The Spousal Meaning of the Body – Members Content

Then the Lord God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper as his partner.”
… So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and he slept; then he took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh. And the rib that the Lord God had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man.Then the man said, “This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; this one shall be called Woman, for out of man this one was taken.”
Therefore a man leaves his father and mother and clings to his wife and they become one flesh. And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed.
Genesis 2:18, 21-25

We are made for union

Loneliness is not God’s plan for us. Built into our very nature is the human longing for union – to be known, accepted and loved for who we are. St Pope John Paul II calls this the Spousal or Nuptial Meaning of the Body. It simply means that ‘we are made for union’ and that this design for union is revealed, expressed and experienced in and through our bodies:

• Revealed – The differences in the bodies of men and women point to the physical union possible in genital intercourse – we ‘fit’ together! Adam could see this when he awoke and found Eve (Gn 2:23)
• Expressed and Experienced – Our desire to be united with another, either physically or emotionally, is accomplished through our bodies. We express love by using our bodies to touch, speak, and communicate our desire for union with our loved one; and we experience his or her love through our bodily senses – feeling, hearing, tasting their gift of self made to us.

“The human body … as we know from the analysis of Genesis 2:23-25 … has… a spousal character, that is, it has the power to express the love by which the human person becomes a gift, thus fulfilling the deep meaning of his or her being and existence.”
TOB, n32. pg 257.

The Spousal Meaning of the Body also refers to our calling to spiritual union with God. The bodily union of husband and wife is a foretaste of, and an allusion to, the union we will enjoy with God in heaven.

Image and Likeness of the Trinity

When we think of the Trinity we think of three persons who are one. They are totally open and responsive to each other and permanently united in one intimate love relationship. Married couples are in a sense the closest reflection of the Trinity. They are two persons who are one, seeking to be totally open and responsive to each other and permanently and intimately united. As we reflect on the fact that as male and female we are created in the image and likeness of God, we can understand that it is not only the man and woman, but even more so, the relationship between the two that is the image of God.

“… the Creator… has written into the heart of both man and woman the gift of communion, that is, the mysterious reality of his image and likeness.”
TOB, n. 49, pg 324.

Reflect: The two become one flesh GN 2:24

1. Share a time when you felt lonely. Use L.I.F.E to describe it in full.
2. Share what it feels like to be loved and accepted for who you are. (L.I.F.E).
3. What is your reaction to the idea that your unity as a couple images the intimate union within the Trinity?
4. How do you feel about leaving that which is familiar and comfortable in order to give yourself totally to your future spouse?
5. What will be the hardest thing for you to leave behind?