John Paul II’s Theology of the Suffering Body
Journal Title: The Person and the Challenges. The Journal of Theology, Education, Canon Law and Social Studies Inspired by Pope John Paul II - Year 2019, Vol 9, Issue 1
Abstract
This article evaluates the experience of suffering and its redemptive value in the light of St. John Paul II’s Theology of the Body. It begins by exploring how man was created in “the beginning,” before the experience of evil and sin. Man’s “original experiences” of solitude, unity and nakedness help man to understand himself as a being who is always in relation and is called to transcendence. These experiences continue to resonate within man, though sin can blind him from interpreting them correctly. Instead of man’s body opening him to relations and receiving the love of God and neighbor as a gift, he often experiences shame for his disordered desires, which enclose man within himself. While shame can be a negative experience, it is also a “boundary experience,” in that it points man to an original goodness that is now lacking due to the experience of evil. Suffering, likewise, can be a boundary experience that opens man, through his vulnerability, to recognizing his need for communion with God and neighbor. Christ, therefore, does not eliminate suffering but redeems it, transforming it into a revelation of God’s love. Suffering has become a path to conversion, to rebuilding goodness in man’s heart, and to liberation from evil. Redemption occurs when man freely opens himself to Christ’s love in the midst of suffering, making up for what is “lacking” in Christ’s suffering: our participation. Suffering isn’t a problem to be solved so much as a mystery to enter into. Through participation in Christ’s suffering, not only is man able to experience his own redemption, he can also offer his body with Christ for the redemption of the world.
Authors and Affiliations
Zachary Swantek
Keywords
Related Articles
- EP ID EP633485
- DOI 10.15633/pch.3363
- Views 82
- Downloads 0
La volontà di vivere e la responsabilità dell’uomo nel pensiero di Etty Hillesum e di Viktor Frankl
The quest for and the discovery of the meaning of life, so basic to human existence, play a fundamental role in the process of self‑ discovery, that is, in the examination of our own identity, subjec...
Confessional and catechetical nature of religious education in Poland
This paper aims at bringing to light a presentation of the nature of religious education in Poland. This study will therefore present a brief historical outline of religious upbringing in Poland, its curr...
Songs during the Canonization Mass of Blessed Kinga Chaired by Pope John Paul II in Stary Sącz (June 16, 1999)
The 7th Pilgrimage of the Holy Father to Poland was a special time for the Tarnowski Church community, because during the pilgrimage John Paul II was to come to Stary Sącz to canonize Saint Kinga. An important element of...
Religious Education at Preschool. Main Assumptions and Kindergarten Teachers’ Opinions
The historical, political, social and cultural issues of the past have strongly impacted upon the current Religious Education at preschools in Poland. In the beginning of sociopolitical transformation of Poland the confe...
Empathic parenting and child development
Our experience of the world and life is associated with our sense of ‘self’, which begins to grow in the preverbal period through the child’s primary relationships with his/her parents. Such relationships should be opt...