Training our body for eternal life

By Fr. Roy Cimagala

AS what our Christian faith teaches us, our body is also meant for eternal life. This is evidenced by the fact that Christ, the pattern of our humanity, rose from the dead and ascended into heaven not only with his soul but also with his body. The same with Our Lady, the perfect embodiment of how man should be, who was also assumed into heaven body and soul.

We need to train our body to develop a certain appetite for eternal life and for heaven, where our definitive state of life takes place. Especially these days when practically the world culture is immersed in worldliness, we need to make some extraordinary effort to extricate our body from the mire of brute carnality and animality, marked with naked sensuality, lust, greed, hatred, etc.

Let’s remember that there is a certain mutual relation between our body and our soul. The condition of one somehow affects the other. We should not just be concerned with our spiritual soul. Our body also needs to be well taken care of, since it is the very temple of the Holy Spirit.

Let’s always remember that our body is an essential part of our humanity. It’s meant to be animated by a spiritual soul whose life is always a participation of the life of God. As our catechism would put it, our body “participates in the dignity of the image of God.” (CCC 364)

Indeed, if we would just take this truth of our faith seriously, then we can and ought to see God in our body also! Our body need not be an obstacle in our relation with God and with everybody else. On the contrary, it should be the means and instrument to show our love God and for others.

Thus, we need to often ask ourselves what truly delights our body. Is it just some material and earthly things, like food, money, etc.? If God and the things of God are not its true and ultimate delight, then let’s realize that there is something gravely amiss which we should try to correct immediately.

The danger our body can pose to our relation with God can happen when it is left on its own, ruled simply by instincts and emotions, and by the purely worldly values and conditionings. To correct this, there is no other formula other than that spelled out by Christ himself: deny yourself and carry the cross. (cfr. Mt 16,24) Yes, we cannot over-emphasize the need for bodily mortification and discipline.

In fact, to be realistic, we always need to subject our body to some severe form of discipline, because our body is always weak no matter how strong it looks physically. It will always tend to indulge itself to madness, often falling into some forms of addiction and bondage. It’s our built-in potential traitor.

More than this, we need to teach our body to develop a strong attraction to the things of God—prayer, sacraments, sacrifices, devotions and other forms of piety. We obviously need to do this with due consideration to the need for naturalness, so we avoid unnecessary attention from others, and instead help others to be drawn also to the things of God.

Our Lady and many other saints can truly help us in this lifelong endeavor. Let’s see to it that we have a strong and abiding devotion to them since they have no other purpose than to bring us closer to God, to heaven, to eternal life!

Email: roycimagala@gmail.com