Human sexuality is unity of body and soul
July 29, 2019 at 12:37 p.m.
What follows is the third in a series of 10 reflections based on the chapters of “Love is Our Mission: The Family Fully Alive” – a preparatory catechesis for the World Meeting of Families.
At the beginning of the Book of Genesis, we read: “God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.” What an incredible power! Can you imagine what would happen if humanity had that type of power? What a privilege that would be. My friends, God wanted to share that power with humanity. Further in the narrative we read: “God blessed them and said to them, ‘be fruitful and increase in number.’” God has trusted man and woman with one of the most powerful gifts that humanity can have; the power of procreation. The preparatory catechesis for the World Meeting of Families says that our sexuality has the power to procreate and shares in the dignity of being created in the image of God.
The third chapter of the preparatory catechesis for the World Meeting of Families is called: “The meaning of human sexuality.” In this chapter, the author describes the human body not as a shell for the soul or a sensory machine for the brain, but as a profound unity of body and soul. Each human being is a whole with a material body and a spiritual soul: “The human person, created in the image of God, is a being at once corporeal and spiritual” (CCC 362).
By being male and female, humanity serves to “literally enflesh God’s design for human interdependence, community, and openness to new life.”
Humans are communal creatures and our “sexual desire shows that we are never self-sufficient.” Humans have a longing for intimacy with another.
As many of us know, all power can be used both for good and for ill. Human sexuality can sadly be misused in a selfish way. When the sense of the sacredness is lost in human sexuality, it becomes a plaything, a tool for sarcastic jokes and dishonest movies rather than a sacred power of God.
To ensure the right use of the power of human sexuality, God instituted the Sacrament of Marriage: “The intimate community of life and love which constitutes the married state has been established by the Creator and endowed by him with its own proper laws. . . . God himself is the author of marriage” (CCC1603).
Marriage is important, since it is essential not only that children be born but that they are lovingly reared and cared for by the father and mother who bring them into the world in union with God. Studies have shown that children raised by two parents tend to be more successful than children raised by a single mother or father. “Children raised in intact married families are more likely to attend college, are physically and emotionally healthier, are less likely to be physically or sexually abused, less likely to use drugs or alcohol and to commit delinquent behaviors, have a decreased risk of divorcing when they get married, are less likely to become pregnant/impregnate someone as a teenager, and are less likely to be raised in poverty” (USCCB).
What about those who will not get married? The preparatory catechesis for the World Meeting of Families explains that there are two different vocations in God’s plan: marriage and celibacy. These two vocations are “the two ways of being together as male or female in light of God’s covenant, and for this reason both marriage and celibacy are considered chaste ways of living.” Celibacy is not merely a matter of humans suppressing their sexuality. It is a redirection of sexuality to a love of God and a love of neighbor in sacrificial service.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church says that all baptized are called to chastity: “The Christian has ‘put on Christ,’ the model for all chastity. All Christ’s faithful are called to lead a chaste life in keeping with their particular states of life. At the moment of his Baptism, the Christian is pledged to lead his affective life in chastity.”
Married life and celibacy are both states in life that exercise chastity –“refusing to use our own or other people’s bodies as objects for consumption.” Both of these will be discussed in further chapters.
Josue Arriola serves as diocesan director, Department of Youth, Marriage and Family Life.
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What follows is the third in a series of 10 reflections based on the chapters of “Love is Our Mission: The Family Fully Alive” – a preparatory catechesis for the World Meeting of Families.
At the beginning of the Book of Genesis, we read: “God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.” What an incredible power! Can you imagine what would happen if humanity had that type of power? What a privilege that would be. My friends, God wanted to share that power with humanity. Further in the narrative we read: “God blessed them and said to them, ‘be fruitful and increase in number.’” God has trusted man and woman with one of the most powerful gifts that humanity can have; the power of procreation. The preparatory catechesis for the World Meeting of Families says that our sexuality has the power to procreate and shares in the dignity of being created in the image of God.
The third chapter of the preparatory catechesis for the World Meeting of Families is called: “The meaning of human sexuality.” In this chapter, the author describes the human body not as a shell for the soul or a sensory machine for the brain, but as a profound unity of body and soul. Each human being is a whole with a material body and a spiritual soul: “The human person, created in the image of God, is a being at once corporeal and spiritual” (CCC 362).
By being male and female, humanity serves to “literally enflesh God’s design for human interdependence, community, and openness to new life.”
Humans are communal creatures and our “sexual desire shows that we are never self-sufficient.” Humans have a longing for intimacy with another.
As many of us know, all power can be used both for good and for ill. Human sexuality can sadly be misused in a selfish way. When the sense of the sacredness is lost in human sexuality, it becomes a plaything, a tool for sarcastic jokes and dishonest movies rather than a sacred power of God.
To ensure the right use of the power of human sexuality, God instituted the Sacrament of Marriage: “The intimate community of life and love which constitutes the married state has been established by the Creator and endowed by him with its own proper laws. . . . God himself is the author of marriage” (CCC1603).
Marriage is important, since it is essential not only that children be born but that they are lovingly reared and cared for by the father and mother who bring them into the world in union with God. Studies have shown that children raised by two parents tend to be more successful than children raised by a single mother or father. “Children raised in intact married families are more likely to attend college, are physically and emotionally healthier, are less likely to be physically or sexually abused, less likely to use drugs or alcohol and to commit delinquent behaviors, have a decreased risk of divorcing when they get married, are less likely to become pregnant/impregnate someone as a teenager, and are less likely to be raised in poverty” (USCCB).
What about those who will not get married? The preparatory catechesis for the World Meeting of Families explains that there are two different vocations in God’s plan: marriage and celibacy. These two vocations are “the two ways of being together as male or female in light of God’s covenant, and for this reason both marriage and celibacy are considered chaste ways of living.” Celibacy is not merely a matter of humans suppressing their sexuality. It is a redirection of sexuality to a love of God and a love of neighbor in sacrificial service.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church says that all baptized are called to chastity: “The Christian has ‘put on Christ,’ the model for all chastity. All Christ’s faithful are called to lead a chaste life in keeping with their particular states of life. At the moment of his Baptism, the Christian is pledged to lead his affective life in chastity.”
Married life and celibacy are both states in life that exercise chastity –“refusing to use our own or other people’s bodies as objects for consumption.” Both of these will be discussed in further chapters.
Josue Arriola serves as diocesan director, Department of Youth, Marriage and Family Life.
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