Communion of Love: The Spousal Vocation of Man and Woman in Light of the Trinitarian Nature of God
Prepared for a breakout session given at the 2019 Eighth Day Symposium titled Eros and the Mystery of God: On the Body, Sex, and Asceticism, held in Wichita, Kansas at St. Mary Orthodox Christian Church .
Abstract: John Paul II says that “man and woman, created as a ‘unity of the two’ in their common humanity, are called to live in a communion of love, and in this way mirror in the world the communion of love that is in God….”In his Catechesis on Human Love he speaks of the hermeneutics of the gift as being “at the heart of the mystery of creation”and fundamental to our understanding of the spousal union of man and woman. This session will begin with a reflection on the revelation of God’s being as personal triune love in light of this fundamental hermeneutic of gift and the Trinitarian reflections of Hans Urs von Balthasar. It will then look how this speaks to the nature of being and love in man and woman in their unique vocation of spousal love, including how eros and agape pertain to each other as distinct, yet integrally related, dimensions of love.
A selection of papers (bold links) and exam responses completed at the John Paul II Institute for Studies in Marriage and Family.
The Meaning of the Sabbath for Israel Biblical Theology of Marriage and Family: Old Testatment, JPI 532, April 2015
The Sabbath in the New Testament Midterm Response 1, Jesus Christ: Revealor of God and Man, JPI 517, October 2015
The Concept of Glory in the Gospel of John Midterm Response 2, Jesus Christ: Revealor of God and Man, JPI 517, October 2015
“So That…We Too Might Walk in Newness of Life: An Examination of Romans 6:1-18“ Biblical Theology of Marriage and Family: Synoptics and St. Paul, JPI 659, November 2015
“Above All Else Guard Your Heart, For It Is the Wellspring of Life” (Proverbs 4:23) Being as Gift: Philosophical Foundations, JPI 553, December 2016
A Christian Understanding of History Midterm Response 1, History of the Church, JPI 613, October 2016
Development of the Chalcedonian Formula Midterm Response 2, History of the Church, JPI 613, October 2016
Mary’s Faith Midterm Response 2, Encyclicals of John Paul II, JPI 555, February 2017
“So God Created Man in His Own Image, In the Image of God He Created Him; Male and Female He Created Them.” Genesis 1:27 Catechesis on Human Love, JPI 554, April 2017
Aristotle, Reason, and the Sabbath Midterm Response; Science, Theology and Ethics, JPI 669, March 2017
Being Through the Lens of Christ Midterm Response; Science, Theology and Ethics, JPI 669, March 2017
What Logic and Relating Logic, A Response to Henry Veatch Science, Theology and Ethics, JPI 669, May 2017
Vision and the Image of God Science, Theology and Ethics, JPI 669, May 2017
Gift, The Nuptial Mystery, and the Immaculate Conception The Mystery of the Church, JPI 623, December 2017
Married Love as Total Gift of Self Midterm Response, Sacrament of Marriage, JPI 634, February 2018
“So Must the Son of Man Be Lifted Up” (John 3:14) The Nuptial Mystery According to St. John, JPI 546, May 2018
Contemplation and the Human Response to Truth Biotechincal Anthropology, JPI 615, May 2018
Issues in Psychological and Neurological Science: Gender, Marriage, and Family, JPI 605, Fall 2017, Exam responses on various topics:
- Benefits of Marriage
- Marriage and Attachment
- Cohabitation
- Effects of Divorce on Adults
- Effects of Divorce on Children
- Pastoral Care and Pornography
Response to Signs of Love, Christian Liturgy in Everyday Life of the Family by Renzo Bonetti This was a response to the draft of an English translation of a book that was part of a study group church. The completed, published translation of Fr. Bonetti’s book can be found here.
* Fr. Marko Rupnik, Luminous Mysteries Chapel, St. John Paul II Shrine in Washington D.C., mosaic, photograph by Alicia Bradford
Matthew 19 