Show us what we are made for Expresses the spirit we live by: For being together with a person of the opposite sex For communicating For living on land, in shelters For living in society –to share the tasks of living. For procreation – being a parent For creative work – intelligence & hands to make things To take pleasure in our senses of sight, hearing, taste, smell. The Body shows us what we are made for, and expresses who we are inside. Expresses how we feel Eg our body language Eg our facial expressions Expresses the spirit we live by: “persons of flesh” – live for the satisfaction of their own bodily desires and passions: anger, greed, lust, ambition “persons of spirit” live by values, kindness, peace, goodness, love for others, self-sacrifice

Meaning of male and female from Genesis THEOLOGY OF THE BODY – REVISION IMAGE OF GOD Being in the image of God, is to be like God – -loving, -self-aware, -knowing good/ evil, and - having free will. It makes human beings unique in the world of animals . This “god-like” character will never change, no matter what happens to you. From Genesis we learn that: what it means to be a male or female human being made in the image of God. Humans are unique in the world of animals, because we are made in the image of God Male / female are made for each other as a gift Male and female are meant to be united to become “one flesh” This union is blessed by God. Meaning of male and female from Genesis Man is unique among animals – self-aware “Adam named the animals and found no helper to be his equal” Man recognises with joy in woman a humanity like his own “this is flesh of my flesh” Man and woman are a gift to each other “a man leaves his mother and father to be united to his wife” Man and woman are meant to be united together “the two become one flesh” Man/ woman’s union is blessed by God and commanded to “be fruitful”

Signs of God’s Love 0 – you don’t value the body; so you don’t give yourself to the other through your body 10 – because you value yourself as a whole person giving your body is giving yourself, totally, How much would you “give yourself” in a relationship? Created as male or female, our bodies are signs of God’s love. Because we are made for union with the other , in self-giving love, in a life-giving way. Your Value as a Person no-one can put a price on what you are worth. so no-one has the right to use you for something else eg to bargain with, sell as a slave, use for sex, use for body parts. If you do give yourself away, it must only be by your free choice. To give yourself away is the most valuable thing that you could ever give. Animals can’t do this – sex for them is by instinct, not the free and total gift of a person.

Shame: the feeling of losing your dignity before someone else Lust: the desire for sexual satisfaction from another person’s body without respect for them as a person. Shame: the feeling of losing your dignity before someone else Sexual desire is good when it leads to a true and loving communion of persons. But lust – the desire to use a person’s body only for your own physical satisfaction sees others only as object to be used for satisfaction. It devalues their real worth as a person. Lust also devalues the person who lusts because it takes over their other feelings of respect or care. Giving into lust, doesn’t satisfy the lust – it makes it grow stronger, and may start to control you as a person. In Genesis, “Adam and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame.” because they had given themselves completely to each other, respecting each other’s full value as persons. After the Fall, we see nakedness in a distorted way – as an opportunity for selfish pleasure (lust) – so men and women lose confidence & dignity before each other, and feel shame. Shame can be good, because it makes us hide from the possibility of being “used” by the other person. Shame is good, because it helps us to protect our dignity.

Purity of Heart: seeing the world with a sin-free heart. Celibacy To promise and live without any sexual relationship from that time on Original Sin makes us “see” the world in a way that is distorted. Sin has changed our hearts from pure (good, loving and true) to impure (skewed towards evil). God’s power - the power of Jesus’ resurrection over sin and death - can purify our hearts back towards what is good, beautiful and true: leading to the happiness of loving others truthfully. Lust makes me see others as bodies for my pleasure; Greed makes me want things I don’t need; Envy makes me want things because they belong to others; Pride makes me think I’m the centre of attention, and others aren’t as good as me. The religious celibate does this to make a gift of their body to God. This shows our bodies are ultimately made for union with God in heaven… to serve others with purity of heart. This is because Christ purifies their heart to love with a self-giving love like his to be a sign of the Kingdom of God. The celibate’s happiness shows God is a real source of satisfaction. The celibate’s life is fruitful because it brings God’s self-sacrificing love and healing into the world. .

Marriage Jesus’ Nuptial Love Our bodies show us that marital union between man and woman is meant: to reflect the image of God’s love To be self-giving To be faithful To be fruitful – to discover mother/ fatherhood “The Great Mystery”* - from the beginning, God made marriage to be a hint of how He would save us: - by loving us with the same kind of self-giving “married” love, that brings a man and woman together in closest communion, for ever. Marriage is a sign of how we are saved by God: Christ gave himself up for us, to “marry” us as His bride – to make us “one flesh” with him, now and in heaven. This is how we are “saved” into the life of God. Marriage is a sacrament where God mysteriously unites 2 persons as one, in a way that makes their union holy. This man “must not divide”. God blesses the love of husband and wife to be fruitful, so man and woman discover the gift of mother/ fatherhood. Married love reflects the way God loves his people - with unfailing, constant love.