What does every human being desire?

1. What does every human being desire? LOVE true, authentic, forever

2. Theology of the Body is… Not a list of Church rules. Not a list of do’s and don'ts Is the good news of God’s plan for life and love. It changes lives, not out of guilt or fear…but because this is everything the human heart longs for!!

3. How can I get the most out of TOB?

4. Theology of the Body Chapter One: Created for Love

5. Why is there so much pain and suffering in the world? • Original sin- disobedience/selfishness • Concupiscence-instead of doing what is right, we do the wrong thing. • Members of a society that is damaged and hurting. • Broken families, broken hearts, sexual abuse, infidelity, addictions and shame(regret, embarrassment).

6. “Frog in the Pot” • Desensitized to explicit sexual content in the media. (less sensitive, indifferent, unaware) • Warped understanding of marriage and the role sex should play in relationships.

7. Story Starter, p. 7-8 “Words and Wounds of the Heart” Name some ways sexual behavior seems to be out of control in our culture. What is the best advice you have heard to solve these problems? How has the sexual confusion of our society influenced people’s view of sex and love?

8. Media Log results JPII -Man lives in a culture but is not controlled by that culture. We can transcend it. - Veritatis Splendor

9. Lust often dominates our culture. • Selfishly seeking one’s own pleasure at the expense of another. • Can lead to lack of concern, apathy • We settle for less than true, good and beautiful relationships. • Is there any hope?

10. The Good News! • God is with us! There is hope. • Life and sexuality were not always the way we find it now.

11. Pope John Paul II (1920-2005) • Dedicated 129 of his “Wednesday Audiences”- series of talks on the human body and sexuality. • Asked great philosophical ?s like- Who am I? Purpose in life? What is love? • Theology of the Body- -God’s plan of love for us, revealed through our bodies. -study of God as revealed through our bodies.

12. What the Church teaches is often misunderstood. • Fr. Robert Barron video- Catholic Teaching on Sex. • Write down 2-3 points he makes.

13. Love Equals Communion • Gen. 1:26-31 -very good -made in God’s image(designed for love) -God is love. (1Jn4:8) -Communion of persons united in love -Lover, Beloved, love between them.

14. A communion of persons…. • Is created when 2 or more persons give themselves to one another in love. • Created to participate in heaven and on earth in God’s love. • Created to image His love by becoming a sincere gift to each other.

15. Not Meant to Be Alone • Gen. 2:18 • Made in God’s image and God is a communion of persons… • The Church teaches that “Man can fully discover his true self only in a sincere gift of self.” -Married life or in the celibate life Mother Theresa: “Life is not worth living unless it is lived for others.”

16. JPII’s vision of the body- • Key to understanding the meaning of our lives. • “The body, in fact, and it alone is capable of making visible what is invisible: the spiritual and divine. It was created to transfer into the visible reality of the world the mystery of God…and thus to be a sign of it.” • Our bodies make the invisible love of God visible.—The Sacramentality of the Body

17. Am I expressing the love of God through my body?

18. More than human love • Not simply called to love one another. • God desires to know you and love you. • We need to experience the love of God. • Sometimes this is hard to believe when we have suffered greatly.

19. Love Defined: Giving vs. Using Chapter Two

20. Introduction- Imagine a coach who says.. • “Do whatever feels right.” Team would be a confused, losing group of individuals. • Deep in our hearts we want to give and receive love, but we don’t know how to do this. • To love properly, we must first desire what Is good for the other person.

21. Searching for Happiness in a “Hook Up World”--Story starter • Discussion ?s: 1. Should the guy telling the story have tried harder to keep Jenny from going out? 2. Why do you think she went back out? 3. Why is using someone such a serious sin? 4. How have guys and girls in our culture learned to use one another differently? 5. How can we make better decisions in this area?

22. “Love for a person must consist in affirmation that the person has a value higher than that of an object for consumption or use…It is not enough to long for a person as a good for oneself, one must also, and above all, long for that person’s good.” -St. John Paul II

23. Today.. • Much using in relationships • Not sure how to differentiate btwn love and using. • Learning to love can be difficult esp. when we don’t have good examples and society/culture/media does not help. • There is hope! There is a better way…

24. Our response to the gift of sexual desire- • Repression, ignore it or bottle it up? - that can lead to unhealthy, reckless behavior. • Indulgence of lust? If it feels good, do it? -using, emptiness, meaningless, pointless • Chastity- - acknowledge the power of our sexual desires, guide with the desire to love, act of the will, refuse to be used.

25. What is chastity? How can it bring happiness? • Virtue-habit, disposition to do the good. • Allows a person to do good and give the best of him/herself • Pursues the good and chooses it. • The virtuous- one who freely and joyfully practices the good. • The goal of the virtuous life is to become like God. • Temperance, controlling and moderating our desire for pleasure. • Directs our sexual desires and attitudes toward the truth of love. • More than abstinence, not having sex.

26. Chastity Cont. All are called to chastity (single and married) Defends love from selfishness. Frees us from using others. Makes us capable of loving another rightly, responsibly and purely. Chastity only makes sense within the context of love.

27. St. Thomas Aquinas’ Definition of LOVE “Love is effectively willing the good of the other.” Which means… Actively or enthusiastically seeking what is best for the other, rather than for myself. This definition is so excellent because: • It is not based on feelings. • It focuses on needs. • It is more inclusive, rather than exclusive, including even our enemies. • It doesn’t require you to like everyone. So, whom shall I love? Our neighbor, all those whom the “circumstances of life” place next to me.

28. Research shows… • The earlier a woman becomes sexually active, the more likely she is to experience -out-of-wedlock pregnancy -poverty -Single motherhood -depression -STDs -divorce -multiple sexual partners -breakups -abortion

29. Are you willing to love your spouse before you get married? • 70% lower divorce rate among people who are virgins when they get married. • Couples who cohabitate are 2x more likely to get divorced.

30. JPII said that the “person is a ‘good’ toward which the only proper and adequate attitude is love.” • The personalistic norm, -body + soul=person - the human person deserves only the best -love -should never treat anyone with less than love. • Lust treats a person as an object, a means to satisfy self, not the other.

31. Naked Without Shame Chapter 3

32. Story Starter: The Two Bishops • Does the way a girl dresses affect the way a guy views her? How? • Do you think it is really possible to be able to look at a woman the way Bishop Nonnus looked at the prostitute? • Why do you think that Bishop Nonnus wept? • Compared to the way other men would look at a prostitute, how do you think the way Bishop Nonnus looked at the prostitute made her feel?

33. Life before the Fall… Adam is created in original solitude, realized -he was alone, -different, -w/o a suitable companion. He longed for a true companion. And so God created Eve…

34. At this point, everything was still pure… • No confusion btwn love and lust • No desire to use • Sexual desire- pure desire to love as God loves, gift of self. • Original nakedness + Original innocence= naked without shame (Gen. 2:25)

35. Naked w/o shame(1) vs. shameless(2) 1. Nudity that exists w/in context of innocence, purity of heart, and freedom. 2. Flaunting the body w/o inhibitions or conscience; sex is a recreational activity.

36. Nuptial Meaning of the Body • The marital meaning of the body • A gift for each other- they mirrored the life of God. • Their bodies literally fit together, a communion that is sacred. • Initial experience of perfect union btwn the man and woman= original unity. • Integration of body and soul, unity of will and desire.

37. Genesis 2 concludes with… • “Therefore a man leaves his father and mother and clings to his wife, and they become one flesh…(2:24)”-MARRIAGE • “the man and his wife were both naked, and were not ashamed(2:25).” • It is this participation in the sacrament of marriage that brought them unity, and ORIGINAL HAPPINESS.

38. The ORIGINAL HAPPINESS… • came in living and loving in marriage as God loves: freely-God’s love is freely given to us. totally- God’s love is complete, does not withhold anything. faithfully- God never abandons us, never stops loving us. fruitfully- God’s love brings us life.

39. Be Fruitful and Multiply… • God wanted them to enjoy sexual intercourse, gift to each other. • From their love, life was born. • A reflection of the love that proceeds from the Father and the Son, which is the Holy Spirit. • A communion of love, the family.

40. Why are there so many people who are... • Confused about the body, sex and their beautiful purposes? • Marriages that do not grow into pure families of love? It all began with- is a bad fruit of…

41. The Big Lie… • Satan tricked them into thinking they were missing out, God wasn’t trustworthy or loving. • They: -lacked TRUST in God, -wanted to decide, -chose their own will over God.

42. This original lie is still alive and well today. • A and E sinned through pride and disobedience, led to a rupture of body and soul. • Innocence was shattered, replaced with fear, lust and shame. • We are in this era of the historical man, (JPII).

43. The 1st man and woman represent all of humanity… • We all suffer from: -weakened wills, disordered appetites. • Prone to selfishness, anger, impatience, etc. • But thank God, there is hope. His name is Jesus…

44. Hope and Redemption in Christ Chapter 4

45. Story Starter: The Room • What is the overall point and symbolism of this story? • What can you do to create more cards of goodness, purity and love and stop “writing” the ones that would embarrass you before Christ? • What do Jesus’ words “it is finished” symbolize in the story and for our own lives? • How can Jesus help you turn from shame and hurt to forgiveness, peace and hope?

46. The Prodigal Son, Luke 15 • God does not wait for us to become perfect before He begins to love us. • Quote from Blessed Mother Teresa

47. Christ forgives and redeems • When we return to God, He not only forgives our sins, He offers us a new heart. • Christ died to set us free, body and soul.

48. So what do we need to do? • Ask for purity, it is a gift from God, He gives it to those who ask. • Ps. 51:12 “Create in me a clean heart, O God…” • Sacrament of reconciliation • Trust that Christ has come not to condemn, but to save us.

49. Truth and Freedom Chapter 5

50. How would you define freedom? • Being able to do whatever you want. -This leads to chaos. • At 16, you are free to drive, but for this freedom to exist it has to have boundaries(external constraints).