Crossing the Bridge of Faith, at Work With the Holy Spirit. Introduction.

In Pope John Paul II catechesis on human love, that he gave from 1979 to 1984, also known as the ‘Theology of the Body’ the Holy Father affirmed that we should seek to create [for the body] ‘a climate favourable to purity’, because the human body is not treated with dignity or respect. Unfortunately, nowadays, the role of the physical body as a vehicle for our atonement and final redemption is seldom mentioned and often undervalued, even in many Christian denominations. And it is precisely through the purity of the human body, along with its thoughts and emotions, that the authentic followers of Jesus can build a life of holiness and make themselves worthy to receive from our Father in Heaven His invaluable gift of sanctifying grace, to be protected and enlightened by the Holy Spirit. There is a strong and wise reason why Jesus told us that if we want to follow Him, we should carry our own crosses. The crosses are a symbol that refers to the sacrifices required from our bodies to reject sin and achieve purity. Jesus is not asking us to be nailed on a wooden cross but only to detach our bodies from sin through purifying our material existence, mind and heart to gradually embody ourselves in His mystical body. We must remember that for Jesus, our saviour, the sacrifice of His body led Him to be resurrected by the Holy Spirit, and for us, the sacrifice of our bodies while following Him, and carrying our own crosses, will lead us to be restored into His full life in this world by the Holy Spirit. This will restore our human nature into a divine nature as Jesus and His Father intended through His incarnation in this world.