Reflection on September 26, 1979 –

http://www.ewtn.com/library/papaldoc/jp2tb4.htm

It talks about all men are “historic man” which means we all have a root in original innocence. When it was talking about redemption, it starts with that root in original innocence. We can never get back to that because we are cut off by original sin, but what I thought of was that everyone has that connection. Christ points us back to “the beginning” because we all have roots back there. That means we all have the opportunity of redemption. No one is exempt from redemption accept by their own choice. It made me think about Calvin and the idea of “double predestination”. I am not an expert on it, by any stretch, but my understanding of it is that he believed some were predestined for salvation from the beginning of time, and some were predestined for destruction. This is not Catholic teaching and you can see that it does not fit at all in JPII’s explanation of rooted connection we all have back to original innocence and how that opens the door for our redemption.

When it was talking about Romans 8:23 (which appears to be a verse that will be focused on) it seems there is a meaning of original sin that effects not just the soul, but the body as well. I don’t know if that type of interpretation is thought about as often. When you think of original sin, you think of our sinful nature, the choices we make, our ability to hurt others. We don’t often think about the fact that original sin effected humans in a physical way, bringing about their mortality. The “redemption of the body” is what St. Paul is waiting for, something that will not come until the end of all things, but will come in a way we don’t fully understand.

This redemption of the bodies and the physical effect of original sin also is worth reflecting when JPII was bringing up the importance of experience. We cannot and never will be able to experience what original innocence was like. We are cut off from it because of original sin. But, even with that being the case, our experience is a necessary part of “theological interpretation”. He goes into this in section 4 and I thought it was a bit confusing, but hopefully becomes clearer. I understood him to be saying that even though our experience is limited or cutoff from original innocence, the experience of “historical man” or fallen man, is still a vital way to interpret and understand theology, especially theology of the body.

Words I looked up.

Delimits - to fix or mark the limits or boundaries of; demarcate

Diametrically - in direct opposition; being at opposite extremes

Dromatis persona – Main characters in a dramatic work

Dialectic - the art or practice of logical discussion as employed in investigating the truth of a theory or opinion.

Irremediably - not able to be remedied; incurable or irreparable