Philippine E-Journals

THE NOTION OF “MAN’S ORIGINAL STATUS” IN JOHN PAUL II’S THEOLOGY OF THE BODY

Jove Jim S. Aguas

 

Abstract:

While the Theology of the Body (TOB), which is based on his Wednesday catechesis, mainly discusses marriage and the unity of man and woman, John Paul II started his catechesis by pointing out the “original” status of man,that is in the “beginning” when God created him. John Paul II used these Wednesday reflections at the general audiences to explain that “beginning” to which Christ referred in such a significant way. Christ referred to the “beginning” when in answering the Pharisees, He said: “Have you not read that the Creator from the beginning made them male and female...?” (Mt 19:4). John Paul II focused on this passage: “God created man in His own image; in the image of God he created him; male and female He created him” (Gn. 1:27) to discuss two essential points, the original status of man as being created in the image of God, and the institution of marriage based on the fact that man was created, male and female. Being created in the image of God is an indication of the basis of man’s relationship with God, and it affirms the absolute impossibility of reducing man to the world. This is man’s original status when he is still in the original innocence and happiness, and the original unity of man and woman. In this paper, I will focus on the philosophical foundation of the notion of the original status of man discussed in the TOB. It should be noted that many of the notions like the human person, human dignity, love, sexuality, marriage, concupiscence, and continence John Paul II discussed in his Wednesday catechesis have their philosophical expressions in his earlier philosophical writings as Karol Wojtyla, specifically The Acting Person, and Love and Responsibility. This paper contains three parts: first is on man’s original state, the second is the unity of man and woman, and the third is man's original experience.