taken from the Theology of the Body Institutehttp://www.theologyofthebody.net/

What is the Theology of the Body?

The 'Theology of the Body' is Pope John Paul II's integrated vision of the human person - body, soul, and spirit. As he explains, the physical human body has a specific meaning and is capable of revealing answers regarding fundamental questions about us and our lives:

• Is there a real purpose to life and if so, what is it?
• Why were we created male and female? Does it really matter if we are one sex or another?
• Why were man and woman called to communion from the beginning? What does the marital union of a man and woman say to us about God and his plan for our lives?
• What is the purpose of the married and celibate vocations?
• What exactly is "Love"?
• Is it truly possible to be pure of heart?

All of these questions and many more are answered in Pope John Paul II's 129 Wednesday audiences, which were given between the years 1979 and 1984. His reflections are based on Scripture (especially the Gospels, St. Paul and the Book of Genesis), and contain a vision of the human person truly worthy of man. John Paul II discusses who man was in the beginning, who he is now (after original sin), and who he will be in the age to come. He then applies this message to the vocations of marriage and celibacy, in preparation for the Kingdom of Heaven.