St. Catherine's Vision of the Eschaton, PT II
We can find great wisdom in this amazing quote. Now, at the same time, we must not think that St. Catherine is in any way saying the body isn't good. Rather, she's arguing that beacuse of the soul, the body has meaning.
At first glimpse, this might seem to contradict JPII's assesment, that the body creates a theology of its own. Afterall, he does say, "At the Incarnation, the body entered theology through the main door." Over and over again, he mentions that the body creates and reveals a theology. "The body, and only the body, can make visible the invisible, the spiritual and the divine" (new translation). This might make one person think that it might be the other way around: the body gives reason for the soul to exist.
That would be wrong. We can look to death to find the reason why. At death, the body and soul are separated. The soul leaves the body, and longs for the return of the body at the Final Resurrection, as St. Catherine states. Yet, the body does present a theology, nonetheless. What we must understand though, is that while the body presents a theology and makes visible the invisible, it only does so because of the presence of the soul.
Angels are spiritual beings with no bodies. They are beautiful in the eyes of God. Up until the Resurrection, they were held higher than sinful man. Yet, thanks to the Word made flesh, the body is given a new dignity, and glorified man is held higher than the angels. If it isn't so, then Christ must've been confused since he came as a man. The Incarnation alters all of history. It affects all of creation, especially the crowning joy - man. Thanks to the Incarnation, "the body enters theology through the main door." It is the Word being made into flesh that does this. It is the soul that gives joy to the body. Not the other way around. While our bodily actions do affect the state of our souls, i.e. virtuous acts or sinful ones, it is the state of the soul that directly affects the state of our body. If our soul leaves our bodies, we die. That's what happens at death (I guess that "Death and the Theology of the Body" could be a post in and of itself). Yet, we must remember that the body and soul are so intricately intertwined that as St. Catherine says, "The soul will give of her abundance, and will re-clothe herself on the Last Day of Judgment, in the garments of her own flesh."
This will bring great joy to heaven.
At first glimpse, this might seem to contradict JPII's assesment, that the body creates a theology of its own. Afterall, he does say, "At the Incarnation, the body entered theology through the main door." Over and over again, he mentions that the body creates and reveals a theology. "The body, and only the body, can make visible the invisible, the spiritual and the divine" (new translation). This might make one person think that it might be the other way around: the body gives reason for the soul to exist.
That would be wrong. We can look to death to find the reason why. At death, the body and soul are separated. The soul leaves the body, and longs for the return of the body at the Final Resurrection, as St. Catherine states. Yet, the body does present a theology, nonetheless. What we must understand though, is that while the body presents a theology and makes visible the invisible, it only does so because of the presence of the soul.
Angels are spiritual beings with no bodies. They are beautiful in the eyes of God. Up until the Resurrection, they were held higher than sinful man. Yet, thanks to the Word made flesh, the body is given a new dignity, and glorified man is held higher than the angels. If it isn't so, then Christ must've been confused since he came as a man. The Incarnation alters all of history. It affects all of creation, especially the crowning joy - man. Thanks to the Incarnation, "the body enters theology through the main door." It is the Word being made into flesh that does this. It is the soul that gives joy to the body. Not the other way around. While our bodily actions do affect the state of our souls, i.e. virtuous acts or sinful ones, it is the state of the soul that directly affects the state of our body. If our soul leaves our bodies, we die. That's what happens at death (I guess that "Death and the Theology of the Body" could be a post in and of itself). Yet, we must remember that the body and soul are so intricately intertwined that as St. Catherine says, "The soul will give of her abundance, and will re-clothe herself on the Last Day of Judgment, in the garments of her own flesh."
This will bring great joy to heaven.
Labels: Saints
posted by Matthaeus Evangelista at 9:39 PM
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