Be Filled

This episode we continue our study on Saint Pope John Paul II’s teaching of the Theology of the Body. We are discussing General Audience 16.3-19.6 on the Mystery of Original Innocence. With JPII, we are “zooming in” on the Communion of Persons between man and woman. We discover the source of this Original Innocence and it allows man and woman to become a “disinterested gift of self”. 

Quotes to Ponder: 

“This innocence belongs to the dimension of grace contained in the mystery of creation, that is, to that mysterious gift made to man’s innermost [being]—to the human heart—that allows both the man and the woman to exist from the “beginning” in the reciprocal relationship of the disinterested gift of self.”  (TOB 16:3) 

“The body, in fact, and only the body, is capable of making visible what is invisible: the spiritual and the divine. It has been created to transfer into the visible reality of the world the mystery hidden from eternity in God, and thus to be a sign of it.” (TOB 19:4) 

Reflection Questions: 

1. When have you experienced someone making a gift of themself to you not expecting anything in return?  What response did you have? When have you been a free gift to someone else? How did it feel? 

Resources: 

Commentary 

Rachelle’s Visual Aids 

WARNING: This episode includes references that are not suitable for children. Parental discretion advised. 

In this bonus episode, Rachelle interviews Abbey Foard who is an Associate Director of Desert Stream Ministries based in Kansas City. Abbey shares her journey from brokenness to integration and healing. She also shares about Desert Stream Ministries. Desert Stream Ministries mission: Based on Jesus' mercy and the dignity of men and women made in God's image, they equip Christians to gather in pursuit of radical wholeness. You can find more information about this ministry and how you can be involved here.  

Resources: 

Abbey Foard Email 

Desert Streaming Podcast

Living Waters Leadership Training 

Living Waters Workbook

DSM Care Opportunities 

If you have any questions or comments for us, we would love to hear from you. We can be reached by email at [email protected]. 

We are continuing our study of Saint Pope John Paul II’s teaching on the Theology of the Body. This episode we are beginning a new section of the text entitled “Man In The Dimension of Gift”. This is the first of two episodes in this section. Today we are discussing General Audiences 13.2-16.2 on The Spousal Meaning of the Body. 

Guiding Quote: 

“The dimension of gift is decisive for the essential truth and depth of the meaning of original solitude-unity-nakedness.” (TOB 13:2) 

Reflections Questions: 

1. What impacted you most in the podcast? 

Resources: 

Double Rainbow Guy

A Meditation on Givenness by Pope John Paul II 

Wonderfully Made! Babies: A Catholic Perspective on How and Why God Makes Babies (for ages 9 and up) by Ellen Giangiordano

Commentary on Audiences 13.2-16:2

Next episode we will be discussing Audiences 16.3-19.6 on The Mystery of Original Innocence. If you have questions or comments, we would love to hear from you. We can reached by email at [email protected].

We are continuing our study of Saint Pope John Paul II’s teaching on the Theology of the Body. This episode we are discussing General Audiences 11.1-13.1 on Original Nakedness. We discuss the meaning of “nakedness” and what it meant that the first man and woman did not experience shame. 

Scripture: 

“And the man and his wife were both naked, and were not ashamed.” (Genesis 2:25) 

“Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made loincloths for themselves.” (Genesis 3:7) 

Reflections Questions: 

1. What stood out most for you in this episode? 

Resources: 

Commentary on Audiences 11-13.1

For more information on the Ruah Woods Curriculum click here.

Next episode we will be discussing Audiences 13.2-16.2 on the “Spousal Meaning of the Body.” 

We want to thank Leslie at The Mirror, our diocesan newspaper, for publishing a beautiful article about the podcast! We are so grateful for your support. You can read the article here.

We are continuing our study of Saint Pope John Paul II’s teaching on the Theology of the Body. This episode we are discussing General Audiences 8-10 on Original Unity. We discover two meanings of Original Unity. We explore the meaning of Adam’s sleep, the meaning of “the rib”, communion of persons, Adam’s response to Eve when she is created, and what is happening on a spiritual deeper level when man and woman become one flesh. 

Scripture: 

So the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and while he slept took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh; and the rib which the LORD God had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man. Then the man said,  “This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.” Therefore a man leaves his father and his mother and cleaves to his wife, and they become one flesh.” (Genesis 2:21-24)

Quotes: 

“...one must first recognize that this Genesis torpor (sleep), in which, by the work of Yahweh-God, the man is immersed in preparation for the new creative act…” (TOB 8:3) 

“...the torpor into which God lets the man fall underlines the exclusiveness of God’s action in the creation of the woman. Man had no conscious part in it.” (TOB Footnote 12, p. 158)

“...man falls into this “torpor” with the desire of finding a being similar to himself…the circle of the human person’s solitude is broken, because the first “man” reawakens from his sleep as “male and female.” (TOB 8:3) 

“...man becomes the image of God not only through his own humanity, but also through the communion of persons, which man and woman form from the very beginning….Man becomes an image of God not so much in the moment of solitude as in the moment of communion.” (TOB 9:3) 

 “...femininity in some way finds itself before masculinity, while masculinity confirms itself through femininity.”(TOB 10:1)

“When they unite with each other (in the conjugal act) so closely so as to become “one flesh,” man and woman rediscover every time and in a special way the mystery of creation, thus returning to the union in humanity that allows them to recognize each other reciprocally and to call each other by name, as they did the first time.” (TOB 10:2) 

“The fact that they become “one flesh” is a powerful bond established by the Creator through which they discover their own humanity, both in its original unity and in the duality of a mysterious reciprocal attraction.” (TOB 10:2) 

Reflections Questions: 

1. Have you ever thought of sleep as a surrender? How do you typically end your day? Are you full of worry? 

Resources: 

Human Love in the Divine Plan Print

Commentary on Audiences 8-10 

Next episode we will be discussing Audiences 11.1-13.1 on Original Nakedness. 

In this episode, we continue our discussion on the text of Saint Pope John Paul II’s Theology of the Body. Today we are covering Audiences 5-7 on the meaning of “Original Solitude”. We explore what the first man discovered about what it means to be a person in the process of naming all the animals. We share our personal reflections on the passage and talk about how solitude is still important in our lives today. 

Quotes: 

“Then the Lord God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him.” So out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the air, and brought them to the man to see what he would call them; and whatever the man called every living creature, that was its name. The man gave names to all cattle, and to the birds of the air, and to every beast of the field; but for the man there was not found a helper fit for him.” (Genesis 2:18-20)

“...the created man finds himself from the first moment of his existence before God in search of his own being, as it were; one could say, in search of his own definition; today one would say, in search of his own “identity”. (TOB 5:5) 

“..then the Lord God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.” (Genesis 2:7)

“Man is “alone”: this is to say that through his own humanity, through what he is, he is at the same time set into a unique, exclusive, and unrepeatable relationship with God himself.” (TOB 6:2)

“We cannot understand who man is apart from his supreme call to a covenant of love with his Creator. Of course, this call to communion is not man’s due. It is a sheer, gratuitous gift, but a gift that reveals man’s greatness. “The dignity of man rests above all on the fact that he is called to communion with God. Our call to receive this gift explains who man is and why he aspired to “something more”. (Christopher West) 

Reflection Questions: 

1. What impacted you most in this episode? 

Resources: 

Bill Donaghy’s Commentary on Audiences 5-7

Jungle Book Clip: You Wouldn’t Marry a Panther

The Mindful Catholic: Finding God One Moment at a Time 

The Integrated App

The Being Human Podcast 

 Welcome to Season 2 of the podcast! Today we begin our study of the text of Saint Pope John Paul II’s teaching on the Theology of the Body. If you would like a reading plan click here. This season we will be covering the first chapter entitled, “Christ Appeals to the Beginning.” In this episode we discuss General Audiences 1-4 (pages 131-146 in the text), in which John Paul II sets the stage for what will be the topic of the first chapter. We summarize John Paul II’s teaching and share our reflections.

Scripture References: 

“And Pharisees came up to him and tested him by asking, “Is it lawful to divorce one’s wife for any cause?” He answered, “Have you not read that he who made them from the beginning made them male and female, and said, ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man put asunder.”  (Matthew 19: 3-6) 

TOB and Commentary Quotes: 

 “...man is created on earth together with the visible world…the Creator seems to halt before calling him to existence, as if he entered back into himself to make a decision, “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness.” (TOB 2:3)

“Herein lies the meeting point of the remarkable gift of God with the mystery of human freedom. In the face of grace lost, God presents us with the sheer gift of salvation, but it remains up to us to accept the gift.” (Theology of the Body Explained, Christopher West: p.93) 

Resources:

Theology of the Body Reading Plan 

Man and Woman He Created Them: A Theology of the Body by John Paul II

Theology of the Body Explained: A Commentary on John Paul II’s Theology of the Body by Christopher West

Bill Donaghy’s Commentary on General Audiences 1-4 

Reflection Questions:

1. What impacted you most in this episode? 

Next episode we will be discussing General Audiences 5-7 on Original Solitude.

If you have any questions or comments for us, we can be reached at [email protected]. We can also be found on Facebook and Instagram for more encouragement between episodes. 

On this bonus episode of the show, I sit down with my good friend Liana Straus. Liana shares some of her story and her experience with Theology of the Body. Her love for people who are searching is so evident and she has much to share with us about how to bring people closer to the Lord. Liana was an intern at the Theology of the Body Institute and has so much wisdom to share! I hope you enjoy this episode! 

Season 2 will launch on January 17, 2024! Are you ready? We are so excited to get started with the Saint John Paul II's text of Theology of the Body!! 

If you have any questions or comments, feel free to reach out to us by email at [email protected]. You can also follow us on social media! We are on Instagram and Facebook. 

This episode we recap Season 1 and share about what you can expect next season. We also share how we explain Theology of the Body to others. Season 2 will begin on January 17, 2024! 

Quote: 

“The body, in fact, and only the body, is capable of making visible what is invisible: the spiritual and the divine. The body has been created to transfer into the visible reality of the world the mystery of God’s love hidden from eternity, and thus to be a sign of it” (Theology of the Body, 19:4).

Resources: 

Man and Woman He Created Them: A Theology of the Body by Pope John Paul II

 Theology of the Body Explained: A Commentary on John Paul II’s Man and Woman He Created Them

On this episode, Father Allen Kirchner joins the show to introduce the text of Saint Pope John Paul II's Theology of the Body. Fr. Allen Kirchner, a theology teacher and Chaplain at Springfield Catholic Highschool, shares what theology of the body is, why Saint Pope John Paul II wrote it, and the basic outline of the teaching. I hope you enjoy the conversation! 

If you have any questions or comments, we would love to hear from you! We can be reached by email at [email protected]. We are also on social media! You can find us on Facebook and Instagram. 

Special thanks to Will Parker and Landon Schuldies for providing new equipment to improve the quality of our show! We are so grateful!