(That was a hint...this post is a theological/philosophical meditation on the dignity of the human body, so if you're pressed for time please come back and read it later. I'll be throwing a few Theology of the Body quotes at you, so you need time to stop and think those through for yourself.)
Anyway, lately I have been seeing some (mostly unintentional) disrespect for the human body. Now when I say something like that I'm sure most people will think "sexual assault" but that's not really what I'm talking about. I want to focus on more of the day-to-day "manhandling" that can take place between individuals of the same or opposite genders. If you're not sure what manhandling is, a specific example would be goosing (the person you're friends with is walking behind you without your knowledge, and to alert you to their presence, they make a grab at your kidney-region, causing you to erupt in a sound similar to that of a goose). I am certain that I am not the only person on the earth not overly-fond of manhandling, and in fact, after reflecting on TOB and the teachings of St. Paul, I can see why it (although seemingly innocent) is actually very disrespectful.
Before I begin, I would like to give you the link to the specific Wednesday audience I'm taking quotes from: http://www.ewtn.com/library/papaldoc/jp2tb55.htm It's not very long, and I strongly encourage you to go read the whole thing.
That being said, my initial argument for why the body must be treated with respect was twofold: first, because it was created "in the divine image" (Gn. 1:27) and because it is the dwelling place of the individual, unrepeatable human soul. Although these are good arguments, I am far outdone by St. Paul and JPII. Taken from his first letter to the Corinthians, Paul says, "Do you not know that your body is a temple of the holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own?" (1 Cor. 6:19). Now I'm sure many of us have heard this verse from our parents when we asked them if we could get a tattoo/piercing/body modification, but JPII explains it for us (thank goodness):
"In Paul's eyes, it is not only the human spirit, thanks to which man is constituted as a personal subject, that decides the dignity of the human body. But even more so it is the supernatural reality constituted by the indwelling and the continual presence of the Holy Spirit in man—in his soul and in his body—as fruit of the redemption carried out by Christ."Whoa, what? Is JPII telling us that dignity is given to our bodies by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit?
"It follows that man's body is no longer just his own. It deserves that respect whose manifestation in the mutual conduct of man, male and female, constitutes the virtue of purity. This is not only because it is the body of the person. When the Apostle writes: 'Your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, which you have from God' (1 Cor 6:19), he intends to indicate yet another source of the dignity of the body, precisely the Holy Spirit, who is also the source of the moral duty deriving from this dignity."Yes, yes he is. BUT WAIT, THERE'S MORE! In the very next verse (v. 20) St. Paul says, "For you have been purchased at a price. Therefore glorify God in your body." You might have heard once or twice that we were purchased by the blood of the Lamb, Jesus Christ, who God sent "so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life" (Jn. 3:16). But did you know Jesus Christ came not only to redeem our souls, but our bodies as well? Oh, yes. Blessed John Paul II writes:
"Through redemption, every man has received from God again, as it were, himself and his own body. Christ has imprinted on the human body—on the body of every man and every woman—new dignity, since, in himself, the human body has been admitted, together with the soul, to union with the Person of the Son-Word . . . The fruit of redemption is the Holy Spirit, who dwells in man and in his body as in a temple. In this Gift, which sanctifies every man, the Christian receives himself again as a gift from God. This new, double gift is binding. The Apostle refers to this binding dimension when he writes to believers, aware of the Gift, to convince them that one must not commit unchastity."So to sum it up: Christ bought you with his blood and sent his Holy Spirit to dwell in you. If those aren't good enough reasons to convince you to respect your body, I don't know what is. And by "respect your body" I mean to put a stop to anyone that tries to manhandle you. Treat yourself and others with the respect you deserve. And although it sounds like a cliché from some safety video, you really do have the right to ask someone to stop touching you in a certain way that makes you feel uncomfortable or disrespected.
Until next time, my friends.
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