Commentary to Introduction to the Theology of the Body, by Christ West, Ascension Press, Published by Fr. Joseph LoJacono, IVE

1. Questions to Ponder Have you conceived of heaven as a place of liberation from the “prison” of the body? Where does this serious error come from? What is the initial reaction to Christ’s teaching that there will be no marriage in heaven? Why is marriage not the ultimate fulfillment of love like so many songs and stories seem to indicate? How does marriage point beyond itself to our communion with God in heaven? What does it mean to say that all the sexual confusion in the world today is the human desire for heaven gone berserk?

2. Bl. John Paul in TOB focuses on the state of man at different times in the History of Salvation Origin Brokenness after Destiny Original Sin

3. In the Beginning it was not so Divorce Rape Lust Homosexuality

4. Do we think of the body as trapped in the soul?

5. Do we really have a New Age view of the Body?

6. Christ said “in heaven there will be no marriage.”Matthew 22What does this mean?

7. Marital love can not give us ultimate fulfillment Princess Diana and Prince Charles

8. The holiness of marriage will continue in heaven St. Joachim & St. Anne Their relationship continues in heaven

9. Marriage as sacrament points beyond itself

10. The Resurrection of the body fulfills the meaning of our bodies

11. Bl. John Paul II’s argument that the true fulfillment our spousal love will only be realized in heaven Look at point 3g. There is an argument here. (See TOB 68.4) The argument runs thus Our original solitude reveals to us that we are unfulfilled without another person The original unity of man and woman points toward an interpersonal desire for another Therefore we have an interpersonal desire to be fulfilled in another The spousal meaning of the body, the love between man and woman, is not the ultimate fulfillment of our interpersonal desires The Triune love of God is the ultimate form of interpersonal love Therefore, Our participation of the Triune love of God in heaven will be the ultimate fulfillment of our interpersonal longings for another.

12. Call of God to participate in His life 1. God is gift 2. The nature of sin is to deny the gift 3. The nature of our redemption is that the gift is fully revealed in the Body of Christ given for us. 4. The nature of faith is to open the human heart to God’s gift. (Quoted from Introduction to the Theology of the Body Video, Chris West, session 5 Ascension Press 2008).

13. The Eucharist gives us a foretaste of the resurrection of the body

14. What does the Blessed Virgin Mary’s assumption mean for our bodies?