In his January 16, 1980, general audience, Pope St. John Paul II noted that the second creation account in Genesis affirms two essential truths about the human person. The first is that the human is the only creature that God “willed for its own sake.” All other created things are …

Note: This article is part of an ongoing series on Pope St. John Paul II’s “Theology of the Body” (TOB). By taking on our human nature in the Incarnation, Jesus, the eternal Son of the Father, united himself intimately with us. He did this in order to save us from …

The first two chapters of Genesis are the foundation of Catholic moral theology, including its teaching on stewardship. Rather than communicate the mechanics of creation, the beginning of Genesis communicates something about the purpose, nature and order of created reality. More to the point, the emphasis in Genesis 1 and …

Note: This article is part of an ongoing series on Pope St. John Paul II’s “Theology of the Body” (TOB). Jesus came not to abolish the law and the prophets but to fulfill them (Mt. 5:17). Through His teaching and example, the Lord has called us, His disciples, to a …

By Tyler Arnold Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Oct 24, 2023 / 11:51 am About 100 Catholics walked a 12-mile-long pilgrimage from Silver Spring, Maryland, to the St. John Paul II National Shrine in northeast Washington, D.C., on Saturday, Oct. 21, to honor his feast day (Oct. 22) and to mark the 45th anniversary of …

By Katie Yoder Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Oct 22, 2023 / 04:00 am Catholics worldwide remember St. John Paul II on his feast day, Oct. 22. His “secret” to life and all that he did, he said, was the Eucharist — Christ present on earth. Born Karol Józef Wojtyła in Wadowice, Poland, …

Note: This article is part of an ongoing series on Pope St. John Paul II’s “Theology of the Body” (TOB). In the second major part of TOB, Pope St. John Paul II guides us in exploring the implications of our redemption in Christ and the moral teaching of the New …

Note: This article is part of an ongoing series on Pope St. John Paul II’s “Theology of the Body” (TOB). For the last several months, we have explored the effects of our first parents’ fall from grace. We explored the nature of their sin and how it disrupted the harmony …

Note: This article is part of an ongoing series on Pope St. John Paul II’s “Theology of the Body.” As described in my previous article, Pope St. John Paul II regarded the emergence of shame in the wake of the original sin committed by our first parents as a “boundary …

As we have been exploring the nature and effects of original sin on humanity, it is now time to plunge into the reality of shame, with the help of Pope St. John Paul II. We could hope for no better guide. As a poet, pastor, philosopher and theologian, he reflected …