ROGERS — As part of the Lenten activities at St Vincent de Paul Church, Father Shaun Wesley gathers parishioners together each Tuesday evening at Club Frisco in downtown Rogers to discuss Pope John Paul II’s theology of the body.
Speaking to a large crowd in the upper room of the restaurant, the young priest explores the major questions about the theology of the body.
“What I am really doing is a short course for Lent based on the writings of John Paul II that he offered in his first 100 general audiences,” he said.
These general audiences, from 1979 to 1984, provided the material that became known as the theology of the body. Through these same teachings Pope John Paul II explained how through the five senses people relate to others and how people relate to God. The teachings integrate the human body into the person’s soul and spirit.
Theology of the body is an emerging topic among theologians and writers. These teachings by the pope have been called “groundbreaking.”
In an effort to “offer these discussions in bite-size pieces that will be helpful to people,” associate pastor Father Wesley addresses such topics as creation in God’s image, one’s fallen reality, the final goal, and marriage and celibacy in God’s plan.
To explore the meaning of the role as human beings, Father Wesley traces the steps from Genesis to the original reality and God’s plan.
The discussion centers around the ideas that the “body has a ’language’ that proclaims the mystery of God and this language is theology … that the spirit can only be expressed through our physical being … that the body is a good and beautiful thing which teaches us about God,” Father Wesley told the audience.
Father Wesley said in an interview with Arkansas Catholic, “The teachings really talk about God creating us as human beings who use all of our five senses. A lot of times we are taught and even the world tells us the body is bad … that only the spirit is good and everything related to the body is bad. John Paul II really sought to redeem that by saying that the way we do relate physically is a good thing as long as we do live that out in God’s plan.”
The response to these sessions appears to be favorable. The number of participants has grown each Tuesday as the Lenten season progresses. At the first session March 7, about 35 people attended. About 50 people attended the second session March 14. The last session will be held March 28 at 7 p.m.
The ages in the group range from young adults in their 20s to seniors in their 70s. While Father Wesley was giving his presentations, people enjoyed sandwiches and drinks. The casual, intimate atmosphere of the restaurant reflects the hospitality and interaction of the group in learning together, Father Wesley said.
Amanda Mudd, who is planning a June wedding with her fiancé Kevin Goodman, said, “This has been interesting for us because it has sparked discussions between the two of us about topics that we wouldn’t have talked about before.”
Because of her work schedule, Paige Applegate had to miss the first session. However, her boyfriend was so enthusiastic about the discussion, Applegate decided to attend March 15.
“Tom told me, ’You’ll really like this because it is what people in their mid and late 20s are facing — how to build a good relationship and how to keep God in the center of it,” she said.
The influence of modern culture in society seems to be an important topic, especially for young adults.
Father Wesley said, “In talking about our salvation, it is for us to take back in a certain way the gifts God has given us … to take back the beauty and the original reality in order to build God’s kingdom through using all of our five senses, using who we are as physical people.”
Another participant, Vic Miles, who will be starting the RCIA process in the fall, came to the discussions initially out of curiosity.
“In the first session when I learned the content was from Pope John Paul II’s book, that intrigued me. As I am preparing to enter the Church, there are many questions that I have. I am taking every opportunity I can to learn more so this seemed like a good venue,” he said.
Longtime parishioners Tom and Mary Colbert decided to come primarily because of their interest in “anything that Father Shaun was going to be doing at this time.”
Mary Colbert wanted to know how things might have changed in the past 50 years.
“As far as I am concerned, I took a class in 1957 in Catholic Marriage and I was interested in comparing the thoughts of almost 50 years,” she said. “Despite the fact that that was pre-Vatican II, there are a lot of similarities even at that time. It is interesting that John Paul II was so ahead of his time in discussing this. I think that this would be a worthy subject to present to college kids because I still remember this class I took in college and it has stuck with me all these years.”