Personal update:
Some of you may have heard this already, but my mom passed away this past Friday morning. We are grateful that it was peaceful. Thank you so much for your prayers and support, and please pray for the repose of her soul.
Class will be meeting next Sunday, February 3.
There is a small chance that mom's funeral may end up being on that Sunday morning, though I have asked my brother to try to schedule around it. If so, I will let you know what will happen instead.
Last time, Mr. Kevin Doran led the class in completing the sixth chapter of Theology of the Body for Teens: "The Language of the Body." Key points:
- Our “body language” conveys meaning. Half or more of our communication is actually non-verbal, conveyed by tone, gestures, facial expressions, etc.
- In particular, this is true of sexual intercourse. Sex speaks the language of total self-donation, meaning, "I am entirely yours. I make a complete gift of myself to you."
- The language of the body can tell the truth, or can tell lies.
- How to tell if you're speaking the truth with your body? Ask: Does the meaning of the act match the objective truth? For example, Judas's kiss is an example of a lie told with the body.
- In marriage, the marital act "matches" the objective truth that the spouses have made a total gift of themselves to each other. Thus it "speaks" the truth.
- The same act "speaks" a lie outside of marriage, since it does not match the truth of their situation (i.e. they have NOT made a total gift of themselves to each other).
- Contraception also makes the message into a lie, since then the couple says to one another: "I give myself to you except for my fertility." This contradicts the language of total self-donation.
- Three are involved in creation when a new life is conceived from the marital act: the husband, the wife, and God.
- Kevin also gave a great primer on the natural law, a more in-depth answer to how we can know moral truth and thus judge the morality of an action.
Quotes to ponder:
"... the deepest words of the spirit -- words of love, gift, and faithfulness -- call for an appropriate 'language of the body.' And without this language, they cannot be fully expressed."