Sacramentum Donum Dei: The Beauty and Gift of the Human Body

In John LaBriola's book 'Onward Catholic Soldier' he defines a Sacramental as that which 'sanctifies the ordinary moments in life. God grants his grace to you through sacramentals in relation to the intensity of the faith with which you use them.' The marital embrace between a husband and wife can be an opportunity for mutual sanctification by the self-donation of each others bodies thereby making the act sacramental. In Christopher West's 'Theology of the Body Explained' he states 'The human body is the 'sacrament' of the human person in the sense that it makes the invisible mystery of the person visible....Understanding the sacramentality of the body as such is the key to opening the door to understanding the body not only as something biological but theological.' Our bodies as gifts from an almighty Creator are made to help us grow in holiness and virtue.

As I tend to always apply the Theology of the Body to the life of an athlete or 'bodybuilder' I thought to myself what does this mean to the person wishing to strengthen and enhance the beauty of his/her own body? Where is that sacramental line drawn when a man or woman enters into the weight room? Can the life of temperance and discipline bring our bodies closer to the true meaning of John Paul II's vision of the Theology of the Body? The answer is a resounding yes! Again Christopher West states it this way, 'The more we grow in mastery of ourselves, the more we experience a proper "ethos of seeing". Using JPII it continues saying 'we come to an ever greater awareness of the gratuitous beauty of the human body, of masculinity and femininity.' In other words the more we discipline our own bodies and minds in the proper view of a sacramental the more we will appreciate and admire the creation of man as man and woman as woman. The Catechism of the Catholic Church #2519 states, 'Purity of heart is the precondition of the vision of God. Even now it enables us to see according to God, to accept others as "neighbors"; it lets us perceive the human body - ours and our neighbor's - as a temple of the Holy Spirit, a manifestation of divine beauty.' In a culture where men are assailed constantly by images of women used as a means of self-gratification, purity of heart and mind is something I think all men must strive for. And women, seeing these same images have been guilt-ridden into believing that they are not beautiful or worthwhile unless they give themselves up for the pleasures of men, the purity of heart that women search for is that desire to look in the mirror and know that no matter what the world says, she is a magnificent human being and nobody can take that away from her. The purity of heart that men and women crave can be reached through the discipline of the mind, body and soul.

"Do you not know that you are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in you?" - 1 Corinthians 3:16. One thing I have always heard is that the choirs of angels are only envious of human beings for one reason: The Holy Eucharist. Our bodies are the sacramental vessels in which the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of God-made-man enters into our souls. You would not want the Church you enter for the Sacrifice of the Mass to be filthy or in need of repair, parishioners pay large amounts of money to keep the parish looking at its best. In the same way, keeping our bodies pure and undefiled through healthy eating habits and an exercise regimen is like helping your Creator tie the ribbon around the gift He gives you.'For this is the Will of God, Your sanctification; that you abstain from immorality; that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor..' - 1 Thessalonians 4:3-4.

The union between our souls and our bodies is so intimate that we can participate in the spiritual through the physical and vice versa. "The unity of soul and body is so profound that one has to consider the soul to be the "form" of the body: i.e., it is because of its spiritual soul that the body made of matter becomes a living, human body; spirit and matter, in man, are not two natures united, but rather their union forms a single nature." CCC#365. So, when we pray while we lift, the labor of our hands and muscles are united to that prayer just as with a sacramental. This reminds me of the beauty of incense used during Mass. We use the physical nature of heat and incense to present our prayers to God. We burn the incense so that it may rise to God, we smell the incense to enliven our senses, we see the smoke rising to the heavens, reminding us of the Divine Nature we long for, and we hear the clank of the chain as the priest swings the thurible in order to awaken our ears to the whispers of God. In a similar way we burn our muscles so that they may rise to God, we smell our body working to enliven our senses, we see the sweat falling off of our bodies, reminding us of our mortality, and we hear the clank of steel as we lift reminding us that we are at war. Our bodies truly are one of the sacramentals of our souls. 'We only have to reflect on the excellence and dignity of human nature to feel how base it is to languish in luxury and pamper ourselves in voluptuous ease, and how noble it is to lead a frugal, temperate and well-disciplined life.' - Marcus Cicero 'On Moral Duties'

The human body is the gift that our Creator has given us to worship Him. His only begotten Son took on physical human nature to show us the beauty within and nobility earned simply because we are the children of God. Through our Immaculate Mother the Savior of the world received human nature, may we see her as our example of appreciation of our physical bodies.

Catholicism and Bodybuilding: Friends or Foes?

"The Church, without any doubt whatever, approves of physical culture, if it be in proper proportion" Pope Pius XII

The current culture of bodybuilding and hyper-fitness is ravaged by narcissism and egos big enough to pay back our nation's debt. Part of the problem of the current culture is that it decided to choose the incorrect ideologies for the sport at its beginnings. Many faith-filled people on the outside looking in would write off the sport entirely, something i can't say that I would fault them for. But the sport and the heart of the lifestyle does have good within it. Many bodybuilders, Mike Mentzer for example, have endeavored to bring philosophy, reason and intelligence into the sport but the mainstream bodybuilding media saw him and most like him as a kook. Bodybuilding in its truest and purest form is about beauty and discipline. Beauty of the body and and discipline of the will. As creatures of God we are meant to realize our full human potential. We have a vast array of talents and abilities that our loving Creator infused into us, reasoning, logic, sympathizing, and (by far the most important) holiness, are all given to us as goals to be achieved in order to become more and more worthy of heaven. Physical fitness and health are also God-given and therefore meant to help us get to heaven.

I think first I need to explain what kind of bodybuilding I am speaking of. The freakish bodybuilders of today do not exhibit the beauty of the body. Grace, athleticism, and proper proportion have all but left the current Mr. Universe competitions or most any other bodybuilding competitions. What was meant to portray the human body at its physical peak has become the slanderous and outrageous need for more size, most of the time at the expense of actual health. While I am not for the displaying of male or female bodies for people to gawk at, reaching your physical pinnacle is a beautiful and wonderful thing. The sport of bodybuilding has taken a very ugly turn to the immodest. When I speak of bodybuilding please do not think that the current ogres of the fitness world define the true heart of the sport, the philosophy behind the mud is golden. The ancient Greeks as well as the great artists like Michelangelo had a much better understanding of the role of human physical beauty and the need to try for the best.
“No citizen has a right to be an amateur in the matter of physical training…what a disgrace it is for a man to grow old without ever seeing the beauty and strength of which his body is capable.” -Socrates

In all things we are meant to strive to be the absolute best we can be. Knowledge of truth, love of God, and love of neighbor are not only supposed to be the desires of our hearts we were made to strive for perfection in all of these divine and beautiful things. And such it is with the body, we are meant to want to be beautiful or handsome. The true philosophy and heart of what bodybuilding is has nothing to do with men in Speedos chock full of injected testosterone and human growth hormone. What real bodybuilding is about is the striving for perfection. Being that we are all made up of a mind, a soul, and a body, and true balance derives from the continual up-reach towards heaven of all three, our bodies must be on that celestial ladder just as much as our minds and souls should be. Servant of God Fulton J. Sheen once said, 'Peace is not a passive, but an active virtue.' Our bodies will never have peace unless we are actively pursuing the peace we crave which will only come about when we have full control of our passions and a healthy and active exercising life can help us achieve that temperance. "For no one hates his own flesh but rather nourishes and cherishes it, even as Christ does the church, because we are members of his body"- Ephesians 5:29

There are numerous stories of young men that were living a life of debauchery and crime and through the lifestyle of bodybuilding were able to get out of the rut that their sins had placed them in. "The Iron is the best antidepressant I have ever found. There is no better way to fight weakness than with strength. Once the mind and body have been awakened to their true potential, it’s impossible to turn back." - Henry Rollins (Former Competitive Bodybuilder) If we as Catholics were able to harness that ability of weight lifting to help young men and women to continually strive for a life of perfection, not only in their bodies, but in their souls and minds, we could have a generation of balanced and value-hearted individuals. We should never idolize physical perfection but, "I think the time is right for a "theology of bodybuilding" as well: for greater appreciation and deeper understanding of the body's capacity for strength, endurance, and robust fitness, to serve as a dynamo of charity toward our neighbor and for the greater glory of God." - Dr. Kevin Vost, Fit for Eternal Life. Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati's motto, 'Verso l'alto' meaning 'to the top' applied not only to be able to climb mountains but to strive for Christian perfection in all things should be the motto for anyone wanting to try out bodybuilding.