Week 11

Theology of the Body
Week 11
The Eucharist: Receiving the Gift of the Bridegroom

“This is my command; love one another as I love you.” John 15:12

“The Eucharist is the ‘source and summit of the Christian life.’” CCC 1324

“Then Jesus declared, ‘I am the bread of life.’” John 6:35

“From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him.”
John 6:66

Recapping the Fundamentals of Our Study:
1. We looked back to the beginning to discover God’s original plan for our sexuality, which is our call to LOVE in and through the BODY and nuptial union.
2. We revisited the Garden of Eden and watched SIN enter the picture as Satan twisted and distorted Adam and Eve’s sexual desires.
3. We followed fallen historical man, including ourselves, and watched as sexual impurities and distortions led and continue to lead humanity away from Christ.
4. We looked at the cross, our HOPE, and learned of the REDEMPTIVE power to be set free – to once more love as Christ loves.
5. We examined the ways in which a mindset must be developed in order to understand God’s free, total, faithful, and fruitful love and ways to live this out.
6. We looked at marriage at the physical embodiment of our call to IMAGE God.
7. We looked at the celibate vocation and looked ahead to the promise of the resurrection of the body and our heavenly UNION with God!
8. Now, we will end our study by focusing on the Eucharist, the Consummation of the Cosmos, the consummation of the plan of God, for salvation and sexuality!

But first we must each pray for our eyes and hearts to be opened. The reason Satan has attacked and twisted our sexuality is to distort the goodness and Truth of the Eucharist!

9. As Catholics, we make a very bold claim regarding the Eucharist.
10. We believe that the bread and wine are actually transformed into the Body and Blood of Christ, which we receive.

Consummation of the Cosmos
1. As we have concluded before, God’s eternal plan is to unite us to Himself.

“In all wisdom and insight, he has made known to us the mystery of his will in accord with his favor that set forth in him as a plan for the fullness of times, to sum up all things in Christ, in heaven and on earth.” Ephesians 1:9-10

2. Heaven is the eternal union of the bride (the communion of saints) to the Bridegroom (Christ). Heaven is a union of communion!

“Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.”
Revelation 21:1-2

If God’s plan is to unite us to Himself, how do we become one with Him?
3. THE EUCHARIST!!! Through the Eucharist we become one flesh with Christ!

“’For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.’ This is a great mystery, but I speak in reference to Christ and the Church.” Ephesians 5:31-32

4. The Eucharist is where we are eternally united to Christ!
5. This is why the Incarnation is the center of the whole Christian mystery – this would not be possible had Christ not taken on our flesh.
6. God became man so that man could become god (god with a small “g” in the sense that we are one with God).
7. Christ humbled himself and took our flesh to offer himself as a sacrifice, so that through His death and Resurrection we too, if united with Him, will die and rise with Him!
8. What is a sacrament?
9. How is the Eucharist a Sacrament?

“Amen Amen I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you do not have life within you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day. For my flesh is true food and my blood is true drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him.”
John 6:53-56

God’s Plan of Salvation
1. Since the fall of Adam, God has made covenants with people offering them a second chance in restoring their relationship with him.
2. What is the difference between a contract and a covenant?
3. A covenant is more than a contract – it is an oath that binds two parties together as a family. Through His old covenants with Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, and David, God promised that the people of Israel would be His people and He would be their God, their Father.

What is the sign of the old covenant?
4. Circumcision! Why circumcision? Of all things? How incredibly odd is that?

Who will see the sign of the old covenant?
5. A man and his wife.
When?
6. During nuptial union.

What will they be reminded of?
7. Their covenant with God and His promise of fruitfulness to Abraham and his descendants.
What is circumcision?
8. The giving of flesh and the shedding of blood.

Why the male genitals? Why not a mark on the forehead?
9. First, because through the male genitalia we see the physical embodiment of our call to love as God loves, to make a gift of ourselves! And second, so that it will be revealed during nuptial union. And third, to be a reminder of God’s Fatherhood.
10. The Old Covenant prefigures the New and the New Covenant fulfills the Old.
11. The Old covenant is fulfilled through Christ, when God establishes a New Covenant with His people.

What is the sign of the New Covenant?
11. THE EUCHARIST!!!

While they were eating, Jesus took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying, "Take and eat; this is my body." Then he took the cup, gave thanks and offered it to them, saying, "Drink from it, all of you. This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. I tell you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it anew with you in my Father's kingdom." Matthew 26:26-29

How is circumcision fulfilled in the Eucharist?
12. Just as circumcision was, the Eucharist reveals God’s call to love.
“Love one another as I love you. No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” John 15:12-13
13. Just as circumcision was, the Eucharist is revealed in “nuptial union”

When did Christ participate in nuptial union?
14. In Latin, Consummatum Est!, It is consummated! Christ was consummating His marriage with His bride! The two become one flesh!!!
15. And just as in a wedding, when Christ died the veil was lifted. “Then the veil of the temple was torn down the middle.” Luke 23:45 Christ’s death had “lifted the veil” which separated God from humanity. God’s redemptive work was completed! His plan of salvation fulfilled! The gates of Heaven reopened to the Heavenly bride!

Through the Eucharist we enter into nuptial union with God!
(But remember, God is not sexual…)

This is exactly what Heaven is; the Eucharist is Heaven on Earth! Through the Eucharist Christ becomes one flesh with His bride, the Church.

“This is my body, given up for you.” Luke 22:19

“For he who has become your husband is your Maker, his name is the Lord of Hosts.”
Isaiah 54:5

“Christ is the Bridegroom because “he has given himself”: his body has been “given,” his blood has been “poured out” (cf. Luke 22:19-20) In this way “he loved them to the end” (John 13:1). The “sincere gift” contained in the sacrifice of the cross gives definitive prominence to the spousal meaning of God’s love…Christ is the Bridegroom of the Church. The Eucharist is the Sacrament of our redemption. It is the Sacrament of the Bridegroom and the Bride.”
John Paul II

You are what you eat: The Body of Christ
1. Isn’t it just a symbol? NO! Remember, Sacraments actually are or partake in the mystery of Christ…let’s look at an example
a. John 4:31-34 and Matthew 16:5-12. Here Jesus talks about food in a figurative way. The Jews interpret Him literally but Jesus shows them in plain language that He is only speaking figuratively
b. Now read John 6 especially John 6:51
c. Jesus stated at least 6 times that He is the Bread of Life. He repeats it again and again that we must eat His flesh and drink His blood in order to have eternal life.
d. Take note of verse 55: “my flesh is true food and my blood is true drink.” This is not the language of symbolism.
e. But what if it was meant to be symbolic? Let’s look at verse 66…
2. By receiving Christ into our bodies at Mass, you and I truly become the Body of Christ – each one of called with our specific gifts and talents to be Jesus’ hands and feet in this broken world.
4. What would happen if we truly believed, with our whole hearts, in the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist – Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity? How would this change our lives?
5. How humble is Christ to become disguised under bread and wine for us? Let us approach Him with reverence, thanksgiving, and belief in His plan.

“I do believe. Help my unbelief!" Mark 9:24

Did you know that Christ was crucified naked?
1. Through His very nudity, He revealed, made flesh, the plan of God for our salvation: to be united to Him as a Bridegroom is united to His Bride
2. Can you now understand why Satan’s attack is on sexuality, on the naked body? Because, by attacking the body, God’s perfect plan makes us uncomfortable and inhibits us from ultimately viewing the Eucharist in all its glory, in all its redemptive power!
3. Do you know that sexual intercourse (nuptial union) was from the very beginning was from the very beginning a foreshadowing of Christ union to the Church? This is why Satan hates God’s plan for sexuality and nuptial union…it points us directly to salvation!
4. Just think about it…the Eucharist is where we become “one flesh” with God! It points us to our eternal union with Him and we participate now in this union
(Hmmmmmm…where have we heard this before? The physical points us to the spiritual and we partake in the graces now…)


THE EUCHARIST IS HEAVEN ON EARTH!!!

Steubenville NW!

o If you’ve liked Convention, you’ll LOVE Steubenville NW! This is truly a weekend that can change your life.

o Steubenville Northwest is a high school youth gathering on the campus of Gonzaga University in Spokane!

o The theme this summer is "Above All", based on 1 Chronicles 29:11 and is based on the theme that God is bigger than all the world has to offer and His love for us is bigger than anything we can imagine….

o There will be speakers, workshops, awesome music, Mass, and a whole lotta good times

o We will be leaving the morning of Friday July 31st and returning the night of Sunday August 2nd

o The cost is $180 for 6 meals, two nights lodging in dorms at Gonzaga University, all sessions and materials needed. If you can’t afford all or some of it, we can help!

o Michael and I will be going, but we need more chaperones, too

o If you are interested, please let me know by June 14th so I can start getting the registration materials together

For more info, click here

Week 10

Theology of the Body Week 10
The Sacramentality of Marriage and Celibacy for the Kingdom

“The man and his wife were naked, yet they felt no shame.” Genesis 2:25

“’For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.’ This is a great mystery, but I speak in reference to Christ and the Church.” Ephesians 5:31-32

“Authentic married love is caught up into divine love.”
Gaudium et Spes 48

Recap of our study thus far:
1. God created men and women in His image and likeness. God is Love, and we are made to reflect and point to His Love.
2. Once again, through the union of a man and woman in marriage, God makes visible His love for mankind and His plan to be eternally united with us in Heaven.
3. Until sin entered the world, man and woman knew how to love one another perfectly – without causing hurt or shame
4. Women are called to be receptive and know their beauty is a reflection to others of Heaven
5. Women are also supposed to guard and protect their bodies from objectification and shame because a woman has the supreme gift of bringing life into the world (whether spiritual or physical)
6. Men are to sacrifice for women and “lay down their life” for them, just as Christ did on the cross – to be a warrior
7. Men are also supposed to initiate love with women by pursuing them, and to protect women from their own lust – by treating them respectfully and allowing God to perfect their sexual desires
8. Why does the church say that the only place for sex is marriage?
9. Why is sex out of marriage a lie?
10. How is the body a sacrament?
11. Why do we need to practice chastity in marriage?


God’s Plan of Salvation
1. Marriage is important because it is not simply a part of God’s plan, marriage IS God’s plan
2. CCC 1617 “The entire Christian life bears the mark of the spousal love of Christ and the Church. Already Baptism, the entry into the People of God, is a nuptial mystery; it is so to speak the nuptial bath which proceeds the wedding feast, the Eucharist.”
3. God created us so that we could participate in and experience his love and thus become eternally united with Him, who is love!
4. Marriage is an icon of the Trinity and our eternal union with God
5. Marriage, primarily through the act of nuptial union, embodies or makes visible the beauty and perfection of God’s plan of salvation. Why?


The Sacrament of Marriage
1. The inexhaustible question: what is a sacrament?
2. Marriage is the “primordial sacrament” JPII In other words it is the original sacrament.
3. Marriage is a symbol of the union between Christ and the Church Ephesians 5:31-32
4. Simply put, God reveals Himself to our world through marriage
5. But, Sacraments are more than symbols – they are signs that actually communicate or participate in what they symbolize, which in turn conveys GRACE
6. A marriage becomes more than a symbol and is elevated to a sacrament when both man and woman are baptized. Through their baptisms, both man and woman become a member of the Bride of Christ, who is united to her spouse, thus becoming one body (The Body of Christ!)
7. Because they are members of the Bride and Body of Christ, a Christian marriage is not merely a symbol of the love between Christ and the Church – it is a real participation in it!
8. On a side note, does anyone know when a marriage actually becomes valid in the eyes of the Church? Consummation! Consumatem Est!
9. CCC 1123 “The purpose of a sacrament is to sanctify men, to build up the body of Christ and, finally, to give worship to God.”
10. Where does the grace come in? Through the nuptial union (sex) and through the day-to-day love and sacrifice of being husband and wife
11. This said, what happens when the infatuation wears off??? What is true love in a marriage, anyway?
12. The Sacrament of Marriage is a covenant, NOT a contract!
13. We can break, or go against, a contract and then the contract is void
14. We can go against a covenant, but the covenant doesn’t go away


Ephesians 5:21-32
1. We must approach St. Paul’s words with new eyes because this passage is the basis for our study on marriage
2. Through the spousal analogy of Christ and the Church, St. Paul revolutionizes the reality of marriage

The Model Marriage
3. So, what does the marriage between Christ and the Church look like?
4. Christ sacrificed Himself for His Bride, the Church, and the Church accepts and submits to His love and bears life to the world.

Submit? Sign me up!
5. Ephesians 5:22-24: the most misunderstood passage in the Bible!
6. The word “submission” means “under the mission.” In other words, the woman (who is the model for humanity, remember) is under the mission of her husband
7. So, what is the mission of the husband?
8. Ephesians 5:27 “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the Church and gave Himself up for her to make her holy…”
9. How did Christ love the Church? HE DIED FOR HER!!!
10. If the mission of the husband is to sacrifice and “die” for his wife on a daily basis, what woman wouldn’t want to be under this mission?!
11. Remember: the love between a husband and wife must be reciprocal. It is not passive or forceful…it is a shared, equal, and mutual love

This is a Great Mystery
12. Through the earthly understanding of husband and wife we can only begin to understand the union between God and humanity, but how awesome that the “great mystery” of our redemption and salvation is made visible through marriage!!!
13. Ephesians 5:31-32 “For this reason a man will leave His father and mother and be united to His wife and the two will become one flesh. This is a profound mystery – but I am talking about Christ and the church.”
14. St. Paul directly quotes Genesis 2:24
15. Not only does this refer to a man and a woman, but also calls attention to what Christ did for His Bride: Jesus left His Father in Heaven and His mother on earth and was joined to His Bride, the Church…where? The Cross!

Consummatem Est!
John 19:30


PART II

Vocations
1. We all have the same call to LOVE
2. Your vocation is the path designated by God that is most likely to get you to holiness and our eternal goal, which is HEAVEN
3. What we are learning in this study on sexuality is how to get to Heaven, because your vocation is your path to Heaven and your sexuality is how you live your vocation!
4. How seriously will we take our vocations?
5. Since we are all called to self-sacrificial love, then the question of vocation is:
Who am I called to pour myself out, in love, to?


Celibacy For the Kingdom
1. “Celibacy for the kingdom signifies ‘the risen man, in whom there will be revealed…the absolute and eternal nuptial meaning of the glorified body in union with God himself.’” March 24, 1982
2. Some are called to an earthly marriage, which will point to and prepare them for the heavenly marriage. Others are called to skip the earthly marriage and participate here and now in the heavenly marriage to the Lamb through celibacy.
3. The celibate vocation is not what you give up, but what you embrace. Celibacy “skips” the sacrament of marriage and partakes in the real thing, a union with Christ.
4. If it is “not good for man to be alone,” Christian celibacy reveals that the ultimate fulfillment of solitude is found only in union with God.
5. Celibacy is not the same as chastity…we are all called to be chaste, no matter what our vocation.
6. “The Kingdom of God is at hand…”Mark 1:15 --> Celibacy proclaims to the world that the Kingdom of God is here!
7. The sacrament of Holy Orders, in turn, is where the spiritual reality of Heaven is realized through the physical means of the priest and the Catholic Church.
8. Celibacy does not demean or devalue marriage; rather it reveals its true goodness by demonstrating what marriage leads to.
9. Celibacy and marriage are complementary. We can’t understand, or even live, without one or the other! “Each one has his own special gift from God, one of a kind and one of another.” 1Corinthians 7:7


Why Celibate Male Priesthood?
1. “Some are incapable of marriage because they were born so; some because they were made so by others; some, because they have renounced marriage for the sake of the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 19:12
2. Celibacy is not a contradiction to everything we’ve talked about – it is the fulfillment!
3. Celibacy is not un­-natural, it is super-natural. It is a grace given by God to carry out a call to love and make a self-sacrificial gift.
4. Christ was not married to one particular woman because he came to marry the whole human race. The Church is his eternal Bride.
5. Ordained priests become a sacrament of Christ, acting in persona Christi.
6. They make the love of the heavenly Bridegroom efficaciously present to the Church, particularly in the Eucharistic sacrifice.
“This is my body, which will be given up for you.” Luke 22:19
7. Celibacy gives priests the freedom to sacrifice completely for his bride, which is the Church. How hard would is be to “lay down your life” for a wife, children, the church, and all your priestly duties?
8. Celibacy also is not the cause of sexual problems/scandals. It is the grave misunderstanding of our sexuality that must be addressed.


Why Can’t Women Be Priests?
1. Equality between the sexes doesn’t mean sameness It’s the fundamental difference of the sexes that reveals the great “nuptial mystery” – a mystery that brings life into the world
2. Christ was very controversial and didn’t care about racial or gender barriers. He could have chosen female priests…so, why didn’t he?
3. The priest “stands in” for Christ, who is the Bridegroom. If a woman were to do this, then the symbolism would become that of bride to bride. Is this life giving?
4. Again, in a sacrament the physical must point to the spiritual. The physical fatherhood must precede the ability to become a spiritual father.
5. This is why we can call a priest Father, and how religious fulfill their call to marriage. Through ordination or religious vows, priests and religious become the husband of the church or the wife of Christ and can thus bear spiritual children.

Let us open our hearts and ask God to guide us in our call to love.
"Let it be done unto me according to your word.”