There has been much talk in recent weeks about what the priesthood should not look like. As important as this is, I would say that such discussion needs some context — especially given the media’s complete lack of context in discussing such issues.

The Theology of the Body provides a great context for reflecting on what the priesthood could and should look like in the third millennium. The Theology of the Body is not really an innovation, but a restatement for our own times of something ever ancient and ever new: the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

For Theology of the Body resources that are concise and practical, I have not seen any parallel to the resources provided by Fr. Roger Landry.

Check out this article (PDF format) on the Theology of the Body as it relates to the spiritual and pastoral life of priests.

One of John Paul II’s lasting legacies will be, I think, his Theology of the Body, which is a great resource to help us rise above the myopia of “hot button” issues and to give us a broad, generous view of the Christian life… a radical anthropology that has the power to reframe the discussion and which could serve as the basis for the new springtime of evangelization in the Church and in the world.