laws, but a summons to “embrace our own “greatness,” our own God-like dignity. It’s a call to live the love we’re created for,” as Christopher West puts it. When it comes to understanding human sexuality and the vocation of the body nothing could be more perfect than this calling to live the love we are created for.
West’s goal with this article is to have us embrace our understanding of sexuality in terms of the Image of God. He’s attempting to say what the Holy Father intends, and no, he does not offer a comprehensive summary, but it’s a great introduction that should draw many readers into direct interaction with the Theology of the Body. The dignity of the human body, as we have seen requires chastity, requires a dignity that covers and does not uncover through the corruption of lusts, but with the eyes of Divine Love.
Pope John Paul II describes the body and matrimonial sexual union as “prophetic.” As I had begun to state earlier in the three part series on vocation we just finished. Where the Holy Father uses the term “prophetic” I used “political,” but I am glad to see I reached the same conclusion that West and the Holy Father seem to be stating. We witness to the same thing, that bodies speak Truth, or they speak lies and we should take every action that they may speak Truth. That the body and conjugal union either speaks the Truth about the Lord and ourselves, or it testifies to the bondage of sin and deceives all.
Pope John Paul II goes on to describe the necessary cautions we must have and emphasizes a charism none too often talked about, discernment. He says we must learn to distinguish between true and false prophets, because just as through matrimony and proper conjugal love the body can speak Truth, so too when divorced from the disciplined nature of matrimony the body can speak lies.
We must be careful that our bodies speak the Truth, and thus that their actions are found to be in God(Jn.3:20-21).
A Journey with the Holy Father 