The Church is Body Positive
In 1564 Pope Pius IV ordered that the nude figures in Michelangelo’s masterpiece “The Last Judgement” be covered up. The work is iconic and stunning and sits squarely in the center of the Sistine Chapel in Rome. To many, the image was crude and shocking. They saw no reason for so much of the naked body to be on display in a place of worship.
Promptly, all the figures were covered up with fig leaves and loincloths and that’s how it remained for nearly 430 years. Then, one day, in 1980, Pope John Paul II made a historic commission. Not only did he order Michelangelo’s “Last Judgement” undergo restoration, but he also asked that all the covered figures be restored to their original nudity.
That’s right – the Pope of the Catholic Church ordered that more nudity be shown on this iconic work of art witnessed by millions. In 1994, at the unveiling ceremony of the work he said:
“The Sistine Chapel is, in fact, if one can put it thus, the sanctuary of the theology of the human body. ”
A lot of this can sound contrary to what we might think about the Church’s view of the body. We may have grown up with the idea that the body is “bad” or “dirty” or something merely tolerated. The same thing with sex. We may have come to believe that sex is something the Church merely “allows” for the sake of babies. In general, it can sound like the Church is not very body positive when we hear these things.
But to John Paul II, and the Church as a whole, the body is not an obstacle to God, it’s a window. How was the Pope able to call the art in the Chapel a “sanctuary of the theology of the human body”? It’s because the body is good.
Did you know that?
The Catholic Church believes that God made man and woman in His image and likeness. “In the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.” (Genesis 1:27) What does that even mean? It doesn’t mean that God looks like you or me, but that we look like God. We look like God in the ways that our bodies and souls reveal the truth of who God is.
Who is God? We believe that God is a communion of Divine Persons. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. One God, three Persons. As a communion of Persons, we can say that God is an eternal exchange of love. “God is love.” (1 John 4:8) God the Father loves God the Son, the Son loves the Father, and the Holy Spirit is the love between them. If we are made in the image and likeness of love then that means our bodies speak a specific truth about this.
When you look at the male and female bodies something is obviously clear – they’re different. The biggest difference comes from the fact that they each possess a part of their body that is incomplete without another. We don’t really have a reproductive system, per se, but rather reproductive parts. It’s only when those parts come together that a system is completed that results in an act of love that begets life.
The very fact that our bodies are incomplete without another says a lot. We are not made for isolation, but for community. We are not made for loneliness, but to give and receive love. That call to give and receive love is written right into our bodies and is a reflection of the God whose image we were created in.
The body, then, is good! Your body is good. Your body is so good, in fact, that it’s meant to be cherished and reverenced. This is what all the Church’s precepts about sex and the body are rooted in.
Why be modest? Not because the body is “dirty” and men can’t control themselves, but because the body is so good we don’t want to show it all to just anyone and everyone.
Why shouldn’t we use contraception? Not because the Church is “behind on the times” and “prudish”, but because we are called to image God, who is Love, and God’s love always begets life.
Why is pornograpghy bad? Not because the Church is afraid of sex, but because sex is so good and is meant to be treated with it’s proper dignity. Pornorapghy mocks that dignity.
Why wait to have sex until marriage? Not because the Church loves hard rules, but because God’s love is totally committed and so should ours be. Sex speaks a promise of total self-commitment to another person – and that’s a big deal.
The Church is “body positive”. You will not find anyone else more authentically positive about the human body. If you have been made to believe that you should apologize for having a body, I’m sorry you’ve lacked good, strong teachers in the faith. But the Church says that your body is good. You don’t just have a body, you are your body. You are a body-soul composite. You were made good – body and all.
Now, that doesn’t mean we go throwing our bodies around with no self-regard. Like it was mentioned above, when something is so good and valuable we cherish and protect it. Not out of fear, but out of great reverence for the truth and beauty it reveals. So we should strive to respect our bodies at all times and even love our bodies.
That doesn’t mean that if we’ve grown up feeling like we had to hide our bodies that we should go to the opposite extreme and flaunt it to everyone. Things that are precious to us we keep veiled. We reveal them to the appropriate people at the appropriate time. We reveal them to people who will treasure and honor them. We deserve to be honored.
If the topic of the Church’s views on the body and sex has peaked your interest, then I highly recommend that you check out the Theology of the Body. It’s a beautiful teaching by Pope John Paul II himself on the meaning of our sexuality and God’s purpose for it.
So much tension about what the Church teaches stems from a misunderstanding of the “why” behind that teaching. Diving into reflections like Theology of the Body is a great first step into understanding how the Church calls us to live lives that are fully alive.
