Welcome to the Become who you Are podcast , a production of the John Paul II Renewal Center . I'm Jack Riggert , your host . This is our regular Friday edition of Claymore . Militus Christi , soldiers for Christ . I'm a little late , I know . I know I should have been . I usually try to record this on Thursday night and so have it ready first thing Friday morning .
But I've been out speaking , talking to people . It's all good stuff , but just got a little bit behind . So here I am . I hope you're doing well . Just a quick reminder . This is our regular Friday edition , which is unpacking the big story . Right that we came into . We came into a story .
We didn't create the universe , we didn't create the big story , we came into a story . So this Friday is putting this timeline together , putting the big story , the big vision together , the model together . Don't forget that the first part of Claymore is the spiritual formation . You got to encounter Jesus Christ .
You got to get on your knees , you've got to follow that plan . So again , if you haven't done this already , go to our website , jp2 . It's in the show notes , org . And go to resources . Under resources you'll see the Claymore , that sword behind me in red . Click on that . Download and or print out the Claymore Battle Plan .
You'll see everything there that we're talking about . The other thing is any questions that you sent me and reminder you can send me questions , right , and I'll bring them up , not always on the Friday show , because we've got a certain agenda here on a Friday show , but during the week I'm doing a lot of supplemental pieces there .
I hope I've answered at least a lot of the questions that you have about different things . Tom Hampson's on there with me , linda Piper's coming on to answer questions with me , other guests , so we're really here to support you . So a reminder send me some information or some questions , either via text . You'll see in the show notes if you're on audio on rumble .
My email address is in there , goes right to me , so so go ahead and send it and we'll keep unpacking . Hey , look at , we're on this journey together . You know who is a real example is jd vance . Jd vance , we got lucky there .
Huh , this crazy Kamala Harris this you know I don't know if she just used this upon in this culture of death and I want to talk about that .
You know , this culture of death versus culture of life , and we're here to fight for the culture of life and there's a lot of enemies out there , and this is very the reason I bring this up is very clear , because you can get caught up in all this rhetoric , all this emotion , live on the surface of things , and then every time you hear a politician good or
evil if they're good oh yeah , I'm excited , I'm going to vote for them and be behind them . Now I know how to live . And then the next thing you hear is some wicked politician like we have this governor here in Illinois , pritzker just evil , and it just twists and distort words and you say , oh yeah , I kind of get along with him too , I don't know what .
And so you become apathetic , you don't do anything . So you have to be able to define good and evil in your own heart . You have to be able to discern this . We were given reason and intellect and a free will so we can choose this .
So I want to address this a little bit and then I'm going to get into our actual work today , or our actual episode today , which is God is love , and it lays out this whole foundation . Let me just set this up a little bit . So JD Vance , and I'll put a link to X . I saw this in the show notes just defending marriage and the family .
He sees this attack . Sister Lucia , fatima , said the last great battle between our Lord and Satan which is going on now is going to be taking down life , marriage and the family . And we see this destruction coming in with all these gender ideologies , christ in the church , religion getting moved out or even attack from within the church .
So there's a lot of confusion . So that's why this is very exciting to share these with you . And again I'm using this Friday to put this foundational piece and remember Catholic social teaching is like a triangle in front of you . If you could picture like a pyramid in front of you .
What holds this whole thing up Marriage and a family , life , children , marriage , family . And then it's linked directly to Christ and the church . Go back and I don't want to take the time to do it right now , but read Ephesians 5 , where St Paul puts this foundation in .
He said husbands love your wives , wives love your husbands , as Christ loves the church and gave himself up for you . This is the bridegroom on the cross . This is linked to your marriage and family , your desire to be married and family .
So I'll break that open today , when that foundation is here , then everything else , the culture , is built on that and solid character and virtues that are given in marriage and the family .
And then we go on to politics and economics and all the things that we do , or carpenter a plumber , but we're bringing the good into the world , we're creating a world of good . But you can't give what you don't have . So it starts with that foundation , so we don't get blown around all over .
You get somebody like Pritzker and say , okay , well , how do I know if he's right or not ? Look , most of the evil you see in the world are men and women who are cooperating with evil , with Satan . When you read Ephesians 6 , what comes after Ephesians 5 , after he impacts his foundation , ephesians 6 .
In fact , let me read you just a little bit and you understand this battle that we're in . See Pritzker , as evil as he is is not the enemy . And see Pritzker as evil as he is is not the enemy . He's just cooperating with evil , but he manifests that evil in the world and so Satan uses people to do this . This is the battle and it's very clearly seen .
So how do I know ? Because he's the most pro-abortion governor , probably in the United States . He's pro-gender-affirming care right , pushing this . He's even funded Lori's Children's Hospital in Chicago here to do trans surgery and give out puberty blockers and these cross-sex hormones . I mean , you know you can't make this stuff up , right ?
And he's pushing this stuff on all of us . He talks about trans rights all the time . Well , what is trans rights ? It's telling a child you know , anybody but a child in the Delores Children's Hospital that a boy can become a girl , which is a total lie . I mean , why would you do that to a child ?
It's not like something that we could do and we shouldn't do . It's impossible to do . We just ruin their lives . We render them sterile . Think about this If a child makes it outside of the womb and isn't killed in the womb I think that's his preference Then we render that child sterile Because Satan think about Satan . Satan doesn't have his own clay .
He can only take what God created good and we're going to get into the episode here only God is good and Satan twists and distorts that . He's not the creator . He can only take the clay that we see . The creation around us , our own bodies , our own minds twist and distort that . This is the battle . Huh , this is Miletus Christi .
This is what Claymore is all about . It starts on the battlefield of the human heart . Jd Vance is fighting that and succeeding on it because he's filled with grace . He's asking God to come into his heart . Now he can go proclaim the truth . Jd Vance , on the other hand , was standing at that tree of the knowledge of good and evil and chose evil , chose Satan .
And so he participates in this . And what happens ? It twists and distorts even a child's body . This is how nefarious this is . So this is what St Paul says after Ephesians 5 . I put it in the foundation . I tell you to go out and do good things . But he reminds us . He says put on the whole armor of God .
He said finally this is Ephesians 6 , starting on verse 10 . Finally , be strong in the Lord and the strength of his might . Put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil .
For we are not contending against flesh and blood , but against the principalities , against the powers , against the world rulers of this present darkness , against the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places .
Therefore , take the whole armor of God that you may be able to withstand in the evil day and having done all to stand , and then he goes on and on and on . How do you do that ? Well , this is spiritual formation in Claymore . This is why it's so important to follow the spiritual exercises there and we're going to continue to talk about that .
This is number two on there which is really understanding the big story , this doctrinal , beautiful deposit of faith that's come down to us that John Paul spoke about so much . So let's dive in . God is love . God is love . You are the image and likeness of God through the very act of creation , a beloved child of God . We're all a beloved child of God .
If that's not our identity , we get very confused very quickly and we'll just get blown around by the spirit of AIDS . This is a powerful . If you really sit on that , we're a beloved child of God . I'm not an LGBTQ , I am a beloved child of God .
It's amazing power when you get that and an amazing brokenness when that goes out of your heart , out of your mind , and we don't see it anymore . So remember the story We've been talking about this man , this young man who comes up to Jesus and questions him . So we pick it up again . So Christ replies to the young man in the gospel .
He says no one is good but God alone . Very important no one is good but God alone . We have already heard that the young man had asked teacher , what must I do to inherit eternal life ? Remember , he came up to Jesus . Teacher , what must I do to inherit eternal life ? How must I act , in other words , so that my life has meaning and value ?
This is what we're asking . Right ? We could translate his question . John Paul II wrote into the language of our own times . In this context , christ's answer means this Only God is the ultimate basis of all values . Only he gives the definitive meaning to our human existence . Only he gives the definitive meaning to our human existence .
You know , it's important for us to start to just look around . This is a good time in that evil and good and evil are standing up and you can see it , just like JD Vance and Pritzker , very , very clear . But you have to have this lens , you have to be looking at the lens . What are their actions , not just their words ?
We can always twist and distort words , just like Satan twists and distorts what's good . We twist and distort the good out of words , out of the way we speak to one another . When we do this , we can get blown around by the spirit of age . So it's very important that we understand this .
When God is taken out of a person's heart , like Pritzker's heart I don't actually hear him proclaim himself as an atheist , he doesn't really need to . We can tell , but you can see that God is out of his heart . So what happens ? Right , you can see what happens .
And then what happens with somebody like JD Vance , who proclaims that Christ is in his heart , who proclaims that Christ is in his heart and you can tell by his actions that he really is right . So if you lose this , we lose the definitive meaning of our whole human existence . We don't know who we are anymore .
Only God is good , which means this In him and in him alone , all values have their first source and final completion . He is the alpha and the omega , the beginning and the end . That's from Revelation right . Only in God do values and their authenticity have definitive confirmation . Do I know what's good ? Do I know what the truth is ?
I have to be looking at Jesus Christ Over here . Is the divine mercy right . The divine mercy , that picture right there is so important for today , because that's where grace is coming from . That's where Sistophastina . That's why , on your knees every morning , even if you don't understand it , I have you listening to that little clip from divine mercy .
Over time you will see what it is . Today's reading was so . Today's little clip was so important when he says I am mercy , I want to come into your life and see mercy . When you see the blood and water coming out of the heart of Jesus Christ , the water being this washing right , this washing of our hearts , of our washing away of our sins .
That Christ redeemed us right on the cross . And then the blood being his own blood , his own nourishment . You sins . That Christ redeemed us right on the cross and then the blood being his own blood , his own nourishment . Just giving this to us that we can receive at mass and in the Eucharist to fill us up . This is where grace comes from Body and a soul .
Without grace , a JD Pritzker throws out grace , breathes out . I don't need the grace , it's just sin and death . Sin and death here and sin and death for eternity . When we have grace , it's a body and a soul plus grace . Christ himself , god himself , breathes back into us that what we lost in sin and that fills us up so we know how to live .
So , so , so important to do that . So without that , without reference to God , the whole world of created values remains suspended in an absolute vacuum . Isn't that true when you speak to people that don't have God in their hearts ? It's like you're speaking to somebody that has just this vacuum within themselves .
It's the same thing with me when I walked away from God a couple of times . You have this vacuum . You're trying to figure things out , but you can't get a handle on it . It also loses its transparency . You no longer can see what we're talking about . Clearly , evil is put forward as good , and good itself is rejected .
Isn't that what , again , we're talking about here ? Are we not shown this by the very experience of our own time ? Whenever God has been removed beyond the limits of evaluations , our estimations , our actions , this is what happens .
Young people , all of you guys are growing up in a historical moment in human history where the whole world is facing quite a conundrum . Many in the generations that came before you drank the Kool-Aid , rejected the good and accepted the culture of lies that has left you , as it were , suspended in that absolute vacuum , like innocent lambs led to the slaughter .
Young people today are being sent out , without that armor that I was just reading about , from St Paul to confront the train wreck of evil plaguing humanity . The number of victims is staggering , including the poor , the disabled , the sick , but the most ferocious is the evil unleashed on marriage and the family Today .
So-called modern man modern man right who wants to murder his own children and render marriage meaningless , right . He's gone so far as to pass laws . We have passed laws , we've legislated this to annihilate a child in the womb , render marriage meaningless .
Increasingly , parents are forced to accept gender ideologies that would seek to render children sterile , groom them for sexual exploitation , expose them to pornography as normal .
We have gone so far as to institutionalize this practice , pushing radical gender ideologies , often directly linked to pornography , within the public school systems , joining teachers unions , big tech , government bodies and private institutions in a nefarious plan to rob children of their innocence and identity . Satan doesn't have his own clay Soon .
After I arrived at an all-day theology of the body retreat we were given to sophomore class , I threw out an icebreaker , so a hand went up to answer . I said yes , young lady , and she said call me they that's my preferred pronoun and I said why would you want me to call you they ? Look , this isn't my first rodeo , right ?
I want to see where this girl's coming from . She shared that she was gender neutral , non-binary , was in this gender fluid space . She said some days I feel like a boy , other days like a girl , other days I don't know where I'm going to land . I looked at her and her eyes met and she was sincere .
I'm a simple guy , I said to her , and I don't even know your names yet , and now I need to learn all your pronouns . I wonder if you'll do me a big favor and I'm looking at this girl again . Being a simple guy , let me propose a simple solution just for the moment .
If you're not satisfied , we can think about plan B for the next session , but just for now , can I call you a someone , a beloved child of God ? Would that work for you ? After a moment , she nodded and I asked the boy sitting next to her Can I call you a beloved child of God , a someone ? And he said yes . I said me too .
I'm not just a they , a , them or a pronoun . I have a name . I'm a someone . I'm a beloved child of God . The truth is that we're all brothers and sisters , I told him , and that we all came from a common heritage , we all came from the same father . Huh , I propose a new pronoun of this journey of the heart Someone , claymore , miletus Christi .
We all have a name , we all are a someone . We're soldiers for Christ . That's our identity , beloved children of God . And I said to this class right , you can go back to the he , they , they , them , caesar , something else , but for now you're a somebody .
And as the antonym or the opposite of the pronoun something or they or them , it very succinctly captures this very succinctly captures the unique personal character of each and every human being . I understand , I told him that by assuming other pronouns call me they that you're seeking a new identity . You seem to possess a desire to recreate yourself .
Ooh , that's a temptation . What if I told you you were onto something and that Kira Wotewa , who became John Paul II , called it self-determination ? I assume that you're seeking the truth about your identity .
Then you should move beyond mere feelings and emotions that all they do is cause anxiety , depression , which is the normal state when you live in a situation on the surface of things getting blown around . I'm going to be anxious . I have no anchor , no roots , You're continually battered by the winds .
I said , said , in order to grasp the personal structure and self-determination , you actually can be involved and you are involved . We're all involved in , in creating our ourselves . But we don't do it in a vacuum , we do it with god . Right , we have to start from the experience of what a human being does . Again , think , think Satan doesn't have his own clay .
The temptation is to twist and distort the clay itself . Either you take that clay that you've been given , the reason , the intellect , the truth , and now you have to seek the truth . You have to be able to self-determine . Well , the self-determination doesn't mean I change my body I'd be given this clay or I twist and distort my mind .
No , I open my body , I'd be given this clay . Or I twist and distort my mind . No , I open my mind to grace . I open my mind to that . You know , I have it in here with the picture on the camera . I'm the opposite . So that divine mercy , huh , jesus , I trust in you to receive that grace again . I remember that Ruah in Genesis 2 .
God takes this biology , this clay that we all are , and he blows into us and he wants us to search for the truth , and the truth is like a motor . Then your free will then , along with the truth , becomes like a motor to the good . Choose the good . What is the good ? As I choose the good , I determine who I am . I become good .
That's the self-determination that we want . Don't be taken off base here . So for now , let's all go beneath just the labels , just the emotions the world wants to slap on us or that even you put on yourself , including . I'm not good enough , I'm not pretty enough , I'm not smart enough , all these labels .
Let's go beneath all the noise and , just for a little while , enjoy the freedom of being the children of God . You know the freedom that is , the peace that that brings . That's why this prayer is so important . You know I'm a scuba diver . One of my favorite things about diving is , no matter how turbulent the surface is , I'm on the boat , right .
Some days it can be pretty rocky up here , but as soon as you jump in 10 feet down , 20 , 30 , 40 , you start to look around and the only thing I hear is bubbles and it becomes very peaceful . I can look up and I can see the boat still bobbing on the surface , but not down here , right . And then I look down ooh , the awe and wonder of the beauty .
Huh , always beauty and awe and wonder . Small bee beauty of creation brings you into big bee beauty and I say glory to God , huh , and it's just the most beautiful thing . And that's what prayer does . It gets us below the surface of this thing . This is why it's so important to this beautiful place where we can discover our identity .
I always ask the Holy Spirit to come in here . I said come on in , come into this class . I'm praying , even quietly to myself . Sometimes , even if I'm speaking to you , I say come on , holy Spirit , right , come into me and share , right , the Holy Spirit that's in these young people . And so we just are communicating . We're communicating together .
What are we communicating ? Not just anything , you know . We're communicating God himself and Jesus didn't come for sin management . He came with power . God himself and Jesus didn't come for sin management . He came with power . And so , as we proclaim the word , we're saying yes to that power , because Jesus gave us free will , god gave us free will .
So we have to open the door on our side , right . So act one in the very beginning . So let's get down to the roots , in the beginning awe , wonder and the cosmic explosion of love . Remember , jesus said what do you seek ? What's in your heart ? What do you seek ? So we're going to get back to the beginning .
Begin by getting in touch with the deepest yearning , burning desires of the heart . Once again , what Plato called Eros . Eros is that Greek God of love and it was identified by Romans as Cupid . Remember the little guy with the arrow , and those arrows could actually pierce your heart .
Huh , cupid is from the Latin cupier to desire , cupier to desire , the human yearning that we're exploring right today when we're talking about desires , arrows you know it comes from the word erotic , which has been twisted and distorted by Satan today . But really , really , it's to lift you up into authentic love , into what's true , good and beautiful .
Beyond just , it's the sensual , even though it includes the sensual , a man for a woman , say . But it includes , like , what is all true , good and beautiful in our relationships in the world . It's really beautiful .
But when we have these , when we give our eros in to Satan , to a twist and distort right and bring us into pornography and using one another and then our eros , our hearts start to bleed in this desperate search for satisfaction and fulfillment . It's a power that's so powerful it can take you away from your reason , your intellect .
But eros itself , right , we're looking for all that's true , good and beautiful . The sad thing is , most of us don't know where to direct this fire . So we say you know ? Jesus says what do you seek ? I don't know what I seek . I know something's wrong . Right Now we lift this desire , this power , and we unite it with Jesus on the cross into his heart .
Otherwise , what happens is we blame the ache and we try to push it down , or we indulge it . This is the praying with temptations , right , that's why we get down on our knees . The second thing is to look at temptation as an invitation to prayer . We open this up . Jesus didn't come for sin management , he came for power , right , the yearning , burning desire .
What is good ? Huh , what is true , what is beautiful , what is real ? You know , like these trans movement . What is real ? Well , it's incorporated right into our hearts . It's incorporated right into our designs . So when we speak about these things , I know I can speak to you about these things because it's in us .
Cutting through the moral confusion of this present age is not about learning more information , it's about getting in touch with our hearts , going like this , diving story beneath the surface , and you meet two people there , you and God .
So it's understanding that , that story , the reason you can do that , that story is in our blood , it's in our DNA , because the heart of Jesus , bleeding on the cross , with water and blood coming down this is the human heart , yearns for this . It yearns for this , his heart and our heart being united together . The Pharisees came up to Jesus in Matthew 19 .
They said is it lawful to divorce your wife for any cause ? Can I get divorced ? How awful to divorce your wife for any cause ? Can I get divorced ? Jesus , instead of limiting himself to their line of questioning , pointed them back to the original model of marriage in Genesis , chapter 1 and 2 . He answered have you not read that ?
He who made them from the beginning , made them male and female ? Male and female . Look how we can get away from this today , right ? And he said for this reason , a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife , and the two shall become one . So there are no longer two but one . Balloons going up over that one , right ? What , therefore ?
God has joined together , let no man separate . And they said to him why did Moses command one to give her certificate of divorce and put her away ? Why did Moses command one to give her certificate of divorce and put her away ? Why did Moses allow divorce ? And he said to them because of the hardness of your hearts .
Again , he's getting back to your heart , right , the hardness of your heart . It's given over to temptation and over to evil . Moses allowed you to divorce your wives because of that , but in the beginning it was not so . Bereshit is the Hebrew word . That's the whole Bible starts out Bereshit . In the beginning the earth was a formless wasteland .
Darkness covered the abyss right , we're living on the surface and the darkness covered that abyss . The mighty wind then . But then the spirit of God blew into it . Light exploded , dispelled the darkness . It was good because God is good . Spell the darkness . It was good because God is good . Because God is good . And why is he good ? Because he is love .
God is love . After five days , if you read the Bible , five days , like the opening scene from the Lion King the Garden of Eden is ready .
It's surrounded by a lush forest , wild flowers abound , animals too , with long necks , and some like unicorns , you know , like a rhino , huh , you can look around and say , oh my gosh , god is an imagination Filled with songbirds . It's beautiful , the garden's beautiful , it's prepared for a wedding feast On the sixth day .
It's as if God draws back into himself and takes a selfie . What is revealed is an eternal exchange of love , the father pouring himself out to the son , the son receiving that love . It's so beautiful and profound . It comes out in the form of a person . We call that person the Holy Spirit . Now , right above the Garden of Eden , god flips that selfie .
What comes forth into that created world is what ? His divine image and likeness . That's why we're created in Imago Dei . He flips the selfie and creates what man , woman , open to life , this child , trinitarian love is about to enter the created world . And in Genesis 1 , we hear this , verse 26 , let us make man in our image , after our likeness .
Let him have dominion over all of this the fish , the seed , the birds , the cattle . So God created man in his image , in the divine image . He created them , male and female . He created them , god blessed them , saying to them be fertile , multiply , fill the earth and subdue it . The first commandment have sex , join in marital union .
So you could say God and sex in the same sentence . If you're Catholic , you know God created it . He thinks it's beautiful . We're the ones that distorted eros . See eros on the cross . Eros is totally agape . Jesus' love for us is eros , this power , this beauty , this movement of love so strong , so powerful , but it's totally agape .
Divine , sacrificial love , pouring oneself out for another person . This is what we're called to in marriage , in love . This is the very first thing that God tells us and he wants us to know in the Bible that he created us in his image , in the divine image . He created us . Human beings , from the beginning , were created to be sacramental .
A sacramental is a sign , that's a sign of God's love in the world . To be a sacrament is to be a sign , the visible sign of God Trinitarian love in the created universe . There's nothing else like this . Man and woman open to life is the actual Trinitarian love , the sign in the world .
John Paul II wrote this the human body , with its sex , masculinity and femininity , seen in the very mystery of creation , is not only the source of fruitfulness and of procreation , as in the whole natural order , right animals produce right . We , you know , you know you . You got two deer , you know , and they have a baby deer .
But he says that goes beyond even this . It contains right from the beginning , the spousal attribute , that is , the power to express love , precisely that love in which the human person becomes a gift and to this gift fulfills the very meaning of his being and existence . God is love . We're created to express love .
This is not just in marriage , but marriage is that that power for the fullness of the sign , if you really want to see what trinitarian love looks like , god is not a sexual being . He creates our sexuality . To what ? To express this sacramentally ? So we become this visible sign in the world of authentic love , of trinitarian love .
In order to to to consciously do this , you have to have a reason and an intellect . We have to be doing it in the truth , love people in the truth , speak the truth in love , and I have to freely choose the good . Well , what am I choosing when I get married ? I choose what's good for my wife , what's good for her .
I want what's good for her and I want to be that person of love that expresses that to her . It was not until I was married and my wife delivered our first child that I got a glimpse into this love of the Trinity in a concrete way . Holding our daughter in my arms for the first time , I was looking at my wife .
I was overwhelmed by this new person she had just delivered . Now there were three of us . Later on , as I reflected on this day in the subsequent births of our other children , I began to realize that my wife and I were called to be a reflection of God's image in the world . I gave myself as a sincere gift of love to my wife .
She and her body even were created this way , right , my sexual organs are external , hers are internal , so she can receive right . So she receives that love , but she receives in a giving way . I give in a receiving way . This reciprocal exchange of love , this isn't just sex , it's an act of procreation , as John Paul said .
This is an expression of love , of Trinitarian love in the world . From that exchange of love , another person came into our lives , our baby . The two my wife and I called to become one in the sacrament of marriage , which is consummated in the sexual marital embrace , became three , three persons in one . Boom Wow .
God not only created us in his image , but allowed us to be co-creators of love with him in the mystery of a new creation . I remember being taught as a boy that God is a trinity that the father gives himself to the son , the son receives this gift and gives himself back to the father . Proceeding from him is the Holy Spirit , like I said .
But I had struggled with this image until I held that baby in my arms and realized that her existence was entirely due to the gift of love between my wife and myself . It was at this moment that I realized for the first time that our creation of male and female makes visible God's image here on earth .
Can you see why Governor Pritzker and others are just crazy against Trump and JD Vance that want to bring marriage and the family and common sense a natural law that's in our heart back into the world , to defend religious freedoms , to defend Christ and the church and then bring this out into the world .
I mean , these are not perfect people , we're all imperfect people , but what a different image from somebody that wants to take that down . This is the battle . When you listen to these politicians , when you listen to your neighbor speak about this , ask them where do you stand on a life , the life of a child ?
Where do you stand on marriage between a man and a woman , expressing this Trinitarian love ? See , this is the foundation . Whenever you get into these arguments with people and stuff , I always start with those two and I won't let it go from there because they'll spin into all these . They're living on the surface . It's just an emotional thing for them .
I stay calm . Where do you stand for life , Mother Teresa said isn't it a poverty to decide that a child must die so that you can live as you wish ? This is ? I tell them no , no , no . This is selfish Women's right to this . Or blah , blah , blah . Or you know what happens to this ?
Men are just using them as objects , then to know they can walk away and she can have an abortion . We're all using each other . We all go down this rabbit hole if we don't get this right . John Paul II went on to state his whole thesis and , when allowed to sink in , well , revolutionize the way you and I understand the human body and sexuality .
So here's what he said . This wraps up his whole work on theology of the body .
The body , your body , my body , in effect , your body alone is capable of making visible what's invisible , the spiritual and the divine Our bodies were created to transfer into the visible reality of this world , right here , the invisible mystery hidden in God from all time immemorial , and thus to be a sign of it . See , this is the sacrament .
Again , we are our sacrament . Our bodies make visible our souls , first of all inside Our souls , infused with grace . Body , soul plus grace gives me the potential for human freedom , potential for human flourishing . And then I have to act on that . I have to become that person of love , and then I make visible that Trinitarian love story in this world .
This is what we're created . This is the meaning and purpose of who we are , the meaning and purpose of our body and soul . This gives us our identity , right ? I'm a beloved child of God . I'm going to make visible that love story . This is not brain surgery .
This is the two great commandments I cannot give what I don't have Be filled with divine life and love . And to become love , your neighbor , right ? What does this all mean ? As a physical body , as creatures , we cannot simply see God . He's pure spirit . But God wanted to make this mystery again visible to us .
So he stamped it into our bodies by creating us , male and female , in his own image , right ? So God again , doesn't have a body . God , the Father we're thinking about , right , the Spirit , the Holy Spirit . But he created our bodies to express his love , his authentic love , his very image in this created world .
The function of this and that's why we go into prayer , because our soul we don't say our soul , our soul expressed through the sacrament of the body . So we want to get deep with God in there , so that what's expressed is not just my ideas . You know , I want to be like God , I want to figure . No , no , no .
I want to bring God love in , so that my heart's unite with God's love and we bring that into the world . The function of this image is to reflect the Trinity , an inscrutable divine communion of three persons .
Thus , in a dramatic development of Catholic thought , john Paul II concludes that man , men and women became the image and likeness of God , not only through their own humanity . Right , we're each created in the image of God . If you're not married , you go , well , I got to go search for it . No , no , no , you're already created in the image of God .
You go well , I got to go search for it . No , no , no , you're already created in the image of God . Marriage is that communion of persons . That , right from the beginning , expresses the full sacrament of that . But we have , in the Latin rite , our priests and our religious don't get married . Why ?
Because they're like Christ and the church , that second part of that Ephesians 5 . Because the eternal bridegroom , jesus himself , didn't get married . So he , what does he do ? He unites himself to us . We're all the bride . So we want to do that . We want to unite ourselves with God .
First of all , right , I receive this love , just like a bride receives from the bridegroom . And then I go out and love my neighbor . So , while that marriage sacrament is this Trinitarian story , in reality the whole church is a woman right , receiving from God . And so a good priest is a father to his whole congregation , he's the shepherd .
Mother Teresa would teach her sisters and say you know , we're the bride of Christ , take Christ deeply into your heart . And then we go out and express this sacramentally in the poor , in the people that we take care of . So Mother Teresa becomes a mother to thousands of people , right , a spiritual mother , a priest , a spiritual father , right .
So on this , right from the beginning , john Paul said their descent , the blessing of fertility , linked with human procreation . Human procreation . You know , we procreate , we don't just create , we just don't have babies . We are persons of love . And this is what you see , twisted and distorted today .
The body then has a nuptial or a spousal meaning , because it reveals man and woman's call to become a gift to one another , a gift fully realized . How In their one flesh , marital union . Can you see how we elevate sex ? You know people say oh , you know , church always pushes down sex . No , the church elevates sex .
The culture pushes it down , stamps on it , makes it into like a garbage dumpster . And we pull it out of the garbage dumpster and say , no , this is created good . In fact , it's created very , very good . The body has that generative meaning that , god willing , brings a third into the world through their communion .
In this way , marriage constitutes this primordial sacrament right from the beginning . There was the only one sacrament in the beginning , the only visible sign of God . We didn't need all the other seven sacraments because there was no sin in the world , but marriage . It's all based on marriage .
Every sacrament is a spousal meaning , meaning that it's a way to get back into the spousal meaning with God . Baptism , confession , the Eucharist , priesthood , marriage all these things are about marriage at the core right .
Thus , in this dimension , a primordial sacrament is constituted , understood as a sign that effectively , efficaciously , reality transmits into this visible world the invisible God from all eternity . This is what we're created to do , this is what we're battling in the human heart .
So , as I finish up here , and this is the mystery of truth and love , the mystery of divine life in which man really participates , in man , created in the image and likeness of God , the very sacramentally , the sacramentality of creation , think about all the things , the beauty you see right , the stars , et cetera , the beauty of oceans , small B beauty , bringing
you into large B , big B beauty . God himself , he creates these things , these little signposts , right , but ooh , with man and woman it's B plus right , it's the crown of creation , actually , efficaciously , actually bringing this grace , this love story into the world . See the rest of nature , we can see it , and it's reflecting God .
We actually not only reflect Trinitarian love , we bring it into the world , we make it visible . Without us , love does not get into this world . God's love comes in , love and truth come in through us , and this is the beauty of how God created us . We have a big responsibility , don't we ? Together with man , men and women .
Holiness has entered the visible world , we hear in the beginning , naked , without shame . There was no sin in the world . The world was created for us without shame . There was no sin in the world . The world was created for us .
The sacrament of the world and the sacrament of man in the world comes forth from the divine source of holiness and is instituted at the same time for holiness . Again , this is a way of saying the sacrament of man comes forth from this divine love story . That divine love story is the source of holiness .
Love story , that divine love story , is the source of holiness . And so when we go into prayer , we're bringing this into our hearts and remember the third thing of that simple thing in the morning that you do , you stand up and you become a person of love . We're not perfect when we do this , so we have to keep asking for grace . Right ?
Such is Christ in the conversation with this young man . Such is Christ in the conversation with each one of . Such as Christ in the conversation with each one of you . When you say good , teacher , he asks why do you call me good ? No one is good but God alone and therefore the fact that I am good bears witness to God .
He who has seen me , jesus said , has seen the Father as I do God's will , as I unite with him in that divine mercy image , and I look at that Jesus pouring out himself to us in mercy . I have seen the Father . The Father is a God of mercy and of love .
Right , thus Christ speaks , the teacher and friend , christ , crucified and risen , always the same , yesterday , today and forever . You know this beautiful deposit of faith that comes down to us that people want to rip and distort and push onto the side .
This is what you enter into , prayer and into the sacraments , and then you become that sacramental love in the world . But first we have to be filled . How are we filled ? Prayer , mass confession , praying the rosary , reading scriptures , you know we're always being filled right . We're being filled from the source .
We receive these gifts of the Holy Spirit for wisdom and understanding , for counsel , for fortitude , courage , knowledge , piety , which is humility to say yes , I need you , god , right , and I want to become holy . And then , finally , fear of the Lord .
You know , later on , as I got older , the fear of the Lord is really losing my own heart and becoming a person not of goodness and love in the world anymore , but allowing myself to be twisted and distorted into lust . I know these stories very , very well . Right , I lived these stories out .
I saw what I could become without God , and you need to acknowledge this . You could see how powerful this pull is , you know . So your youth , young people , opens different perspectives to you , john Paul II would say , as he's speaking to you , it offers you as a task the plan for the whole of your lives .
Hence the question about values , hence the question about the meaning of life . He says about truth , about good and evil .
When Christ , in his reply , tells you to refer all this to God , at the same time he shows you what the source and foundation of this is in yourselves , for each one of you is the image and likeness of God , through the very act of creation . You came into a story . You are a beloved child of God . We came into original sin . So what does Jesus do ?
Baptism , right . What poured out of his heart on the cross when he got hit by the lance ? Water and blood Water , baptism , confession , this washing away of our sins , this pouring out of God's mercy . And then he actually gives us his life , the blood right , the precious body and blood , soul and divinity that we receive at mass and holy communion .
I know this story very well . Hey , god bless you . Thanks for being with me today . Share this . Share this with people . Share this story very well . Hey , god bless you . Thanks for being with me today . Share this , share this with people . Share this story with people . You know , meditate on this . You know , go out for a nice walk and listen to this .
And on your exercise bike . You know , it's wintertime here , certainly in Chicago , so I'd love to get on my bike and listen to , you know , to these kinds of messages . You know , they bring me back into the story . This is it . This is the battle of the heart . Hey , god bless you .
Don't forget , send me some questions , text them to me , write them to me and I'll bring them up . If I can't bring them up on this Friday show , I'll bring them up during the week . Thanks everyone , talk to you again soon . Bye-bye , thank you .