Theology of the Body and desire

Welcome to “Our Bodies Tell His Story.” This will be a monthly column in the New Earth focused on Pope St. Pope John Paul II’s Theology of the Body. It is good to keep his thesis statement in mind throughout this series. “The body, and it alone, is capable of making visible the invisible mystery of the love of the Trinity.” In simple terms, our bodies and our actions are meant to tell the story of God’s love. This month’s focus is on desire and how our desires should freely conform to God’s will. 
 
I love sitting by a fire, especially this time of year. When fire is controlled in things like the sun or a fireplace, it is extremely useful and beautiful. However, when it is out of control in things such as wildfires, or house fires, it can have devastating effects. Fire is not bad—it is beautiful and necessary—but it must be controlled. 

We can say similar things about the fire of human desire. Under control and directed in a holy direction, desire can be beautiful and propel us to union with God and others. Out of control, desire can plunge us and others to the depths of destruction. The key is not eliminating all desire, but in transforming the desires of our heart to be in line with God’s desires as Mary did. “Be it done unto me according to thy word” (Luke 1:40), and as we pray in the Our Father: thy will be done. Pope Benedict XVI said that Christianity is not “about suffocating the longing that dwells in the heart of man, but about freeing it, so that it can reach its true height” (General Audience, Nov. 7, 2012). The fire of desire is meant to take us higher and higher (to God) but it is twisted by the ultimate liar—Satan. Peter cautions us that we are to become partakers of the divine nature (by grace) after escaping evil desire (cf. 2 Pet. 1:4). So let’s live the higher life by directing our deepest desires to our divine destiny!
 
God desires us, we desire God
Jesus thirsted for us on the Cross (John 19:28.) He earnestly desired to celebrate the Last Supper with his disciples (cf. Luke 22:15). Our God desires all people to be saved (cf. 1 Tim. 2:4). St. Augustine, a man who knew something about desire, said that, “The whole life of the good Christian is a holy longing… This is our life, to be trained by longing.” From the beginning of time human persons have asked universal questions such as, “Where did I come from? What is my ultimate purpose, meaning and final destiny? How can I satisfy my deepest yearnings?” Jesus knows this and so His first words in John’s Gospel are, “What do you want?” (John 1:38). He knows that we ultimately want Him. This is the deepest desire of all our hearts whether we realize it or not: covenant communion with God (cf. Catechism of the Catholic Church 27).

We are finite creatures with infinite desires. Benedict XVI stated that man unknowingly reaches out for the infinite. Pope St. John Paul II was fond of telling youth that Jesus is who you are looking for and the fullness of desire implies an upward impulse towards what is true, good and beautiful: God! St. Augustine said, “You have made us for yourselves and our hearts are restless until they rest in you.”
 
Human desires: settling for too little
Adam and Eve were originally in harmony with God and with all creation. Their will controlled their passions. However, all that changed when they were enticed by Satan to disobey God. Satan made it appear that they would be more free and happy if they disobeyed God. Satan does the same thing to us by convincing us that something inherently bad is actually good (such as lying or stealing), or by taking something that is a relative good (an icon) and convincing us to make it the highest, absolute good (an idol) – such as pleasure, power, possessions, or position, etc. For example, every day I drive by a sign that points to Fargo, my destination. The sign is helpful, but it would be ridiculous of me to stop and hug the Fargo sign as if it were actually Fargo itself. I would be settling for “too little” of Fargo. I would be “stuck on the sign.” Likewise, there are many good “signs” on our journey to heaven: good food, sunsets, conversations, etc. that we need to use as icons or “windows to heaven” and not settle for too little by getting stuck on the sign. Too many times people seek infinite satisfaction in finite things, which only satisfy us temporarily and incompletely. Only God can satisfy us completely and eternally, but we can get a glimpse right here on earth by “seeking what is above” (Col. 3:2) through the virtues.
 
Viva la Virtue: Conforming our desires to God’s
St. Augustine boldly stated that we can love God and do as we please because if we truly love God (and neighbor), we will desire only what He wants. The holy habits of virtue help us in this endeavor. The Catechism tells us that the virtuous person has a habitual and firm disposition to pursue and freely choose morally good acts with ease, joy and self-mastery for communion with divine love. The goal is to become like God (cf. CCC 1803-4). In short, a virtuous life, by God’s grace, leads us to the happiness we desire by truly being an image of God. So sit by that fireplace, enjoy good food, conversations, music and art but remember these are icons, not idols and direct your deepest desires to your divine destiny!