The Match Made in Heaven
Looking at the Original Love Story of Adam and Eve

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"The man [Adam] manifests for the first time joy and even exaltation, for which he had no reason before, owing to the lack of being like himself.  Joy in the other human being dominates the words spoke by man on seeing the woman.  All this helps to establish the full meaning of original unity."

 

- Pope John Paul II

 

     Re-read this quote and think about it carefully.  It essentially says that man had no other reason to be this joyful and praise God until woman was created.  All he can say is, "This at last is bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh."  In other words, "Wow Lord!  She's beautiful!  She's like me, but different!  She's perfect!" 

     In the garden, we read that Adam and Eve were naked, yet had no shame.  With their bodies they said, "I am yours, giving myself to you freely, totally, faithfully, and fruitfully."  When you give yourself to someone this completely, in the setting of a marriage, you are truly naked without shame. 

     Nakedness means exposed, revealed, nothing is hidden.  So Adam and Eve were able to see their failings, struggles, hopes, and fears.  Yet because they were pure, they felt complete trust in one another and in God.  Because they knew each of them wanted the best for one another, they didn't have to worry about being hurt.

     When they looked at each other, it wasn't with lust - it was with genuine love.  It was when sin entered the world that lust entered with it.  So instead of looking at each other and seeing the person, they looked at each other and saw the body.  When the soul is mentally separated from the body and one can look at each other with no strings attached commitment-wise, a person is just an object for one's pleasure.

     Society often fails to look at the whole person instead of just the body.  Movies, soap operas, romance novels, pornography, one night stands and break ups have left both women and men feeling like there is nothing special about them. To begin to change this pattern, we must never forget that God created us with incredible worth.  This is a worth that we must not only see in ourselves, but must also be reflected in the way that we view others.

God bless you all,

Chloe M.