Be Filled

In this episode we discuss Audiences 44-48 of Saint Pope John Paul II’s teaching on the Theology of the Body. Is Jesus merely accusing the human “heart” of concupiscence or is he calling our “hearts” to something higher?

 Quotes

“The body in its masculinity and femininity has been called “from the beginning” to become the manifestation of the spirit.” (TOB 45:2)

“To gain a true victory over lust, John Paul says that purity must mature from the “negative” turning away to the more “positive” recognition and assertion of the real beauty, dignity, and value of the body and of sex.” (Christopher West, Theology of the Body Explained, p. 234) 

“Man must feel himself called to rediscover, or even better, to realize, the spousal meaning of the body and to express in this way the interior freedom of the gift, that is, the freedom of that spiritual state and power that derive from mastery over the concupiscence of the flesh.” (TOB 46:4) 

“The inheritance of the beginning, the inheritance of his heart, which is deeper than the sinfulness inherited, deeper than the threefold concupiscence. Christ’s words, set in the whole reality of creation and redemption, re-activate that deepest inheritance and give it real power in human life.” (TOB 46:6) 

“Redemption is a truth, a reality, in the name of which man must feel himself called, and “called with effectiveness” (TOB 46:4) 

“According to Plato, “eros” represents the inner power that draws man toward all that is good, true, and beautiful.” (TOB 47:2) 

“People often maintain that ethos takes away spontaneity from what is erotic in human life and behavior…Yet this opinion is mistaken and, at any rate, superficial. If we accept it and obstinately maintain it, we will never reach the full dimensions of eros.” (TOB 48.2) 

“Christ’s words are demanding ... .they demand that man has full and deep consciousness of his/her own acts, and above all his interior acts, and that he is conscious of the inner impulses of his own “heart” so that he can identify and evaluate them in a mature way.” (TOB 48:3) 

“When eros and ethos meet, they bear fruit in purity. Purity leads us in truth. Those with a mature purity of heart simply do not “look with lust”. Even if concupiscence still tugs at them, the pure of heart can recognize it, resist it, and allow grace to “untwist” it.” (Christopher West, Theology of the Body Explained, page 244) 

Reflection Questions

1. How do you view your body? Do you believe that your body is good or only the “spiritual” part of you?
2. Is there anything that keeps you from being at peace with your body? In what ways do you “devalue” your body? Pray with this and ask the Lord for healing in this area. Thank you Lord for my body, Help me to care for my body out of a desire to love others well, so that I become a self-gift and learn to love as you love. Heal any false views of what I need to be and help me to embrace your vision of me as a whole person, body and soul.
3. What is your experience with Natural Family Planning? Is this new to you? We encourage you to seek to learn more. A link for more information can be found below!
4. Do you believe that Christ has “real power” to set you free from sin? If you really believe it, how would that impact your relationship with him and the way you live?
5. You are called to “this supreme value, which is love.” Sit with this thought. You are called to love and be loved. Ask the Lord to help you see how it is you can love others and allow yourself to become more receptive to being loved.
6. “The inheritance of the beginning, the inheritance of his heart, which is deeper than the sinfulness inherited, deeper than the threefold concupiscence. Christ’s words, set in the whole reality of creation and redemption, re-activate that deepest inheritance and give it real power in human life.” Do you believe this? The power you have access to through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus is more powerful than the inheritance of Original Sin! What does that mean for your life today? Are you claiming this truth?
7. What are the “knots” in your life that you feel are impossible to “undo”? Consider praying the “Mary, Undoer of Knots Novena”. Link below!
8. Imagine that your life is part of a masterpiece. Are you playing the part God is asking you to play? Ask the Lord to help you make beautiful music with him.
9. What has your definition of “eros” been up to now? How was your definition challenged by what JPII wrote?
10. We must “burn but not be consumed”. Take this to prayer. Get in touch with your passions. What makes you feel alive? Where are you in awe? What (or to whom) are they actually pointing you to? What is it you really want? 

Resources: 

Mary, Undoer of Knots Novena 

TOB Institute Recommended Therapists 

More Therapists! 

https://centerforhealingkc.com/ 

Jana Burns https://inviacounseling.life/jana

Jackie Stone https://www.mendpsychotherapy.com/our-team

Karley Daniels https://www.newdaycounseling.co

 

We continue our discussion on Saint Pope John Paul II’s teaching of the Theology of the Body. This episode we discuss Audiences 42 and 43 in which Saint Pope John Paul II analyzes the words of Christ found in Matthew 5:27-28: “...has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” 

Quotes: 

“The concupiscence that arises as an interior act on this foundation changes the very intentionality of the woman’s existence “for” the man by reducing the wealth of the perennial call to the communion of persons, the wealth of the deep attraction of masculinity and femininity, to the mere satisfaction of the body’s sexual “urge”.” (TOB 43:3) 

“...the knowledge about man that allows us-as we emphasized elsewhere-to unite the awareness of human sinfulness with the perspective of the redemption of the body.” (TOB 42:7) 

“Christ makes the moral evaluation of “desire” depend above all on the personal dignity of the man and the woman; and this is important both in the case of unmarried persons and-perhaps even more so in the case of spouses, husband and wife.” (TOB 43:1)

“Adultery in the heart” is not committed only because the man “looks” in this way at a woman who is not his wife, but precisely because he looks in this way at a woman. Even if he were to look in this way at the woman who is his wife, he would commit the same adultery “in the heart”.” (TOB 43:2) 

"...A man can commit such “adultery in the heart” even with his own wife if he treats her only as an object for the satisfaction of drives.” (TOB 43:3) 

“...the grace of marriage offers a healing of concupiscent desire. Through the healing power of the redemption of the body, men and women can progressively (re)experience sexual desire as God created it to be-the desire to love as he loves in the sincere gift of self.” (Christopher West, Theology of the Body Explained, pg. 225) 

“...man must rediscover the lost fullness of his humanity and want to regain it.” (TOB 43:7) 

“Human life is by its nature “co-educational” and its dignity as well as its balance depend at every moment of history and in every place of geographic longitude and latitude on “who” she shall be for him and he for her.” (TOB 43:7) 

“Should we fear the severity of these words or rather have confidence in their salvific content, in their power?” (TOB 43:7) 

Reflection Questions: 

1. What spoke to your heart in this episode?
2. How in tune are you with your heart? What attitudes do you have that keep you from living out the commandments from the heart? 
3. If you are not living from your heart, do you have a desire to grow and go deeper? If not, ask the Lord to meet you where you are and give you the grace you need.
4. In what ways are you living out the “perennial call” to the communion of persons-to be a gift to another? What areas do you feel you need to grow?
5. If you are married, how do you see your spouse? Are you treating him/her with dignity or as an object to satisfy the sexual urge? Are you acting selfishly or not? If you are not married, how do you view marriage? Is it an outlet for lust or the remedy for concupiscence?
6. Have you ever thought of marriage as healing? What are your thoughts about this?
7. Reflect on Katie’s experience of NFP and how it has led to deeper intimacy with her husband. What feelings are stirred? Pray with this and continue to ask the Lord to reveal how He wants to love you through your marriage

   
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   Resource:

   Rachelle wrote this article describing the Theology of the Body Summer Program we need for kids. It contains a link to a document with the list of movies we used. 

 

 

This is our second episode discussing John Paul II’s analysis of Christ’s words in the Sermon on the Mount found in Matthew 5:27-28. This episode we will be looking with JPII at the words, “Whoever looks to desire” found in Audiences 38-41.

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Quotes:

“Christ did not die on a cross and rise from the dead merely to give us coping mechanisms for sin (we already had plenty of those without a savior). Christ died and rose again to set us free from sin…The more we gaze with faith upon Christ, the more “his gaze purifies our heart.” In turn, the light of the countenance of Jesus illumines the eyes of our heart and teaches us to see everything in light of his truth.” (Christopher West, Theology of the Body Explained, pgs.213-214) 

“Desire, blazing like a furnace, will not die down until it has been satisfied; the man who is shameless in his body will not stop until the fire devours him; to the impure man, all bread is sweet, he will not grow tired until he dies. The man who is unfaithful to his own marriage bed says to himself, “Who can see me? There is darkness all round me, the walls hide me; no one can see me, why should I be afraid? The Most High will not remember my sins.” What he fears are human eyes; he does not realize that the eyes of the Lord are ten thousand times brighter than the sun; they see all the acts of men and penetrate into the most secret corners…Likewise the woman who abandons her husband, who provides him with heirs received from a stranger. (Sir 23:16-22)” 

“...the comparison between concupiscence of the flesh and fire: flaring up in the man, it invades his senses, arouses his body, draws the feelings along with itself, and in some way takes possession of the “heart”. Such passion, springing from carnal concupiscence, suffocates the sense of responsibility before God…It is true that, when passion is set into the whole of the spirit’s deepest energies, it can also become a creative force; in this case, however, it must undergo a radical transformation.” (TOB 39:2) 

“Once the inner man has been reduced to silence and passion has, as it were, gained freedom of action, passion manifests itself as an insistent tendency toward satisfying the senses and the body…This satisfaction…ought to extinguish the fire; but, on the contrary, it does not reach the sources of inner peace…the man whose will is occupied with satisfying the senses does not find rest nor does he find himself, but on the contrary “consumes himself.” (TOB 39:2) 

“If we allow our passions to “undergo a radical transformation,” they can become, once again, the desire to love as God loves.” (Christopher West, Theology of the Body Explained, pg.216) 

Reflection Questions: 

1. What spoke most to your heart in this episode? 
2. Has lust been an issue in your life? Do you believe that Christ came to set you free? 
3. “Christ did not die on a cross and rise from the dead merely to give us coping mechanisms for sin (we already had plenty of those without a savior).” What are your thoughts on this? 
4. Do you want the freedom Christ came to give you? What would it look like to be set free from lust? 
5. Could you see your own experience in JPII’s description of how the “fire” of lust grows from a flame to consuming the person? 
6. Were you surprised at JPII’s understanding of lust? Why or why not? 
7. Can you relate to Charlie Brown trying to kick the football when it comes to temptation to give in to lustful desire? 
8. “If we allow our passions to “undergo a radical transformation,” they can become, once again, the desire to love as God loves.” Pray with this. How is God speaking to you? 

This is the first of three episodes covering a new section of Saint John Paul II’s teaching on the Theology of the Body entitled “Commandment and Ethos”. We discuss the words of Christ in the Sermon on the Mount, “It was said, “Do not commit adultery” in audiences 34-37. 

Quotes: 

“...the human being of every time and of every place feels himself called in a manner that is adequate, concrete, and unrepeatable, because Christ appeals precisely to the human ”heart”...With the category of “heart,” everyone is identified in a singular manner, even more than by name; he is reached in that which determines him in a unique and unrepeatable way; he is defined in his humanity from within.” (TOB 35:4)

“The discernment of good and evil inscribed in the human conscience can turn out to be deeper and more correct than the content of a legal norm.” (TOB 35:5) 

“One can say that this law, while combating sin, at the same time contained in itself the “social structures of sin”; in fact, it protected and legalized them.” (TOB 36:1) 

“...the less the heart conforms to truth, the more the need arises for laws that must corral the people into maintaining some semblance of order.” (Theology of the Body Explained, Christopher West, pg. 208) 

“In the revelations of the prophets...the God of the covenant, Yahweh, is often represented as Bridegroom, and the love with which he joined himself to Israel can and should be equated with the spousal love of a couple.”(TOB 36:5) 

“Out of love, God-Yahweh makes the covenant with Israel; for Israel he becomes a Bridegroom and Husband who is most affectionate, attentive, and generous toward his Bride.” (TOB 37:3) 

“Adultery is a sin because it is the breaking of the personal covenant between the man and the woman.” (TOB 37:4) 

“...in order to determine what is good, we only need to ask a simple question: Does this sexual attitude, thought, or action truly image God’s free, total, faithful, and fruitful love?” (Theology of the Body Explained, Christopher West, pg. 211) 

Reflection Questions: 

1. Do you prefer a list of rules over really listening to your heart? Pray with this and ask God to show you what fears may be getting in the way for you. 
2. Spend some time with the Lord and ask yourself: Am I interpreting Church teaching or Jesus’ words in a way to justify sin in my life? Are there Church teachings I avoid learning about because I don’t want to change? 
3. Spend some time with the photos of the woman caught in adultery and Jesus (link in the resources section) Imagine the way that Jesus looks at you. Let him gaze upon you in love. Allow him to love you wherever you may find yourself on this spiritual journey. 
4. What are your thoughts about the Church not changing our teaching to conform to the culture? Are you frustrated by this? Do you find it comforting? 
5. What is keeping you from prayer? What consumes your thoughts? Ask the Lord to show you what might be keeping you from growing in your relationship with God. 
6.  Do you believe that God is in love with YOU? What is your response to this? 

Resources: 

“Male, Female, Other?: A Catholic Guide to Understanding Gender by Jason Evert

Navigating Gender with Charity and Clarity: A New Course by Jason Evert

Jesus and the Woman Caught in Adultery

Bill Donaghy Commentary Audiences 34-37

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Welcome to another episode of the Be Filled Podcast! We are continuing to discover the beauty of Saint Pope John Paul II’s teaching on the Theology of the Body. We have spent the last two episodes discussing the “Man of Concupiscence”. This episode we are discussing Audiences 31.5-33 which is entitled “The Corruption of the Spousal Meaning of the Body”. 

Quotes: 

“Historical man has this lifelong task: to give voice to the deepest aspirations of his heart by accepting the grace of ongoing conversion.” (Christopher West, Theology of the Body Explained)

“That “meaning” does not modify the reality in itself, that is, that which the human body is and does not cease to be in the sexuality that belongs to it, independently of the states of our consciousness and our experiences.” (TOB 31.5)

“The human body in its masculinity and femininity has almost lost the power of expressing this love in which the human person becomes a gift…The “heart” has become a battlefield between love and concupiscence.” (TOB 32:3) 

“From John Paul’s analysis we learn that if men and women are to “belong” to each other in the full expression of the communion of persons, they must first belong to Christ. They must first be in communion with him. The road to restored communion between the sexes passes by way of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. And there is no detour.” (Christopher West, Theology of the Body Explained) 

Reflection Questions: 

1. When you think about your body, what comes to mind? Do you seek to glorify yourself through your body or glorify God (or a little of both)? Pray with this and ask God to reveal any ways in which you idolize your body.
2. What are the deepest aspirations/desires of your heart? How could you find moments of silence throughout your day to listen to God? This week, try to slow down and pray with God’s word. See below for a guide to Lectio Divina.
3. What meaning do you give to your body? How does that impact the way you live?
4. What do you feel God calling you to do to help your children understand the meaning of their bodies? Please reach out if you need support or a list of good therapists to work with.
5. What has your experience been with fighting concupiscence in your relationships? Pray with this and ask God to show you areas in your relationship that need His grace in order to grow.
6. What did you think about the “Crazy Cycle”? Could you think of any examples of this in your relationships? If you are a man, how do you see your role with your woman and how can you encourage her to live a holy life? If you are a woman, how do you see your role and how can you encourage your man to live a holier life?
7. “Let your man be Jesus.” Whatever your vocation, Jesus is your protector and guardian. What are your reactions to this? Pray with whatever comes up.
8. What does it mean to you to belong to another? Do you see this in a positive sense or negative?

Resources:

Lectio Divina Guide

Love is a Battlefield 

Love and Respect by Dr. Emerson Eggerichs

Holy Family School of Faith Rosary Podcast: The Mission of Marriage 

Bill Donaghy Commentary 

Meditation on Givenness by Pope John Paul II 

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This episode we discuss Audiences 29-31.1 in the text of Man and Woman He Created Them by Saint Pope John Paul II. We look at how man and woman’s new experience of shame and the subsequent covering of their bodies (in particular the parts that make them male and female) impact the communion of persons between them. 

Quotes: 

“Above all...that shame-which...makes the man and the woman hide their own bodies before each other, and especially their sexual differentiation-confirms that the original power of communicating themselves to each other....has been shattered.” (TOB 29:2)

“Since after original sin, man had lost the sense, so to speak, of the image of God in himself, that loss manifested itself by shame.” (TOB 29:3)

“This is the tragedy of concupiscence: It exchanges a self-seeking gratification for the sincere gift of self; it uses the other as an object made for my sake, rather than loving the other as a subject made for his or her own sake.” (Theology of the Body Explained, Christopher West) 

“Because of sin, woman now experiences a particular “reduction” in comparison with man. Her special giftedness as woman-the fact that she embodies receptivity in relation to God, the man, and the gift of new life...” (Theology of the Body Explained, Christopher West, pg. 194-195)

“...we reject our posture of receptivity  as “feminine-bride” in favor of being our own “masculine” lords. We want to be “like God” but without God.” (Theology of the Body Explained, Christopher West, pg. 195)

“...shame…reveals the moment of concupiscence, at the same time it can provide weapons ahead of time against the consequences of the threefold component of concupiscence.” (TOB 31:1)

Reflection Questions:

1. How can man and woman complete the image of God in the visible world? Is this something you have ever considered? 
2. When have you experienced being “used” rather than loved by another? Take these wounds to prayer. Ask God to meet you in those places. 
3. Prayerfully consider how shame kept you from being vulnerable when you needed to be in a relationship? Are there parts of you that you feel are not loveable? How could you invite the Lord into those places in your heart?
4. Have you experienced a dissatisfying relationship? What do you think contributed? Again, take the Lord with you into all these wounds and experiences. 
5. We often see our femininity as a burden. Pray with your feelings around your fertility. Ask the Lord to heal wounds and to restore your receptivity to life. 
6. How do you see Mary? Ask her to help you image her perfect receptivity to God so that new life may be born in you.
7. Spend some time with this prayer from St. Elizabeth of the Trinity. Read it slowly and prayerfully. Notice your feelings and what the Lord may be saying to you. “Let yourself be vulnerable.  Let your walls down, your carefully constructed fortresses breached, your fiercely guarded heart laid bare.  Let your wounds be touched, your fears revealed, your deepest desires, damaged dreams, and most daring hopes unveiled before the Bridegroom who has the power to redeem, restore, and resurrect them. Drop your independence and the idea—which you clutch so tightly—that you can do anything to protect and save yourself.  And let Him love you.”
8. Think about your relationships. Is there anyone you can be intentionally vulnerable with in your life? Who can you talk to to bring to light what might be in the dark. If you are married, are you able to share openly about your weaknesses? If not, begin asking the Lord to break down any barriers within yourself and your spouse. 

Resources:

Bill Donaghy Commentary

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We are continuing our journey through the text “Man and Woman He Created Them: A Theology of the Body” by Saint Pope John Paul II. In this episode we are discussing General Audiences 26-28. John Paul II’s analysis will help us to understand what happened in the heart of man at the Fall which led us to be prone to sin. We also discuss how shame impacts the man and woman in the following areas: relationship with self, relationships with creation, relationship with the Creator, and relationship with each other. 

Quotes: 

“All that is in the world, the concupiscence of the flesh, the concupiscence of the eyes, and the pride of life, comes not from the Father but from the world.” (1 John 2:16) 

“But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate; and she also gave some to her husband, and he ate.” (Genesis 3:4-6)

“By casting doubt in his heart on the deepest meaning of the gift, that is, on love as the specific motive of creation and the original covenant, man turns his back on God-Love, on the “Father”. He in some sense casts him from his heart.” (TOB 26:4) 

“Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves aprons. And they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God called to the man, and said to him, “Where are you?” And he said, “I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.” (Genesis 3:7-10)

“Shame touches in that moment the deepest level and seems to shake the very foundations of their existence.” (TOB 27:1) 

“In reality, what shows itself through “nakedness” is man deprived of participation in the Gift, man alienated from the Love that was the source of the original gift, the source of the fullness of good intended for the creature.” (TOB 27.2) 

Reflection Questions: 

1. What was most powerful to you in this episode? 
2. Do you believe that God’s plan for you is bigger and better than you can imagine? 
3. Reflecting on your life, have there been times you grasped for what you wanted rather than waiting for God’s timing? 
4. When have you doubted God’s love for you? Has this doubt led you to turn away from the Father? Pray with any doubt you may have in your heart about his goodness and love. Ask the Lord to show you his presence and to increase your trust in Him. 
5. Consider the areas of weakness or sin in your life. What do you think you are really wanting? How could you redirect your desire (or “rocket engines”) to God? Pray with whatever comes up as you consider this question. Invite the Holy Spirit to lead you. 
6. When you are tempted, where do you turn your gaze? How can you pray with temptation and grow in intimacy with the Lord? 
7. What struck you as you learned about the way shame/sin fractured man and woman’s relationship with self, creation, God, and one another? 
8. Where are you, in your heart? Pray with what comes up for you and invite the LORD to be with you right there. 
9. Have you ever thought of shame in a positive way? How has the feeling of “shame” helped you to know what is right and wrong? 
10. How do you imagine God sees you when you fall? Pray with this. Ask the Lord to reveal His heart to you. 

Resources: 

Bill Donaghy Commentary on Audiences 26-28

Man of Original Innocence/Original Concupiscence Comparison Chart 

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Welcome to Season 3 of the Be Filled Podcast! This episode we begin a new chapter in the text “Man and Woman He Created Them: A Theology of the Body” by Saint Pope John Paul II. We are beginning to look at Christ’s words in the Sermon on the Mount regarding “looking to desire” and what it means to commit “adultery in the heart”. We are now on YouTube! If you would like to watch the show please follow us

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Quotes: 

“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery’. But I say to you: whoever looks at a woman to desire her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” (Matthew 5:27-28) 

“Moral value is connected with the dynamic process of man’s innermost (being). To reach it, it is not enough to stop “on the surface” of human actions, but one must penetrate precisely the interior.” (TOB 24:3) 

“Think not that I have come to abolish the law and the prophets; I have come not to abolish them but to fulfill them.” (Matthew 5:17) 

“”Adultery in the heart”, committed by a man when he “looks at a woman to desire her,” signifies a clearly defined interior act.” (TOB 25:3) 

“Through the “heart”, man “is defined in his humanity ‘from within’” (TOB 34:4). Emotions, thoughts, and affections originate in the heart. The heart, then, is where we know and experience the true meaning of the body, or, because of the hardness of our hearts, fail to do so.” (Christopher West, Theology of the Body Explained) 

Reflection Questions: 

1. What comes up for you when you hear Jesus’ words, “Whoever looks at a woman to desire her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.”? Does this bring up old wounds in your life? Does it leave you feeling discouraged about the state of your heart? Notice what emotions/thoughts come up and pray with them. Ask the Lord to meet you there and to gently show you what He wants you to know. How could your personal experience help you connect with this teaching? 

2. Ponder this question: If God is dwelling in your heart, who is He living with? Who are His roommates? Ask the Holy Spirit to guide you and ask him to make known to you anything dwelling in your heart that needs to be purified. 

3. How do you view the word “desire”? What are the deepest desires of your heart? What is it that you really want? How could all of your desires point you to God? 

4. What “nutrients” are you putting into your heart? How does what you put in your heart impact your thoughts, feelings, and behavior? Is there anything you may need to let go of in order to be free to hear God’s voice in your life? 

5. Do you believe that Jesus has the power to really change your heart and life? 

Resources: 

Bill Donaghy Commentary