The Theology of the Body Eschatological Man
Stages of Humanity Here we are! Creation The Fall Second Coming Original Man Historical Man Eschatological Man The era of humanity before the Fall The period from the Fall and ends when Christ returns The final stage of our perfection, achieved in the resurrection at the end of time
Objectives Redemption through Christ Destiny (eschatology) of Man Communion of saints the perfect fulfilment of the church and community life Ἰδοὺ, καινὰ ποιῶ πάντα
The Redemption of the Body We ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, we also groan within ourselves as we wait for adoption, the redemption of our bodies. Rm 8: 20 The redemption of the body, according to Paul, is an object of hope The Protoevangelium (Gen 3: 15) from the very beginning, gives hope to man, the first announcement of salvation Christ gives fulfillment to this hope, in his Paschal Mystery
I will put enmities between thee and the woman, and thy seed and her seed: she shall crush thy head, and thou shalt lie in wait for her heel. Gen 3: 15
Redemption through Christ The 3 constitutive elements of the Theology of the Body are contained in what Christ says when He: appeals to the beginning (Mt 19: 8) Original Man appeals to the human heart (Mt 5: 28) Historical Man appeals to the resurrection (Mt 22: 30) Eschatological Man Christ speaks to man & His words serve precisely the hope that Romans speaks about I came so that they might have life and have it more abundantly. Jn 10: 10
Redemption through Christ In his everyday life, man must draw from the mystery of the redemption of the body, the inspiration & strength to overcome the evil that is dormant in him (TOB 86: 7) The hope of everyday shows its power in human works & & even in the very movements of the human heart Christ fully reveals to man to man himself and makes his supreme vocation clearer (GS, 22)
From Expulsion.
.To the Heavenly Jerusalem
Be not afraid! Christ our Joy Christ our Hope Christ our Redemption
Objectives Redemption through Christ Destiny (eschatology) of Man Communion of saints the perfect fulfilment of the church and community life Ἰδοὺ, καινὰ ποιῶ πάντα
What is my destiny? What happens after death? Is there a Heaven? What happens to my body?
Michaelangelo (1541) The Last Judgement, Sistine Chapel
Christ Appeals to the Resurrection Jesus answered them, You are wrong, because you know neither the scriptures nor the power of God. For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven. And as for the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was said to you by God, I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? He is God not of the dead, but of the living. Matthew 22: 29 32
The Divinization of the Body Divinization signifies not only that the spirit will master the body, but, I would say, that it will also fully permeate the body and the powers of the spirit will permeate the energies of the body. (TOB 67:1)
The Divinization of the Body Manichaeism body bad, spirit good? The spousal meaning of the body as an icon Will there be sex in heaven? Participate fully in the divine nature The Communion of Saints
Now Soul Body Historical Man What I do, I do not understand. For I do not do what I want, but I do what I hate. Rm 7: 15
Eschaton Soul Body Divinized body In the resurrection, the body will return to perfect unity and harmony with the spirit: man will no longer experience the opposition between what is spiritual and what is bodily in him TOB 67: 1
Heaven CCC 1024 This perfect life with the Most Holy Trinity this communion of life and love with the Trinity, with the Virgin Mary, the angels and all the blessed is called "heaven." Heaven is the ultimate end and fulfillment of the deepest human longings, the state of supreme, definitive happiness.
Heaven CCC 1028 Because of his transcendence, God cannot be seen as he is, unless he himself opens up his mystery to man's immediate contemplation and gives him the capacity for it. The Church calls this contemplation of God in his heavenly glory the beatific vision 1 Jn 3: 2, 1 Cor 13: 12, Rev 22: 4
Objectives Redemption through Christ Destiny (eschatology) of Man Communion of saints the perfect fulfilment of the church and community life Ἰδοὺ, καινὰ ποιῶ πάντα
The Communion of Saints The reality of the other world, in the categories of the rediscovery of a new, perfect subjectivity of everyone and at the same time of the rediscovery of a new, perfect intersubjectivity of all This reality signifies the real & definitive fulfillment of human subjectivity, and on this basis, the definitive fulfillment of the spousal meaning of the body (TOB 68: 4)
The Communion of Saints 958 When the Lord comes in glory, and all his angels with him, death will be no more and all things will be subject to him. But at the present time some of his disciples are pilgrims on earth. Others have died and are being purified, while still others are in glory, contemplating in full light, God himself triune and one, exactly as he is LG 49; Mt 25:31; 1 Cor 15:26-27
The Communion of Saints
Resources Man & Woman He Created Them John Paul II Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) Lumen Gentium
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