At the beginning of human history, our first parents experienced original innocence, the state in which they had enjoyed harmony within themselves, in God’s friendship, in relationship with each other and in relation to the rest of creation. They then experienced a fundamental break from that original innocence when the …

This article is part of an ongoing series on Pope St. John Paul II’s Theology of the Body (TOB). Up to this point, our reflections have focused on God’s original plan for humanity as manifest in the state and experiences of our first parents in the beginning. Their experiences are …

This article is part of an ongoing series on Pope St. John Paul II’s Theology of the Body (TOB). For many months now, we have explored Pope St. John Paul II’s reflections on “original man” (i.e., man and woman before the Fall). We pondered original solitude, original unity and original …

This article is part of an ongoing series on Pope St. John Paul II’s Theology of the Body (TOB). In recent articles, we reflected on the logic of gift and the spousal meaning of the body. Our very existence is a gift from God that He lovingly gives us at …

This article is part of an ongoing series on Pope St. John Paul II’s Theology of the Body (TOB). All of creation is a gift held in being at every moment by God, whose inner life is an eternal giving and receiving of love. Since the very meaning of our …

This article is part of an ongoing series on Pope St. John Paul II’s “Theology of the Body” (TOB). Last month, I reflected on how the logic of gift is a golden thread woven throughout Pope St. John Paul II’s thought, especially in Theology of the Body. All of creation, …

This article is part of an ongoing series on Pope St. John Paul II’s “Theology of the Body” (TOB). For several months, I reflected on the “original experiences” explored by Pope St. John Paul II in his Theology of the Body (TOB). Before moving on to other aspects of TOB, …

This article is part of an ongoing series on Pope St. John Paul II’s “Theology of the Body” (TOB). Last month, I introduced Pope St. John Paul II’s concept of original nakedness. In that reflection, we saw that our first parents “were both naked, and were not ashamed” (Gen. 2:25). …

This article is part of an ongoing series on Pope St. John Paul II’s “Theology of the Body” (TOB).  In last month’s article, I mentioned how Pope St. John Paul II saw in the unity and distinction of our humanity as male and female a profound truth about what it …

This article is part of an ongoing series on Pope St. John Paul II’s “Theology of the Body” (TOB). In recent articles, I reflected on Pope St. John Paul II’s concept of original unity. Reflecting on Genesis 2, the pope drew attention to our own experience of being male or …