Reflection on January 19, 1983

https://www.ewtn.com/library/PAPALDOC/jp2tb105.htm

Have you ever thought that when you are reciting your wedding vows that you are a prophet of God? That seems to be what SJPII is saying. A prophet is someone that speaks God’s word or message to the people. When a husband and wife speak their vows, they are speaking God’s sign of marriage, they are speaking His language of the Body, they are expressing His sign of our relationship with Him, and they are His prophets. They speak God’s truth of conjugal love, faithfulness, and integrity. Not only do they speak these words in public during the ceremony as prophets, but in living out their marriage as a commitment to each other as God intended, they continually speak God’s message through their marriage, they are continually prophets of God.

Language of the Body has been brought up and seems vitally important for what SJPII is discussing, so I am going to quote what is in the back of my book as a definition or description of what is meant when this is used.

“Language of the body … It signifies words that are actually spoken rather than the language in general. The language of the body is the meaning of the body inscribed in it by the Creator and freely expressed by man and woman on the level of a freely given personal word. In the conjugal act, the person speaks an effective work of love and total gift through the body. Theology of the Body first introduces the concept “language of the body” in 103:4, in the context of discussing the sacramental sign of marriage, i.e., the words of the marriage vow together with the conjugal act. These words are spoken with a view to the conjugal act in such a way that this act itself has the character of sacramental sign and spoken word. “Language of the body” as used in the Theology of the Body is thus a concept that essentially includes the conjugal act.

The way I see it, it is what is spoken to us by what we see in man, male and female, what speaks to us in the union we see and what it tells us about our human nature and relationship with God. It seems like we have had this concept given to us, but it has not been given a title.