This year has been quite a year for me in seminary formation. The 2009-2010 year started way back during the second week of August as the new seminarians arrived at St. John Vianney College Seminary for New Student Experience. When the returning seminarians arrived back for the year on August 20th, we met a LARGE group of new men who had already bonded and congealed. The first few months were a bit difficult adjusting to the large number of seminarians, the largest sized house in some 35 years. However, once the returning men and the new men came together, walking on the same journey of discovering the Lord’s love for each one of us, we were able to bond as a house of brothers. It was going to be an interesting, grace-filled 50th Anniversary Year for the seminary community!!

On Thursday, September 17, 2009, the seminary community welcomed Christopher West, who came to share a bit about John Paul II‘s Theology of the Body. At the time of his visit, Mr. West had been receiving criticism of many people stating that his commentary on the JPII’s work had been misrepresented by the Theology of the Body Institute. However, the seminarians here can attest to the powerful ministry of Christopher West and the institute he founded. The day after his visit, Justin Cardinal Rigali (Archbishop of Philadelphia) and the Most Rev. Kevin Rhoades (then Bishop of Harrisburg) issued a joint statement in support of Christopher West. They wanted to “express strong support for the important work of the Theology of the Body Institute and, in particular, that of Christopher West.” They continued by saying:

Two weeks ago, the seminarians had a week packed with all kinds of exciting events, including a visit from Christopher West for a Theology of the Body conference, as well as visits from our bishops for Board of Trustees meetings. We also participated in a Day of Recollection,which was very well received by yours truly–I was able to rest with the Lord with no worries about papers, tests, etc. This past week, the seminary community celebrated the first major event in its 50th Anniversary year with the dedication of a new mosaic to Mary, Star of the Sea and the consecration of the seminary to Mary. What an exciting couple of weeks!! Thankfully, the next couple of weeks are going to be a little more ordinary.

Throughout this week, most of us here will be working on papers that are due in the very near future. We will also be studying for our mid-term exams, which are coming up next week (October 5th-9th). However, then we all have something to look forward to; mid-semester break is the week of October 12th. For me, break will be spent catching up on some much needed rest and spending time with family in Orlando. I am mostly looking forward to getting to see my nephew crawl around the house.

Off to the chapel for Morning Prayer and Mass. Bye for now….

This past week, the seminary community welcomed Christopher West and his conferences on John Paul II’s Theology of the Body (TOB). The TOB is a collection of 129 Wednesday General Audience reflections by JP II on the “meaning of human embodiment as male and female.” (PTOB, p. 2) If you have never heard of this fantastic and revolutionizing series of reflections, I encourage you to find the book, get a copy, and read it! It will change the way you perceive your relationships with friends and family members and, more importantly, your relationship with God.

The Theology of the Body is not simply for married couples, it is meant for all people who are looking to grow in their relationship with the Lord by examining their relationships with their fellow human beings. It is only through the relationships we have here on Earth that we can get a glimpse of what true union with God involves. We have to remember, however, that man is made in the likeness of God, not the other way around. “God is pure spirit in which there is no place for the difference between the sexes. But the respective ‘perfections’ of man and woman reflect something of the infinite perfection of God.” (CCC 370) Christopher West calls the TOB the “lens through which to view the whole mystery of human life.” (PTOB, p. 7)

The most profound aspect of the conferences for me was the part on celibacy. Throughout the years, there have been so many different reasons explaining why priests should remain unmarried. Here is the common one (this one I have used to explain celibacy in the past.) “If a priest gets married, he will not be able to devote the majority of his time to the people of his church community. Instead, the majority of his time will be given to his family.” I never realized how ignorant this statement really was until this series of conferences. Christopher West explained it to us in a way that really made sense.

A man who gives his life to the church by becoming a celibate is “someone who freely forgoes sexual relations in order to devote all of his energies and desires to the union that alone can satisfy. Those who are celibate for the kingdom share the same vocation to love as those who marry, but manifest this same vocation in a different manner. By devoting themselves entirely to the marriage of Christ and the Church, celibate men and women boldly proclaim that ‘the kingdom of God is here’.” (PTOB, p. 20)

He goes on to say:

“Christian celibacy is not a rejection of sexuality. Rather, it is meant to be a living out of the ultimate purpose and meaning of sexuality—union with Christ and the Church. The celibate person must embrace the spousal meaning of his or her body and live it in an authentic call to spiritual union and fertility.” (PTOB, p. 23)

“Celibacy is not a life of sexual repression but of sexual redemption. Christ calls everyone to experience liberation from lust through the redemption of the body. Only to the degree that one is free from the domination of lust is he or she able to live a healthy life either as a married person or as a celibate.” (PTOB, p. 23)

If there is anyone who is interested in this topic, I encourage you to do some research and look into what this is all about. Once you get into these amazing reflections by John Paul II, you will be amazed at how much it will really change your life. I have simply just begun my personal study of the Holy Father’s reflections and it has already touched me tremendously. Imagine what it could do for you.

For more information on the Theology of the Body, or to find resources to begin your personal studies of it, please visit http://www.tobinstitute.org.

Citations:

CCC—Catechism of the Catholic Church

PTOB—Proclaiming the Theology of the Body: A Seminar for Priests

PHOTO 1 SOURCE: Tom Pringle

PHOTO 2 SOURCE: St. John Vianney College Seminary