Be Filled

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? 
2. What are you powerless over in your life right now? Are you willing to surrender it over to God’s care and wait for Him to work? 
3. Imagine yourself in the Garden with Adam and Eve. What do you think it was like for them when they saw each other for the first time? What do you think they discovered about themselves and each other in that moment? 
4. Have you ever thought of the relationship of man and woman as a “communion of persons” and that they mirror the Trinity?  What is your response to this idea? 
5. How do your relationships reflect the love of God? 
6. Are there places you have been wounded in relationships and need healing? Open these places up to the Lord. Do you have people in your life to pray with about these difficult areas?

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? 
2. Try to place yourself in the garden with Adam. What do you notice as God brings the animals to him? How do you imagine Adam responding to the animals? What kind of dialogue might there have been between Adam and his Creator during this process? 
3. Do you take time for solitude with the Lord? What might be getting in the way for you? 
4. As you consider how the human person is unique in all of creation, what is your response? 
5. You are unique and unrepeatable and your relationship with God is unique and unrepeatable. What is your response to this thought?
6. Jesus intentionally took time to pray away from others. Why do you think he did this? What do you think he gained from taking this time away? 
7. Take 5-10 minutes each day to be still and quiet. Begin with this prayer, “Ever present God, here with me now, help me to be here with you.” 
8. How can you choose to love God today with your freedom? 

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? 
2. Are there underlying fears or wounds that impact your views on what Jesus teaches? Bring all of this to prayer and ask God to open your heart to the beauty He wants to reveal to you. 
3. How do you respond to those who have questions about what Jesus teaches? What can you learn from Christ’s response to the Pharisees? 
4.  What does being made in the “image of God” mean to you? 
5. Do your beliefs about yourself correspond to the reality that you are made in God’s image? Ask God to open your heart to see where you may be believing something that is not rooted in the truth. 
6. Do you believe that Jesus has come to redeem you and will give you all the power you need to live out his plan for your life? What holds you back from believing? Take this to prayer. 

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 befilledpodcast@gmail.com. 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 befilledpodcast@gmail.com. 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 befilledpodcast@gmail.com. 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! 

This episode we continue our conversation on human freedom. Today we look at the Church’s definition of freedom found in the Catechism of the Catholic Church. We share our own personal experience and discuss John Paul II’s view of freedom. 

Quotes: 

God created man a rational being, conferring on him the dignity of a person who can initiate and control his own actions. “God willed that man should be ‘left in the hand of his own counsel,’ so that he might of his own accord seek his Creator and freely attain his full and blessed perfection by cleaving to him.”  Man is rational and therefore like God; he is created with free will and is master over his acts. (CCC #1730)

Freedom is the power, rooted in reason and will, to act or not to act, to do this or that, and so to perform deliberate actions on one’s own responsibility. By free will one shapes one’s own life. Human freedom is a force for growth and maturity in truth and goodness; it attains its perfection when directed toward God, our beatitude. (CCC #1731) 

“If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.” (John 8:31-32) 

Reflection Questions: 

1. What impacted you most in this episode? 

2. Have you ever considered your relationship to God as analogous to the relationship between spouses? What are your thoughts about this idea? 

3. Would you say that you are freely and without reservation “cleaving” to your Creator? What might that look like for you? 

4. What kind of person do you want to be? Do your actions coincide with the vision you have for yourself? Ask God for the grace to see who He wants you to be and ask him, boldly, for the grace to live that vision out. 

5. Reflect on the definition of freedom found in the Catechism. What are your thoughts? How is this definition different from what we see in the secular world? 

6. What are some barriers to your freedom? Have you had experiences that have wounded your ability to freely choose the good? Sit with these wounds and ask the Lord for deeper healing. 

7. When have you felt the most free in your life?

8. Our ability to notice our feelings and invite God into difficult moments is something that sets us apart from other creatures. Could you relate to the experiences shared in the podcast? 

9. How has the gospel been presented to you? Has it been coercive or persuasive? 

10. Are there any “pebbles” in your shoe? Where do you sense the Lord calling you to be open to change? Pray with whatever feelings are coming up and ask God to meet you there. 

If you have any questions or comments for us, we can be reached by e-mail at befilledpodcast@gmail.com. We are also on Instagram and Facebook! We would love to hear from you! 

We continue to prepare to read and reflect on Saint Pope John Paul II’s Theology of the Body by exploring the meaning of freedom. Today we will discuss one common definition of freedom that emphasizes the ability to choose without searching for what is good and true. We discuss how we have defined “freedom” in our lives and begin to look to Saint Pope John Paul II’s view of freedom.

Quotes:

“I ceased to be the captain of my soul.” (Oscar Wilde)

“I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate…. I can will what is right but I cannot do it.” (Romans 7: 15)

“…they see the truth about good as a threat to their freedom. They fear that a higher law, not of their own making, can only interfere with their acting through themselves and hence interfere with them as persons. They claim that they would lose their individuality if they were to submit to a law that is the same for all persons. And so, they think that to save themselves as persons they have to become subjectivists about good, that is people who think that each person creates his or her own conception of good and the moral life.” (“The Personalism of John Paul II”, John Crosby)

“Obedience is a beautiful loss of control. So just obey and lose control.” (Christopher West)

Resources:

“The Personalism of John Paul II” by John Crosby

Reflection Questions:

(1) What did you relate to most in the podcast?

(2) How do you define freedom? How has your view of freedom changed in your life?

(3) Have there been times in your life you have not felt truly free? When have you felt most free in your life?

(4) Are there areas of your life you feel unwilling to trust God with? What fears do you have about coming to a deeper understanding of the teachings of the Church?

(5) Do you believe that God is FOR you? What do you think true freedom would look like in your life?

(6) What do you think would happen if you surrendered your will and life to the care of God?