Teachers from across the Diocese of Lansing gathered in this week to prayerfully study Pope St. John Paul II’s teachings on the dignity of the human person, including the truth of human sexuality, known as the “Theology of the Body”.
“The ‘Theology of the Body’ was borne of the genius of Pope St. John Paul the Great in the 20th century and, I am delighted to say, is now instructing, guiding and permeating all that we do in our Catholic schools across the Diocese of Lansing in the 21st century,” said Tom Maloney, Superintendent of Catholic Schools for the Diocese of Lansing, March 16.
The professional development day for teachers was held at Lansing Catholic High School on March 14. It was hosted by Ruah Woods Press, a Theology of the Body education center located in Cincinnati, Ohio. The Ruah Woods’ Grade K-to-12 curriculum, entitled “Rooted”, is already being taught in dioceses spanning 40 states across the US including the Diocese of Lansing. The study day in Lansing included Holy Mass with Bishop Earl Boyea as principal celebrant and homilist.
Theology of the Body is the popular term given to a collection of 129 general audiences given by Pope St. John Paul II from 1979-84 at the beginning of his pontificate. The late Holy Father referred to the catechesis as an “adequate anthropology, which seeks to understand and interpret man in what is essentially human”.
Pope St. John Paul II treats several main themes in his work, including love, gender, self-gift, vocation, creation, redemption, purity, covenant, Sacrament and the relevance and dignity of the body. Although commonly thought of as a manual of sexual morality, Theology of the Body aims to touch the deepest roots of being human – exploring the intrinsic relationships, to God and to others, for which we were each created.
To find out more go to: https://www.ruahwoodspress.com/
