While the Theology of the Body is often misunderstood as only dealing with sexuality and marriage, St. John Paul’s wisdom is much more fundamental, much more far-reaching, in that it presents the compelling Christian anthropology at the heart of the Gospel message. The Theology of the Body teaches us that the human body is created by Love and for love.
In a nutshell, Theology of the Body (TOB) underscores the fact that we especially reflect God’s image and likeness when we are gifts to each other and enter into a communion of persons—for God who is Love is gift. The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are distinct Persons Who are gifts to each other in the communion of the Trinity. Moreover, God has created the male body and the female body (cf. Gen. 1:27) as signs that point to the truth that we are all made to be gifts—that we are made for love (a mom to her unborn baby, a son helping his dad, friends praying with each other, and a husband and wife loving each other).
TOBET’s mission is to provide original educational resources, presenting the truth of God’s design of the body—and thus of the human person—to children, youth, and families, so that all might benefit from St. John Paul’s life-affirming message of Theology of the Body. Since 2001, we have worked tirelessly to present the Good News of Jesus Christ in a way that evangelizes, engages, and heals the culture we live in, precisely by teaching about God’s design for the human body. TOBET offers seminars and talks by professionally trained speakers, as well as hosting a young adult study group and producing quality content to make the wisdom of TOB more accessible. Our most recent successes include the Theology of the Body Marriage Preparation Program, which took two and a half years to complete, and The Body Matters, our preschool through 8th grade curriculum which was carefully drafted and produced over a five year span. To date, this is the only curriculum on the market that offers uniquely written and illustrated Theology of the Body instruction for young children.
Why Theology of the Body for children? Because, again, TOB is not fundamentally about sexuality; rather, it is about what it means to be a body-person and what our bodies teach us about God and His love. Archbishop Samuel J. Aquila of Denver explains, “TOBET’s books for the younger children set a foundation regarding Christian anthropology so that when sexuality is covered in books for seventh and eighth grade, those youth see the logic and beauty of God’s design for true love….” The Body Matters, with its eighteen lesson books, educator guides, and parent guides, is now being implemented in all 50 states and internationally—and has recently been translated into Spanish.
Our newest program—now in development—is a video series for children, youth, parents, and other educators that will address the confusing issues about gender and sexuality that we are being exposed to and provide compelling, concrete, and loving answers to difficult questions. This newest project, My Body, My Identity: Discover God’s Design (MBMI), is seeking funding from those who understand the tremendous need to address such issues from a Natural Law perspective, as well as a Catholic Faith perspective, in bringing the light of Jesus to such important questions. (See TOBET’s video below on this unique, loving response.)
Within the last 6 months, TOBET has met with over 40 diocesan representatives, many of whom are waiting on TOBET to provide MBMI to their superintendents, DREs, principals, and priests to equip them with ways to answer the questions their students ask about the dangerously shifting cultural norms of gender and sexuality. Tragically, many people are discovering the damage of the culture’s messages about gender, identity, and sexuality only after they have been personally harmed by it. Our goal is to form children and youth in the truth BEFORE they are swept away by confusing messages, and to give families the necessary tools to understand and defend the proper understanding of the human body as a temple of the Holy Spirit, made in the image and likeness of God and redeemed by Christ.
TOBET always teaches the truth of our bodies as gifts from God to be received with gratitude. In doing so, we help children, teens, parents, and teachers to recognize that honoring themselves and others as God has designed us is an essential way in which we honor God and live in His joy and fulfillment.
To learn more about TOBET, please visit us at tobet.org.