The New English Translation:

Last year, Michael Waldstein came out with a new, better English translation of Pope John Paul II's celebrated Theology of the Body. The new translation is entitled "Man and Woman He Created Them."

Before his election to the papacy on October 16, 1957, the then Karol Card. Wojtyla has already completed the Polish manuscripts of the bood he intended to publish. This unpublished book became the main source of the Theology of the Body series of reflections that he started to deliver as Pope during his Wednesday General Audiences. Based on the Polish texts, the Holy Father intended to deliver a total of 135 reflections but he later decided to cut it down to 129. The 129 reflections that he delivered were first published in the L'Osservatore romano (English edition) and which were then subsequently compiled by the Daughters of St. Paul into one volume entitled, "The Theology of the Body: Human Love in the Divine Plan."

The new English translation by Waldstein is supposed to be much better than the Pauline edition since it took into consideration the Polish original Polish manuscripts. It is also a more complete translation since it incorporates all 135 reflections instead of only 129, and hence gives us a better and more complete presentation of the Pope's ideas.


What is Theology?:

To put it simply, "theology" somes from the theos and logos and literally means the study of God and everything else as they are revelatory of God. Theology then has to do with the nature of God as He has revealed it to us. It has to do with the inmost reality of God and his plan for us men and women whom he created in his image and likeness.


Why is the body a theology?:

Indeed, why John Paul II speaks of a theology of the body? In what sense is the body a theology?

Our Catholic Catechism teaches that God has revealed to us his inmost nature and secrets: He is a Trinity, a communion of three Divine Persons, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit - equally God and sharing so intimately in one divine life and love. God is communion of persons rooted in love. Moreover, God has destined us to participate in this divine communion. That's the reason why He created us: so that we can share his infinite life and happiness with Him.

Our male and female bodies, our very creation by God in his image and likeness as male and female, points to this divine mystery. Perhaps you will ask, how is that the case?

Have you ever wondered we we are always attracted to the opposite sex? God made us female and male in his image and likeness because he has a plan. What;s the plan? So that man and woman who are always attracted to one another may enter into a communion of love with each other, and thus image in this world the Divine Communion of Persons.

The "one flesh" union in love of husband and wife in marriage, which is the paradigmatic expression of this union between persons in love in this world, reflects the divine communion of persons, and is thus the icon of the Blessed Trinity in this world. This is God's plan. Our male and female embodiedness, our male and female sexuality is there for a divine purpose, that is, that we may image in this world the Blessed trinity.

John Paul II says that man and woman become the full image and likeness of God precisely in this communion of persons that man and woman form in marriage, when they, out of love, give themseves totally to each and accept one another.