Be Filled

Welcome to another episode of the Be Filled Podcast! We are continuing our study of Saint Pope John Paul II”s teaching on the Theology of the Body. This episode we are looking at General Audiences 70-72, which is a study of Saint Paul’s writings to the Corinthians regarding Christ’s own resurrection and what that means for us as believers. 

Quotes: 

“If Christ has not been raised, our preaching is in vain and also your faith is in vain…But now Christ has been raised from the dead.” (1 Cor 15:14,20) 

The resurrection of Christ is “the final and fullest word of the self-revelation of the living God as “God not of the dead, but of the living.” (Mk 12:27)...the resurrection is the answer given by the God of life to the historical inevitability of death…that was a consequence of sin.”...The resurrection is the beginning of everything returning to the Father so that “God may be all in all”. (1 Cor 15:28)...The resurrection of Christ means that death is vanquished. “The last enemy to be destroyed will be death.” (1 Cor 15:26) (TOB 70:3) 

“If we are to live according to the full truth of our bodies-to live according to the image in which we are made-we too must have our own encounter with the risen Christ. Indeed, the road to human happiness begins and ends in this meeting.” (Theology of the Body Explained, Pg. 327-328, Christopher West) 

“What is sown is perishable, what is raised is imperishable. It is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness, it is raised full of power. It is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. Thus, it is written that the first man, Adam, became a living being, but the last Adam became a life-giving spirit. But it is not the spiritual that is first, but the natural, and then the spiritual.” (1 Corinthians 15:42-46)

“Redemption is the way to the resurrection. The resurrection constitutes the definitive accomplishment of the redemption of the body.” (TOB 70:8) 

 “Just as we have borne the image of the man of earth, we will bear the image of the heavenly man.” (1 Cor 15:49)  

“...fulfillment and confirmation of what corresponds to the thought and plan of the one who created man from the beginning in his image and likeness.” JPII writes that we carry within ourselves “a particular potentiality (capacity and readiness) for receiving what the “second Adam” became..that is, Christ, and what he became in his resurrection.” (TOB 71:3) 

“Brothers and sisters:If then you were raised with Christ, seek what is above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Think of what is above, not of what is on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ your life appears, then you too will appear with him in glory.” (Colossians 3:1-4) 

Reflection Questions: 

1. What did you find most powerful in this episode?
2. How do you celebrate the season of Easter? Spend time praising God for the reality of Christ’s resurrection and the hope we now have for our own resurrection.
3. How does hope in the resurrection of your body impact the way you live your life? How does hope in the resurrection of your loved ones impact your life?
4. Do you live your life in the truth that the victory of over has already been won? What might that look like? How could those around know that you are on your way to Heaven?
5. Think back on your life. What are the moments of encounter with the risen Lord that changed the direction of your life? Take a moment to praise God for his personal care for you!
6. “Every flower has the potential to bloom.” Do you ever feel tempted to doubt that God will heal you? Do you ever think you are too broken to be put back together? Pray with whatever might be coming up as you consider your wounds.
7. How could your wounds (spiritual, emotional, physical) actually be helping you get to Heaven? How could your wounds be glorified in the resurrection? Is there a way in which the experiences you are most ashamed of or hate about yourself could give God the most glory in Heaven? Open those places up to the Lord’s gaze. Let him sit with you and allow his healing rays of mercy and love enter.
8. What are you captivated by and how could God be drawing you closer to Him through it?

    

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This week we are covering audiences 67-69. We are continuing our conversation about our lives in heaven. In particular, the divinization of our bodies. And let me tell you…this is powerful stuff. You don’t want to miss this! 

Quotes: 

Divinization is “Participation in the divine nature, participation in the inner life of God himself, penetration and permeation of what is essentially human by what is essentially divine, will reach its peak, so that the life of the human spirit will reach a fullness that was absolutely inaccessible to it before.” (TOB 67:3) 

“Eternal life should be understood as the full and perfect experience of the grace of God.” (TOB 67:5) 

“By sending his only Son and the Spirit of Love in the fullness of time, God has revealed his innermost secret: God himself is an eternal exchange of love, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and he has destined us to share in that exchange.” (CCC #221) 

“That perennial meaning of the human body…will then be revealed again and will be revealed at once in such simplicity and splendor that everyone who shares in the “other world” will find in his glorified body the fountain of the freedom of the gift.” (TOB 69:6) 

Reflection Questions: 

1. What did you find most powerful in this episode? 
2. As you learned about our “divinization” in Heaven, what came up in your heart? 
3. Have you ever considered our life on earth as a “practice” for Heaven? How could you allow yourself to be “stretched” so you can be completely full in Heaven? 
4. Pray with your imagination. Imagine what it might be like to be in a relationship of reciprocal gift with the Trinity. What comes up for you? Are there ways you can begin preparing your heart for this relationship even now? 
5. How much “eyeball time” do you have with your family and friends? Ask God to open your eyes to how this will be a preparation for all eternity. What are your thoughts? 
6. As you listened to Patty discuss the levels of prayer, what stuck out most to you? 
7. Are there times you avoid the gaze of God? When? What fears do you have about allowing God to look upon you? 
8. Have you ever considered that Jesus’ heart burns/longs/aches for you? He wants to pour out his love on you. Are you open? 
9. What are some ways that you struggle with seeing your body as a gift? What would it be like to be able to clearly see and understand the meaning of your body? 

Resources: 

Matthew Leonard Study on Prayer 

Surrender Novena

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This episode we are beginning a new chapter of the text entitled “Christ Appeals to the Resurrection”. We get to spend the rest of this season, so 6 episodes on this topic. We will be discussing Audiences 64-66 under the heading “The Synoptics: “He is Not God of the Dead But of the Living”. 

Quotes: 

“Is not this the reason you are wrong, that you know neither the Scriptures nor the power of God? For when they rise from the dead, they take neither wife nor husband, but are like angels in heaven. And as for the dead being raised, have you not read in the book of Moses, in the story about the bush, how God said to him, ‘I am the  God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob?’ He is not God of the dead, but of the living. You are quite wrong.” (Mark 12:24-27) 

“...mere literal knowledge of Scripture is not enough. Scripture is in fact and above all a means for knowing the power of the living God, who reveals himself in it.” (TOB 65:3) 

“When they rise from the dead, they take neither wife nor husband.” (Mark 12:24)

“In the future resurrection human beings, having regained their bodies in the fullness of the perfection proper to the image and likeness of God-having regained them in their masculinity and femininity-will take neither wife nor husband.” (TOB 66:1) 

“The sons of this age take wife and take husband; but those who are considered worthy of the other world and the resurrection from the dead take neither wife nor husband.” (Luke 20:34-35) 

“In the resurrection, the body will return to perfect unity and harmony with the spirit: man will no longer experience the opposition between what is spiritual and what is bodily in him. “Spiritualization” signifies not only that the spirit will master the body, but, I would say, that it will also fully permeate the body and the powers of the spirit will permeate the energies of the body.” (TOB 67:1) 

“Resurrection means restoration to the true life of human bodiliness, which was subjected to death in its temporal phase.” (TOB 66:5) 

“All that is essentially human in the original experiences of solitude-unity-nakedness will be brought to ultimate fulfillment. Heaven, therefore, will be the experience of a great multitude of solitudes living in perfect unity without any fear of being seen and known by each and by all.” (Christopher West, “Theology of the Body Explained”, pg. 305)

“...man’s ultimate beatitude “must be understood as the definitively and perfectly ‘integrated’ state of man brought about by such a (perfect) union of the soul with the body.” (TOB 66:6) 

Reflection Questions: 

1. What impacted you most in this episode of the podcast? 
2. Have you ever considered that the Sacraments (including marriage) are signs of what is to come in Heaven? How do you feel about this prospect? 
3. What do you think about those who have gone on to Heaven continuing to be ALIVE and active members of the Body of Christ? 
4. Have you ever limited God through your interpretation of Scripture? Did this idea challenge you in any way? 
5. How has God pursued you in your life? 
6. Have you ever considered what our bodies will be like in Heaven? 
7. What reactions do you have to JPII’s description of the “spiritualization” of the resurrected body? 
8. What is your vision of Heaven? Imagine how your relationship with self, others, and God will be made whole. Spend time praising God for His goodness and ask him to help you walk ever closer to Him today. 
9. How could more contemplation on your death and heaven change how you live your life? 

Resources: 

Eternal Rest: The Art of Dying Well

“Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Heaven but didn’t know to ask” Peter Kreeft

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This episode we are discussing audiences 60-63 entitled “The Ethos of the Body in Art and Media”. JPII explores the ethical dimension of both artists who reproduce or depict the human body in art/media as well as those who look at the human body in art and media. He asks the question: is it possible to portray the human body in art and media while also upholding the dignity of the person? 

Quotes: 

“Artistic objectification of the human body in its male and female nakedness…is always a certain transfer outside of this configuration of interpersonal gift that belongs originally and specifically to the body….the human body loses that deeply subjective meaning of the gift and becomes an object destined for the knowledge of many…” (TOB 61:1) 

“...that of the gift oriented toward the very depths of the personal subject or toward the other person, especially in the man-woman relation according to the perennial order of reciprocal self-giving. (TOB 61:2)

“Herein lies the challenge for artists. If they are to portray the visible structure of the person (i.e., the human body), they must do so in a way that does not obscure but brings to light the interior structure of the person.” (Christopher West, Theology of the Body Explained, pg. 285) 

“...that “element of the gift” is, so to speak suspended in the dimension of an unknown reception and of an unforeseen response, and thereby it is in some way “threatened” in the intentional order in the sense that it can become an anonymous object of “appropriation,” an object of abuse.” (TOB 62:3) 

“Michelangelo’s nudes are not pornographic because he intended to reveal the spousal meaning of the body as a revelation of the trinitarian mystery. It is quite clear, however, that this is not the intention of pornographers, who portray the naked body with the explicit intention of rousing lust and profiting from concupiscence. By doing so, they explicitly violate “the intimate and constant order of the gift and of reciprocal self-giving” inscribed in the human being” (TOB 62:1)” (Christopher West, Theology of the Body Explained, p.288) 

Reflection Questions: 

1. What spoke to you most in this episode? 
2. Have you ever considered how looking at nakedness could be a violation of the person? 
3. Have you ever considered the impact of “taking possession” of a person and not being in a relationship with them? How could this be harmful to you? 
4. Are there shows or movies you watch that may not be in line with the goodness of the dignity of the person? Would you invite Jesus to sit with you and watch? If not, consider taking this to prayer and examining your reasons for watching what you do. 
5. Have you ever seen a work of art portraying the human body that inspired you and drew you closer to God? 
6. When watching a show that portrays the human body, ask yourself: Does this bring to light the interior structure of the person? Or does this obscure or distort the person?
7. When you look at art or other forms of entertainment, where do you see the true, good, and beautiful? Begin to ask the Lord to open your eyes to all He wants you to see.
8. Be sure you pay attention to the movements of your heart as you are entertained. Are you ignoring the prompting of your hearts or being sensitive to God’s voice?
9. Are you desensitized to sexual content? Ask the Lord to show you His will for you in this area and if there are any changes you need to make.
10. Take time to contemplate the image of St. Teresa of Avila in Ecstasy. What are your reactions? Do you desire to be this close to our Lord? 

Resources: 

St. Teresa of Avila’s Ecstasy 

Magdala Ministries (Resource for women) 

Exodus 90 (Resource for men)

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Welcome to the show! We are continuing our study of St. Pope John Paul II”s teaching on the Theology of the Body. Today we discuss audiences 58 and 59 which is a review of what we have discussed so far in the text. We talk about some of the practical applications of what we have learned to our marriages and everyday lives. You won’t want to miss it! 

Quotes: 

“When you decide to lead a clean life, chastity will not be a burden on you: it will be a crown of triumph.” (Saint Josemaria Escriva)  

“The inner man must open himself to life according to the Spirit, in order to share in evangelical purity of heart: in order to find again and realize the value of the body, freed by redemption from the bonds of concupiscence.” (TOB 58:5)

“This is the body’s great dignity: it incarnates God’s mystery, which is love. Man’s vocation is to love as God loves, and it is revealed through the spousal meaning of his body.” (Christopher West, Theology of the Body Explained, p. 278) 

“It is the purity of the “man of concupiscence”, who is nevertheless inspired by the word of the Gospel and open to “life according to the Spirit”, that is the purity of the man of concupiscence who is completely enveloped by the “redemption of the body” achieved by Christ. (TOB 58:5) 

“The satisfaction of the passions is, in fact, one thing, quite another is the JOY a person finds in possessing himself more fully, since in this way he can also become more fully a true gift for another person.” (TOB 58:7)

“It is also to be feared that the man, growing used to the use of contraceptive practices, may finally lose reverence for women and…may come to the point of considering her as a mere instrument of selfish enjoyment, and no longer as his respected and beloved companion.” (Pope Paul VI, Humane Vitae 17) 

Reflection Questions: 

1. What spoke to your heart most this episode? 
2. Do you see chastity or “purity of heart” as a burden? 
3. Do you believe that “you can do hard things”? Do you believe “purity of heart” is possible? 
4. Do you have others in your life who you can walk with to pursue the Lord and “purity of heart”? 
5. Pray about your marriage and the way you “make love”. Are you truly loving the whole person or are there ways in which you are using each other? Ask God to show you what His vision is for your marriage. 
6. Have you allowed yourself to be “completely enveloped by the redemption of the body achieved by Christ”? 
7. Have you experienced the joy in “possessing” yourself more fully and to “become more fully a true gift for another person”? 
8. How is your heart after hearing about the Catholic Church’s teaching on contraception? Pray with whatever comes up and ask the Holy Spirit to guide you into all truth. 

Resources: 

Humanae Vitae (Pope Paul VI) 

Good News About Sex and Marriage, Christopher West

 

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This episode we continue our conversation about purity of heart. We discuss Audiences 52.4-57. We talk about true freedom that comes when we completely offer ourselves to the Lord out of love and as a response to his love for us. We will look at what gives us both power and motivation to live our lives in accordance with God's plan. 

Quotes: 

“...if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.” (Romans 8:12-13) 

“For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from unchastity; that each one of you knows how to keep his own body with holiness and reverence, not as the object of lustful passions, like the Gentiles who do not know God…For God did not call us to impurity but to sanctification. Therefore whoever rejects these norms rejects not a human being but God, who gives his Holy Spirit to you.”  (1 Thessalonians 4:3-7) 

…“ceases to be capable of this freedom for which ‘Christ has set us free’; he also ceases to be suitable for the true gift of self, which is the fruit and expression of such freedom. He further ceases to be capable of the gift organically linked with the spousal meaning of the human body” (TOB 53:3) 

“The task of purity is not only a turning away from unchastity…but is also a turning toward the holiness of the body, a holiness that calls for our reverence, admiration, and respect.” (Christopher West, Theology of the Body Explained, p.267) 

“God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he willed…the members of the body that seem weaker are more necessary, and those members of the body that we think less honorable we clothe with greater reverence, and our unpresentable members are treated with greater modesty; whereas our more presentable members do not need this. But God so arranged the body, giving the greater honor to the member that lacked it, so that there may be no disunion within the body, but the members may have care for one another.” (1 Corinthians 12:18; 22-25)

 “...from shame is born “reverence” for one’s own body, a reverence that Paul asks us to keep. Precisely this keeping of the body “with holiness and reverence” is to be considered essential for the virtue of purity.” (TOB 55:5) 

“When a mother and father are concerned about the way their teenage daughter dresses, rather than focusing only on the clothes, they would do better to instill in her a sense of awe and wonder for the divine dignity of her body and the gift of her sexuality.” (Christopher West, Theology of the Body Explained, p.271) 

“Flee from prostitution! Any sin that a man commits is outside of his body;but the one who gives himself to fornication sins against his own body. Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, which you have from God, and that you do not belong to yourselves?” (1 Corinthians 6:18-19)

“...has the effect of a new supernatural elevation in every human being, which every Christian must take into account in his behavior toward “his own” body and obviously toward another’s body: man toward woman and woman toward man.” (TOB 56:4) 

“In this Gift, which makes every human being holy, the Christian receives himself anew as a gift from God.” (TOB 56:4) 

The Holy Spirit dwelling within us works and develops the gift of “piety” which, JPII writes, makes “the human subject sensitive to the dignity that belongs to the human body in the mystery of creation and redemption.” (TOB 57:2) 

“This anthropology grows from roots that plunge down into the reality of the redemption of the body achieved by Christ, a redemption whose final expression is the resurrection.” (TOB 57:5) 

Reflection Questions: 

1. What spoke to your heart most in this episode? 
2. Do you find yourself vacillating between either self-reliance and self-indulgence? Pray and ask the Lord to help you learn to trust Him and to open up to the work of the Holy Spirit in your life. 
3. What is your understanding of “sanctifying grace”? Have you heard of infused supernatural virtues? What is your response to this? Pray for openness to all the grace that God wants to pour out on you. (see the link below for Fr. Ripperger’s talk) 
4. What does true freedom look like for you? Is it doing whatever you want or being able to do what is truly good? 
5. How do you see the relationship between your “effort” and God’s work in your heart? 
6. How can you apply this as you teach your children about modesty? 
7. How do you view your body? Ask the Lord to show you the wounds you carry in regard to your body. Ask the Lord to open your eyes to your goodness and holiness. 
8. How has the view of your body impacted your behavior? When have you kept your body in holiness and reverence? When have you not kept your body in holiness and reverence? Take all of this to prayer and ask the Lord for mercy and healing. 
9. What are your thoughts about Katie’s reflections on photosynthesis as an analogy for life in the spirit? How does God speak to you through creation? 

Resources: 

The Spiritual Life with Fr. Ripperger

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Welcome to Season 4!! We are continuing our study of Saint Pope John Paul II’s teaching on the Theology of the Body. This episode we are taking a look at Audiences 50-52.3 where JPII analyzes St. Paul’s view of purity, how it corresponds to Christ's call to purity of heart, and what is meant by “life according to the Spirit”. 

Quotes: 

“But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a man. 19 For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, fornication, theft, false witness, slander. 20 These are what defile a man; but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile a man.”  (Matthew 15:18-20) 

“In this manner Christ directs an appeal to the human heart: he invites it, he does not accuse it…” (TOB 50.1) 

“I say to you, live by the Spirit and do not satisfy the desires of the flesh; for the flesh has desires contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit has desires contrary to the flesh; for these are opposed to each other, so that you do not do what you want.” (Galation 5:15-16) 

“For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit on things of the Spirit.” (Romans 8:5) 

“The desires of the flesh lead to death while the desires of the Spirit lead to life and peace. In fact, the desires of the flesh are in revolt against God because they do not submit to God’s law, nor are they able to. Those who live according to the flesh cannot please God. But you are not under the dominion of the flesh but of the Spirit from the moment that the Spirit of God dwells in you. If anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to him. And if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of justification. The one who raised Jesus from the dead will give life also to your mortal bodies by his Spirit which dwells in you.” (Romans 8:6-11) 

“Now the works of the flesh are obvious: fornication, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, anger, quarrels, dissensions, factions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these….The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-mastery.” (Galatians 5:19-23) 

“The “fruit” grows in them as the gift of a life whose only Author is God; man can, at the most, provide for favorable circumstances that the fruit may grown and mature.” (Man and Woman He Created Them, pg. 334, Footnote 62)

Reflection Questions: 

1. What spoke to your heart most in this episode?
2. What has been your experience of the relationship between outward action and interior spiritual growth? What do you tend to focus on most? Ask the Lord to reveal any way in which you are too focused on exterior actions and not on the condition of your heart.
3. What are ways you might be avoiding what is in your heart? Are you “stuffing” things away? Pray with this and ask the Lord for grace to let Him see those places you want to hide.
4. What is your understanding of what it means to live “life according to the Spirit”? How do you stay open to the Holy Spirit? When desires come up, do you ask the Spirit for guidance?
5. Think back on your life. When have you been living your life “according to the flesh”? When have you lived your “life according to the Spirit”? How can you recognize this difference within yourself? 

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This episode we discuss Audience 49 of John Paul II’s Theology of the Body entitled “The Ethos of the Redemption of the Body”.  JPII explains how what Christ is proposing to us is a “new” way of living. We discuss how Christ’s words are always through the lens of the Redemption and true power to free us from sin and change our hearts. We end the episode talking about this season as a whole and how God has been working in our lives. 

Quotes: 

“...the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and obtain the glorious liberty of the children of God. We know that the whole creation has been groaning with labor pains together until now; and not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.” (Romans 8:21-23) 

“…we can never forget that in the teaching of Christ the fundamental reference to the question of marriage and the problem of the relations between man and woman appeals to the beginning. Such an appeal can only be justified by the reality of the redemption.”  (TOB 49:3) 

“As St. Paul says, a man engrossed in sin does not know what sin is without the law. Such a man will avoid lust only begrudgingly at first, out of obedience to the law. If he perseveres, however, lust itself becomes more and more distasteful to him. His subjective desires come more and more in tune with the true, the good, and the beautiful. In this way, the negative and prohibitive ethic of Christ’s words in the Sermon on the Mount become a positive and liberating ethos.” (Christopher West, The Theology of the Body Explained, p. 251) 

“Purity is a requirement of love. It is the dimension of the inner truth of love in man’s “heart”.” (TOB 49:7) 

“In this behavior, the human heart remains bound to the value, from which it would otherwise distance itself through its desire…“The value in question is that of the body’s spousal meaning, the value of a transparent sign by which the Creator…has written into the heart of both the gift of communion, that is, the mysterious reality of his image and likeness.” (TOB 49:5) 

When tempted to devalue someone:  “I affirm that this is a person made in the image and likeness of God. He or she is loved into existence by Him and deserves to be loved and not used. Lord, thank you for this person you have made. Please open my eyes to the gift this person is and how I can be a gift to him/her.” 

Reflection Questions: 

1. What stuck out to you most from this episode? What do you think the Lord is saying to you?
2. Spend some time meditating on Romans 8:21-23. Here is a guide for Lectio Divina.
3. Reflect on your current spiritual condition. Are you growing in your faith and hope? What are some barriers to your growth right now?
4. What are some “labor pains” you are experiencing right now? Are you able to sit in them in the hopes that God is working for your good? Are there ways in which you are avoiding the pain? As Katie said, “Throw yourself on the floor.” What fruit might God be trying to bear through them?
5. How could Our Blessed Mother walk with you through difficulty? Consider consecrating yourself to Jesus through Mary. Here is the resource Patty mentioned in the show.
6. What are your thoughts regarding temperance and self-mastery? Have you seen the Christian life as just “white-knuckling” or a real transformation of your desires? Thank you so much for listening or watching the show! Be sure to connect with us through our e-mail: befilledpodcast@gmail.com or through our YouTube, Instagram, or Facebook pages. 

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