Reflections on November 21, 1979
http://www.ewtn.com/library/papaldoc/jp2tb10.htm
I was discussing some of the things we have already covered with some people and we were debating the “completeness” of Adam and Eve. I took from some of what we have already covered that Adam wasn’t complete or lack something before Eve and Eve completed him. But I was told that isn’t correct but that Adam was fully complete as himself, just as Eve is complete by herself. The first section h...ere reviews all that we have covered and seems to state this fact. “These are, as it were, two "incarnations" of the same metaphysical solitude before God and the world”. They are both completely human on their own and have no need for each other to be completely human.
That being said, they do need each other, but that need is for something other than just being human. This need of both male and female leads us into tackling the idea of original unity, this mystery that comes from this unique communion and allows participation in the mystery of life. Male and female can be completely human, but the lack of unity stops them from fully fulfilling all they were created for. Adam would not say “you complete me”, but “you help fulfill what I should be”. That makes sense when you look at Genesis 2:18 ”It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper as his partner." God made a helper, not a completer.
This unity brings together male and female and they become one “flesh”, not one complete human. I thought it was interesting, in talking about leaving father and mother, it talks about the distinction in the color of choice. As I have heard, you don’t pick your parents, but are connected to them by their choice. You get to pick your spouse and who you form this “one flesh” with. I thought this line worth reflection: “When they both unite so closely as to become one flesh, their conjugal union presupposes a mature consciousness of the body.” One should not involve themselves in the conjugal act until they have a mature understanding of what it means to actually be human, that original solitude, relationship with God, unique relationship to the opposite sex, an understanding of their cooperation in creation through the act, etc. The world teaches that the sexual act is nothing more than a pleasurable activity to take part in whenever and with whomever you want. JPII puts on us a responsibility of trying to understand what it means to be human and who we are in relationship to God and the world before we venture into that act. Not only that, but when choosing that partner, understanding their uniqueness and how this act takes us back to the very beginning and the very mystery of creation.
Words I looked up –
Lapidary - characterized by an exactitude and extreme refinement that suggests gem cutting
Conjugal - of, pertaining to, or characteristic of marriage