Friday, January 18, 2013

(29) Fr. Thomas Loya: Freedom of Religion and the Theology of the Body

Fr. Thomas Loya, pastor of Annunciation Byzantine Catholic Church in Homer Glen, IL., was the 2011 Diocesan Men's Day of Renewal speaker. An internationally known expert on the subject, he spoke on the Theology of the Body. Blog #24 introduces his talk. At the end of that article is a bio and a promotional article that we wrote on him for the Cleveland Catholic and secular media regarding the 2011 Men's Conference. To see numerous samples of Fr. Loya's talks, go to www.youtube.com and type in Fr. Thomas Loya. More of his materials can be obtained from www.taborlife.org.

Fr. Thomas Loya

FREEDOM OF RELIGION AND THE THEOLOGY OF THE BODY
By Fr. Thomas J. Loya, STB., MA. Tabor Life Institute www.taborlife.org

           The “theology of the body” means that all of creation, most especially the human body, reveals
something beyond itself. The physical world points to and makes present spiritual or transcendent realities. Everything in creation “speaks” a language. It tells us the truth about itself. The human body reveals the person and all that comes with that very potent word, “person”. The theology of the body reveals that we are gendered persons. This observation opens up for us an infinite world of insight into why and how we are hardwired as male or female persons. These insights in turn help us to know how to live as a male person and a female person and in turn how to be truly happy and fulfilled. Looking at life, especially the human person, through the lens of the theology of our bodies is actually crucial to civilization. When we do not see life through the theology of the body we can end up with something that threatens civilization. This threat to civilization actually occurred in America just recently. It is the erosion of the most cherished of American freedoms, the freedom of religion.

            The HHS Mandate. The Obama administration, through the department of Health and Human Services, has mandated that non-profit institutions such as church-affiliated hospitals, colleges and social
service agencies will have to cover free birth control for their employees as the “preventive services” dimension of health insurance coverage. These birth control items include abortifacient drugs and sterilization. In essence, this mandate requires religious institutions to choose between violating their consciences or foregoing healthcare plans for their employees. This is a direct attack on First Amendment rights, access to health and on religious liberty. The Catholic bishops of America have called this action by the Obama administration, “literally unconscionable”. Supporters of the Obama administration’s mandate claim that this decision is putting access and the reproductive rights of women first. Furthermore, supporters claim that
women who work for religious institutions will no longer have to settle for a lower standard of health coverage.

             Since when is pregnancy a disease? And since when is preventing pregnancy considered to be
“medicine?” Why is our natural gift for love and fruitfulness, stamped in the very language and theology of our bodies seen as something that just gets in our way, something to be suppressed or eliminated at all costs? We are fond of saying in our country that no one religion should impose its values on the rest of us. So, when did government get the right to impose its values on religion? When did government get the right to disregard personal or corporate conscience? The answer to all of these questions is when we fail to see the human person honestly—through the prism of the theology of the body. The language of the theology of the body tells us that freedom is intrinsic to us as human persons—the freedom to believe and live according to that
belief. This is something that the Founding Fathers of this country knew and built in to our Constitution. Our Founding Fathers designed the United States of America around a view of the human person, not just around some ideology, trend or the latest fad of political correctness.

            A Grave Threat to the Free Exercise of Religion. Ironically, (or Providentially) on the very same day that the Obama administration was committing this unconscionable blow at religious liberty, Pope Benedict XVI was addressing American bishops in Rome about the challenges they face in protecting things like the freedom of religion and conscience that are currently under threat in the United States of America. The Pope reminded the bishops, and the world, that “when a culture attempts to suppress the dimension of ultimate mystery and closes the door to transcendent truth, it inevitably becomes impoverished and falls prey to reductionist and totalitarian readings of the human person and the nature of society.” Get the theology of the body right and you get America right.

Thursday, January 17, 2013

(28) Fr. Thomas Loya: No Such Thing as a Marriage Problem

Fr. Thomas Loya

NO SUCH THING AS A MARRIAGE PROBLEM WITH THE THEOLOGY OF THE BODY

By Fr. Thomas J. Loya, STB., MA. Tabor Life Institute www.taborlife.org

            As a priest and pastor I often receive the phone call: “Fr. Tom, can we come in to see you? We are having marriage problems.” This phone call almost always comes from the wife and almost never from the husband. I tell the wife to try and convince her husband that both of them should come to see me together. Few men ever really want to come to “see the priest” and talk about relational problems. When the wife finally comes to see me, dragging her reluctant husband along, I listen to their story, to their wounds and pains.

            After they tell me their story I offer a statement to the couple that is both encouraging and confusing at the same time: “Take heart. There are no such things as marriage problems.” That‟s right. You read this correctly: There are no such things as marriage problems. I tell the couple: “You see, what we normally deem to be marriage problems are actually problems in what is known as the theology of the body. It is a question of, who man will be for woman and who woman will be for man? If we get this right all of life goes right. If we get this wrong, everything in the whole world goes wrong.

           This is because the human person is a microcosm of the universe and the universe is a macrocosm of the human person. The answer to the question, who man will be for woman and who woman will be for man is actually revealed in the language of our bodies as men and as women, hence, a theology of the body. The theology of the body provides the why behind being human, male and female. The reason we can trust our bodies as a revelation of truth is because, let‟s face it, no matter who we are, what religion, what ethnic background, profession, rich or poor, we all have a body and it is either male or female.

           Since as human beings we are designed in an integrated and not compartmentalized or fragmented way, our gendered bodies are designed to work consistently with our heart, mind, emotions, in fact in the fundamental way in which we interface with all of reality.

            Unless we know why we are male and female, we do not know how to be male and female. The hurts that come in relationships such as marriage are really a matter of man and woman not knowing why they are man and woman. This results in their not really knowing how to be man and woman which in turn results in their not knowing how to be for each other.

           They fail to complete for one another what their genders are designed to do: help meet one another‟s legitimate needs and these needs are stamped in their very bodies as male and female. When this happens a process of hurt begins which compounds over time resulting in what we commonly label as marriage problems.

           Our bodies actually speak a language. They point to transcendent realities; the real meaning behind our being male and female. Happiness in a relationship, in fact in all of life, comes down to whether we are telling a truth with the language of our bodies or telling a lie. I call this entering the H-zone—the Honesty zone. Being honest to the order of things is the secret to happiness especially when it comes to relationships. When we dis-honesty we end up with another "H" word---hurt.

            A Mutual Gift of Self. So what language do our male and female bodies actually speak? What is the theology that they point toward? Our male and female bodies, precisely in the fact that they are gendered speak a language of gift. The human person is the only creature that exists for its own sake. In other words, we have no natural predators, (except at times ourselves.) Human beings do not exist for animals and plants, rather animals and plants exist for the proper use and benefit and enjoyment of human beings.

            Because human beings are made for their own sakes, so to speak, human beings discover their true
selves only by making of themselves a sincere and total gift of themselves to one another. This is stamped in our very bodies as male and female: A man's body, for instance, does not make sense except in relation to a woman's body and vice versa. The very parts of a man's body that mark his gender are designed so that he can give himself away (make a gift of himself) to a woman. A woman's body is designed so that she in turn can make a gift of herself to a man. This is the only thing that makes total sense of the very parts of her body that mark her gender. Male and female bodies are designed to fit together. But along with the body comes the mind, heart, emotions, in fact our total selves.

           There is a whole world to unfold in the language of our bodies. And this language holds the secret to happy marriages and relationships. It answers the question: Who will man be for woman and who will woman be for man? We will unfold that world in this series; The Theology of the Body. See more on Fr. Tom Loya's website, www.taborlife.org.

Saturday, December 1, 2012

(27) Cardinal Dolan: An Analysis of the Election Through the Lens of Faith

Cardinal Dolan gives a great analysis of the 2012 Election through the lens of faith.

Looking Back at Election Day

CARDINAL TIMOTHY DOLAN

After asking me how our recovery from Hurricane Sandy is going, most folks these days then inquire about how I think "the Church did" on election day.

The 2012 campaign is over, and the dust is settling. After asking me how our recovery from Hurricane Sandy is going, most folks these days then inquire about how I think "the Church did" on election day.

Such a question usually triggers a mini-catechism lesson from me, as I reply that, actually, "the Church" wasn't on the ballot, and the election was hardly a referendum on "the Church." The Church, I go on, was founded by the one who stated that "My kingdom is not of this world," and whose members consider the statement of St. Paul, "We have our true citizenship in heaven," as inspired by God. The Bible's caution, "Put not your trust in princes," would today probably be rendered, "Put not your trust in politicians."

All true enough, and, in a genuine way, this attitude gives us a benign indifference to politics and elections. We "seek first the Kingdom of God," not the power and platforms of worldly politics.

But this "indifference" is tempered by the fact of faithful citizenship. We are, as a matter of fact, very concerned about matters in this world, precisely because God has revealed truths about the human person that have serious implications for people of faith. So, yes, while we are much more passionate about heaven than earth, about the teachings of Jesus and His Church than the platforms of any party or the promises of any candidate, we do have a duty to bring the values of faith to the political process.

Did we, Tuesday a week ago?

The data is still coming in, and will be months in arriving and being interpreted. But, once again, it seems as if "we won some, we lost some."

One issue of deep concern to Catholics and many, many others is the defense of marriage from those who would presume to redefine it to suit contemporary movements (e.g., divorce on demand, "trial" marriage, or "same sex" marriage.) Up until this election day, 32 states had given their people the chance to "redefine marriage" (an oxymoron for us), and 32 said no! (Some states took a more sinister route, ignoring a referendum, and allowing the legislature to tamper with the definition.)

The news last election day was not as bright, as the dilution of the essence of marriage won in three states. So, it's 32-3. But, there's no denying that the "winds are changing." I'm told that the results were close in those three states, and that the exit polls showed that people of faith voted not to redefine marriage.

The death penalty is another issue of concern to those who believe that the promotion of the dignity of the human person and the protection of human life is the normative guide in our voting. Here again the results were not positive. The electorate in California had the chance to reject this lethal and unjust penalty. The Church in California did its best to preach the "Gospel of Life," but apparently was less than effective. The referendum lost.

Better news in Maryland, where the Church was true to our birthright of advocacy for the immigrant, and was part of a coalition very successful in pushing for the Dream Act, allowing immigrant children to attend college; and a ray of sunshine in Massachusetts, as Cardinal Sean O'Malley led a strong ecumenical and community based effort to defeat euthanasia.

It gets touchy when we try to analyze the presidential election with the lens of faith. Some assume that the re-election of the president was a setback for people of faith. That may be an exaggeration. There is no denying that the president and his party are on record in promoting guidelines that gravely intrude upon religious freedom, and in their desire to expand unfettered access to abortion at all stages. These two issues are of towering import to people inspired by the principles of human dignity and the sanctity of life.

do worry about campaigns that let candidates off easy when it comes to substantive content on urgent issues, concentrating instead upon soundbites and caricatures.

The polls show that Catholics voted for the president, but that such support was lower than four years ago; and that Catholics who attend Sunday Mass regularly heavily supported his opponent. These statistics would support a contention that Catholics do indeed let their faith have a say in the politics.

Of course, through the eyes of faith, neither candidate was perfect, as no political leader ever can be.

Some general impressions and worries do seem dominant 10 days later:

Thank God we are citizens of a country where campaigns and elections occur peacefully. Not every country, tragically, can say that.
While we may be weary of conflict over political issues, even within the household of faith, it at least shows that we Catholic take our citizenship seriously, and do try our best to let the light of faith illuminate our political decisions.
I do worry about campaigns that let candidates off easy when it comes to substantive content on urgent issues, concentrating instead upon soundbites and caricatures.
I am concerned about the lopsided influence of well-oiled PACs, funded by the rich on both sides. (The bishops in the state of Washington report that they were outspent 12 to 1 in their attempt to defend marriage; Cardinal O'Malley tells us that his opponents, promoting euthanasia, had all the money they needed for ads.)
I worry that the Democrats have gone from wanting to keep abortion "safe, legal, and rare" to the party that wants abortion at every stage of pregnancy, with no defense at all of the baby in the womb, completely funded by the government.
I fear the Republicans have turned their backs on immigrants, succumbing to the old American curse of nativism.
I'm concerned about a growing sentiment in our country that turns John Kennedy's lofty challenge on its head, as more and more now chant, "Ask not what I can do for my country, but what my government can do for me."
I worry about the popular wave of branding people who want to protect the life of the baby in the womb, and defend marriage as traditionally understood and given, as narrow-minded bigots trying to "impose" their outmoded views on others.
And I fear the dictatorship of the self: those on one side who insist that my money, my property, my income are all mine, and I have no duty to others, especially the poor; those on the other side who claim that my body, my urges, my sexual preferences, my life, my choices are supreme, and will not be subject to the common good. (Even to the right to life of the baby in the womb).

When all is said and done, we plod along, knowing that this side of Gabriel's trumpet, we'll never have a perfect setup, that Christ is our King, that "we have here no lasting home," and that faith and the freedom to live it out is the greatest protection of all to the dignity of the human person and the sanctity of life.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

Archbishop Timothy Michael Dolan. "Looking Back at Election Day." Catholic New York (November 15, 2012).

Reprinted by permission of Catholic New York.

THE AUTHOR

Archbishop Timothy Michael Dolan was named Archbishop of New York by Pope Benedict XVI on February 23, 2009. Born February 6, 1950, Archbishop Dolan was ordained to the priesthood on June 19, 1976. He completed his priestly formation at the Pontifical North American College in Rome where he earned a License in Sacred Theology at the Pontifical University of St. Thomas. In 1994, he was appointed rector of the Pontifical North American College in Rome where he served until June 2001. While in Rome, he also served as a visiting professor of Church History at the Pontifical Gregorian University and as a faculty member in the Department of Ecumenical Theology at the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas. The work of the Archbishop in the area of seminary education has influenced the life and ministry of a great number of priests of the new millennium. Archbishop Dolan is the author of Doers of the Word: Putting Your Faith Into Practice, To Whom Shall We Go?, and Advent Reflections: Come, Lord Jesus!.