The Theology of the Body

I was diagnosed with Type I diabetes when I was 18 years old. The condition had been unknown for at least three months during my freshman year of college, and my body started shutting down. When I came home for Christmas break, my doctor finally gave me a blood test and my blood sugar levels were so high, it was a miracle I was not in a coma or even dead.

This was the first time I was confronted with my own mortality. I was suddenly aware that my body is fragile and not invincible. Fortunately, I was still young and with the right treatment, I regained my strength and became physically healthy again.

In December, I will mark my 14-year anniversary of my diabetes diagnosis. I have lived with this chronic disease for almost half my life. After being diagnosed in 2006, I became consumed with maintaining healthy blood sugar levels and convinced myself that if I could be successful controlling my blood sugar, I would not have to worry about any other health issues. Diabetes management requires me to monitor several areas in my body — I need blood work every three months, I need to see a dentist twice a year, and I have to see an eye specialist once a year. I forgot about all the other health issues not directly related to diabetes, however.

I have been wearing glasses for about 13 years; my eyesight began to worsen right after my diabetes diagnosis. Over the past few months, I decided to try contact lenses. The transition process from glasses to contacts was much more difficult than I expected. One of the hardest parts was just putting the lenses in!

When I finally got them in, the first thing I noticed was my face. It was the first time I saw it clearly without my glasses on. I didn’t recognize myself and I didn’t like what I saw. Somehow my glasses had covered up huge bags under my eyes and the age lines that had accumulated around the sides of my face.

Once more, I found myself facing my own mortality — perhaps not as drastically as when I faced dealing with a chronic illness, but still unsettling. I did not have control of my body and there are physical defects I have to accept. There are ways to mask the effects of aging, but they just hide the evidence. I am getting older and my body shows it. I am terrified of the day I wake to find white or grey hairs on my head.

On my way home from the eye doctor, I continued my critique of my physical defects — the age spots, the spider veins, the general sagging in noticeable areas, and the aches and pains I feel. I sit at a desk for hours every day at my job, and by the end of the day I feel as though my back might break in half. By the time I finished this critique I had thrown myself into a frenzy. I was falling apart!

Somehow, I had talked myself into devaluing everything I was, and forgot Who gave me this body in the first place. By degrading my body, I am degrading my God and creator. When I hit my lowest, the Holy Spirit came to my rescue and reminded me of a talk about the teachings of St. John Paul II on the Theology of the Body.

In this talk, the speaker highlighted how truly remarkable the Lord created us to be. Angels are completely spiritual beings; they will never know what it feels like to have a physical body. This is one reason Satan is jealous of us. We have something he will never possess, imperfect though it is, a body. In addition, we humans are created with both spirit and body, so we can experience both. In death, our souls are separated from our bodies, but at the end of the world, our souls will be united with our glorified bodies, just as Jesus was united with His body after His resurrection.

Right now, my body is getting older and may not be operating at peak efficiency, but it is God’s creation and everything God creates has purpose and is beautiful. He doesn’t make junk! Instead of looking at my imperfections as defects, I choose to consider them as battle scars.

My body has been put through many difficulties in this life, but it keeps on going and it will never stop till my Creator beckons my home to Heaven, where my soul will patiently await the time it will be reunited with my wonderful body. God’s design is perfect, and therefore I can take comfort in knowing that I am perfect through the grace of my Father and His Son Jesus Christ.

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Originally published at Kitty in the City.
Photo: Andrea Piacquadio, Pexels / PD-US