We are ‘single, unique and unrepeatable’ children of God

In 1965 Paul Harvey famously broadcasted “If I Were the Devil.” He began with, “If I were the devil, I would want to engulf the whole world in darkness … I wouldn’t be happy until I had seized the ripest apple on the tree – Thee.” He went on to make numerous accurate predictions, though, at the time, many were considered outlandish. One of the most accurate statements Harvey made, in my opinion, was this: “If I were the devil, I would encourage schools to refine young intellects, but neglect to discipline emotions – just let those run wild.” 

Pope St. John Paul II said “the heart as the center of man is thought of as a source of will, emotion, thoughts, and affections. The ‘heart’ is the dimension of humanity with which the sense of the meaning of the human body, and the order of this sense, is directly linked” (General Audience, April 23, 1980). 

For many years it seems we have focused on forming minds while neglecting to form hearts. I often wonder why modern society so blithely accepted “Enlightenment” philosophy as resolute truth, especially Rene Descartes’ postulate, “I think, therefore, I am.” 

It is hard to fathom how such patently unreasonable claims were born during the so-called “Age of Reason,” for it would seem evident that one must be before one can think. But if the devil is in the doing, as Harvey conveyed, his motive becomes clear. Describing our essence exactly backward is precisely what the devil would order. 

If I were the devil, I would elevate thinking over being. I would convince God’s children that his creation is not good, that matter does not matter, and that reality is not real. I would keep them in their heads and out of their hearts. Thankfully, Pope St. John Paul II left us the means to navigate through this confused world in which we find ourselves today in his timeless work, “Theology of the Body,” the first major teaching of his pontificate. In response to our need to “rediscover the lost fullness of [our] humanity,” John Paul II delivered 129 biblically based catechetical addresses, which may be described as a divinely inspired vision of the human person, who was created in love purposefully and intentionally. 

According to John Paul II, Descartes’ principle “gave the modern concept of man its distinctive dualistic character.” The Pope said: “It is typical of rationalism to make a radical contrast in man between spirit and body, between body and spirit. But man is a person in the unity of his body and his spirit. The body can never be reduced to mere matter: it is a spiritualized body, just as man’s spirit is so closely united to the body that he can be described as an embodied spirit” (Letter to Families, 1994). 

Over time it seems our increasingly secular society influenced many of us to subliminally adopt, in varying degrees, a dualist mentality. A dualistic type of detachment can create a disconnect between our intellect (mind) and our will (heart), which may explain, in part, why many today struggle with their identity and why gender confusion seems to have intensified. 

Dualism says our body and soul are separate and can be in conflict with each other. However, our Catholic teaching says our body and soul are one. John Paul II clarifies: “The body, in fact, and only the body, is capable of making visible what is invisible: the spiritual and the divine. It has been created to transfer into the visible reality of the world the mystery hidden from eternity in God, and thus to be a sign of it” (General Audience, February 20, 1980). 

In other words, our spirit is not trapped inside our body. Personhood is the divine and inseparable fusion of spirit and body. Any ideology that supports the lie that our body and spirit is not one is promoting dualism, a recurring heresy that dates back to the ancient Persians. 

We must uphold the truth that we are “single, unique and unrepeatable” children of God, “someone thought of and chosen from eternity, someone called and identified by name” (John Paul II, Urbi et Orbi, Christmas Day 1978). 

Catholics and all Christians are called to respond with love to this world crisis of identity, which “Theology of the Body” amply provides. Let us utilize the timely gift God gave us through the writings of St. John Paul II – a gift we Catholics are called to give to our children. 

Anna M. Githens is a freelance writer with a career background in finance, teaching and journalism. She holds an MA in Theology, a BA in Economics and a Certification in Theology of the Body.