Saturday night, we had the opportunity to watch the first talk of Christopher West’s Theology of the Body DVD series. A few other couples from St. Rose took part as well.

These talks are based on Pope John Paul II’s monumental series of talks on the Theology of the Body. The talks occurred over a series of general audiences the Pope had from 1979 to 1984. 129 of them, in fact. The Vatican has since combined these “talks” into a massive document.

Mr. West is well-known for his ability to make this lofty subject understandable to the laity. The first talk was a very broad overview of the subject. Not much to chew on per say, but sweeping enough to have my mind swirling.

One point that Mr. West made really struck me.

“If the task of the twentieth century was to rid itself of the Christian sexual ethic, the task of the twenty-first century must be to reclaim it.”

It would be easy to take this statement as a call for prudence and chastity, but I think there is more to it. When we look at the latter half of the twentieth century, we see the liberation and empowerment of women. At the same, there is increased exploitation of women in this country. West is calling on men and women to cherish and respect their bodies. In this context, sex is not merely an act, but an identity. You are a man or woman and what does that mean to you, me, and God? This is one of the many questions that will hopefully be answered in the future sessions.

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