The Language of the Body

            In the Old Testament Prophetic writings a particular use of the language of the body was utilized in order to describe the relationship between Israel and Yahweh. That language has its author in man as male and female. In effect, the prophetic texts of the Old Testament verbalize the nuptial meaning of the body in order to depict the condition of Israel’s heart. Therefore, adultery becomes symbolic for Israel’s worship of alien gods. In the New Covenant in Christ, those who enter into the sacrament of marriage become prophetic by use of that same language of the body. By entering into a conjugal pact and remaining faithful to it they express the truth that their union reflects, namely, that their marital covenant is a reflection and realization of the “Great Mystery” of Christ espousal to the Church. They proclaim in God’s name the truth of God’s love in their love for one another which is graced by God.[1] 

            The language of the body must always reflect the truth of the relationship which it signifies. Otherwise, the body cannot be prophetic but rather falsifies the truth with a lie that contradicts original and nuptial meaning of the body. This remains a constant threat to man and woman, who are always faced with the weakness of concupiscence.[2] “Concupiscence”, writes John Paul II, “causes many errors in rereading the language of the body”[3] because it spoils man’s heart by introducing weakness and evil inclinations. However, the redemption offers the possibility of going from error to truth, from sin to purity through the power of the Holy Spirit.[4] Therefore, man in a certain sense speaks with the language of the body. In fact, the body speaks with and for man when its actions are nuptial in the true and appropriate context. That is how the body is itself prophetic, because it speaks for the person.[5]

            This language finds biblical expression in the Book of Tobit. Faced with the possibility of death, Tobit leads his wife in prayer for victory over death. “Life wins because, during the test on the wedding night, love, supported by prayer, is revealed as more stern than death.”[6] Tobit’s prayer is an expression of a pure heart, a desire for the other so as to realize the other for her own sake.[7] “The language of the body reread in the subjective dimension of the truth of human hearts and the objective dimension of the truth of living in union, becomes the language of the liturgy.”[8]

            Liturgy and body are intimately intermingled. Sanctity is essential for the body in order for it to participate fully and prophetically in its liturgical role. Therefore, through the sacraments of the Church, sanctification of the body is possible and necessary for personal communion. This has its highest expression for the body in marriage. Within the sacrament of marriage, the language of the body, which is nuptial, enters into the mystery of Christ and His nuptial love for the Church. We return to the images of sacrifice and fidelity. These are the same images which the language of the body speaks in a faithful committed marriage. They signify “a series of acts and duties which form the spirituality of marriage.”[9] The content of that spirituality is centered on love, fidelity, conjugal honesty all of which are reread in truth through the language of the body. This is the life of marriage, a practice of love in the body and a realization of its very meaning, so that conjugal life becomes liturgical, for it is at its heart, a work of God for the salvation and redemption of the body.[10]   

Article by Fr. Alejandro Valladres, Archdiocese of Mobile