If there is one phrase at the center of the Theology of the Body, it is “the nuptial meaning of the body” (some translations say “spousal meaning”). It sounds technical, but the idea behind it is simple and beautiful. Saint John Paul II taught that the human body, in its masculinity and femininity, has the capacity to express love, the kind of love in which a person becomes a gift and, through that gift, fulfills the very meaning of being a person.
What “nuptial” means here
“Nuptial” comes from the Latin word for wedding. John Paul II used it to say that the body is made for communion, not isolation. The difference between man and woman is not an accident. It is a sign that each is made to receive and to give, to belong to another.
This does not mean that only married people live the nuptial meaning of the body. John Paul II was clear that consecrated celibacy also lives this meaning, by giving oneself totally to God and to others for the sake of the Kingdom. Marriage is one form of self-gift, and it is the form most of us are called to.
Keep reading with Membership
The full lesson, every track and course, and Ask with Sources for you and your spouse.
Sources
- TOB 1979-1984, Man and Woman He Created Them John Paul II, General Audiences on the nuptial meaning of the body
- CCC 2332 Catechism of the Catholic Church, Male and female he created them
- CCC 2337 Catechism of the Catholic Church, The vocation to chastity
- CCC 2361 Catechism of the Catholic Church, The love of husband and wife
- Familiaris Consortio 11 John Paul II, Apostolic Exhortation on the Role of the Christian Family