JPI 539/859
The “Nuptial Body” in Historical–Theological Perspective
This course studies John Paul II’s The Theology of the Body: Human Love in the Divine Plan—his “Wednesday catecheses”—through a reading of the text and a discussion of his scriptural, theological, and philosophical methodology. It shows how the dual unity of man and woman and their interpersonal communion, even in the body, image divine trinitarian life. The explanation will follow a historical thread, from Creation to the final resurrection of the flesh. A chapter devoted to the redemption of the body brought about by Christ through his death and resurrection will be added, in order better to grasp the theological unity of the proposal. John Paul II draws from this christological anthropology the nuptial nature of reality, which is expressed differently in marriage and consecrated celibacy, thus expressing the vocation of the Church as spouse of Christ. Special emphasis will be placed on the foundations of the Theology of the Body in the Christian tradition. The course will draw also on other works by John Paul II that deal with marriage and the family, such as The Jeweler’s Shop, Love and Responsibility, and Roman Triptych.
