This is the first of a series of reflections on the “Catechesis on Human Love” (aka CHL), known more popularly as the “Theology of the Body” (aka “TOB”). That title is from one of the first editions of the TOB (Personal communication from Emma Girton of JPII CUA) and the one I will use as I prefer the emphasis on “Love”.
That emphasis on human love is found throughout the work of Karol Wojtyla (aka “Pope John Paul II” or “JPII”). This focus especially developed during his second placement as a priest at Saint Florian’s parish, just north of the “Old Town” of Krakow:
“It is this [marital] vocation to love that naturally allows us to draw close to the young. As a priest I realized this very early. I felt almost an inner call in this direction. It is necessary to prepare young people for marriage, it is necessary to teach them love. Love is not something that is learned, yet there is nothing else as important to learn! As a young priest I learned to love human love. This has been one of the fundamental themes of my priesthood.” (Pope John Paul II, Crossing the Threshold of Hope (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., 1994), 122-123).
While the CHL was written many decades after his time at Saint Florian’s, “teaching them to love” continued as a major theme of JPII’s pontificate.
