Class will NOT be meeting next Sunday, December 9.
We will meet the following Sunday, December 16.
Last time, we went over the third chapter of Theology of the Body for Teens: "Naked Without Shame." Key points:
- The Genesis accounts relate profound truths in the form of a story. This was how the ancient Hebrews naturally expressed such ideas.
- God's original plan was for mankind to enjoy the blessings of love, innocence, and fertility.
- The meaning of our existence — self-donating love — is revealed in the one-flesh marital union of our bodies and persons.
- "Original man" in the beginning / before the Fall experienced original solitude, original nakedness, original innocence, original unity, and original happiness. (see book for details)
- Original nakedness + original innocence = naked without shame
- In that time of purity of heart, Adam and Eve experienced sexual desire as a pure longing to give themselves to the other. There was no struggle to love, no intrusion of lust, selfishness, or shame.
- Imagine what it would be like to live in a world in which no one would want to use or objectify anyone else. The beginning was so beautiful!
- Satan cannot create, but he can twist and destroy. His original lie convinced Adam & Eve to distrust and disobey God, damaging themselves and their ability to love. Lust and selfishness entered the world.
- Thankfully, there is hope of redemption in Christ, to regain purity of heart.
- The "spousal meaning of the body" means that man and woman see through their bodies and specifically through their differences that they are created for for each other, for love and communion with one another in marriage, to become a gift for each other.
- Key terms are defined in the Glossary on p. 49 of your workbooks.
Quotes to ponder:
“original sin ... is the only part of Christian theology which can really be [empirically] proved." ~ GK Chesterton, Orthodoxy, Ch. 2.
“For the scientist who has lived by his faith in the power of reason, the story ends like a bad dream. He has scaled the mountain of ignorance; he is about the conquer the highest peak; as he pulls himself over the final rock, he is greeted by a band of theologians who have been sitting there for centuries.” ~ Robert Jastrow, Ph. D., God and the Astronomers.
At home assignment:
- "Digging Deeper: Naked Without Shame?" on pages 44-46.
- "Living it Out: Winning the Tug-of-War" on pages 46-47.
If you missed missed class or want to review:
Please read the key points above and Chapter 3, pages 37-44 of the workbook. Also the assignment, above. The resources post includes the movie clip we watched and briefly discussed.
Enrichment / Just for fun:
- Choose and complete one of the ideas in the "Work it Out" section on p. 48.
Future class dates and topics:
Please see the calendar at the class blog.
O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to to thee!
God bless!