The Dignity of our Ensouled Body 

Then the Lord God formed the man out of the dust of the ground and blew into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being (Genesis 2:7)

Often our smallest behaviors, those that tend to go unnnoticed, sometimes manifest from our deepest wounds. 

Our outward appearance is a sign of our inner health and wellbeing, both spiritual and physical. Our choice of style in hair, makeup, jewelry and clothing reflects our perceived self-identity. The manner in which we adorn our body often reflects our attitude towards it, the world, and ultimately God. Recently a typical everyday circumstance left me pondering the spiritual reality of it all. 

I was at Westminster Abbey in Mission, B.C. Canada. The church bells rang their hymn welcoming all the world to mass. People from all faith traditions, and from no faith tradition, attend and are moved by its reverent solemnity. 

Now imagine a very small public ladies restroom with only two stalls and two sinks, and four women waiting in line (women reading this will understand!). I noticed a young lady around age 30. She wore a basic, modest summer dress and flats, and looked like the average Christian except for one detail: her entire left arm was heavily tattooed. As we waited, she decided to wash her hands, excessively. A lot. Three hours later, after the midday prayers were complete and all were preparing to go home, she, her companions and I were once again in the restroom.  And once again the incessant, excessive handwashing took place. 

I thought to myself how, at first glance, this might seem contradictory. Why would a person with so much tattooing on her skin be so concerned with the cleanliness of it? One might [wrongly] presume the tattoos to be a lack of concern for the body and the excessive handwashing to demonstrate being overly concerned for the body. To me, though, these are flip sides of the same coin, that coin being a hatred of the body. A damaged identity wrongly perceiving itself to be ‘dirty’. 

This doesn’t mean that every person with a tattoo suffers from a negative body image. One study found that 45% of its female young adult participants had a positive body image and self-esteem (55% did not). Also, for Christians as we grow closer to God, our soul is in awe of His personal love, affection, and protection of us. Sometimes in one’s humanity a desire comes to mark the body for Christ or somehow exhibit His truths on their body; a desire for an external expression of the interior intimacy of this relationship. Such expressions will usually be comprised of holy imagery. For others, a tattoo of God’s beautiful creation such as a flower or vine is simply holding a special affinity for that beauty. 

On the other hand, I am referring to someone who permanently marks up their body excessively which in its totality mars its beauty rather than enhancing it. Common reasons for this can be a trauma response, an attempt to reclaim the body, or done for the false sense of control gained by someone with low self-esteem.

“The human person, created in the image of God, is a being at once corporeal and spiritual. … Man, whole and entire, is therefore willed by God.” (CCC 362)

Whatever identity lies are resulting in this young woman’s excessive treatment of her body, these couldn’t be any father from the truth of her true dignity and beauty. We are ensouled bodies with every cell in our body in full union with our soul. Our bodies were created beautiful and have dignity. Each of us is the pinnacle of God’s creating, loving action (Genesis 1:26-31). Nothing we can do to it (tattooing, transgenderism, self-harm, etc.) can change that truth nor can we wash away any perceived ‘dirt’ from our soul. Every aspect of our being, both physical and spiritual, is God’s work of love, and we simply need to accept His love for the pain in our soul to go away.

“The human body shares in the dignity of “the image of God”: it is a human body precisely because it is animated by a spiritual soul, and it is the whole human person that is intended to become, in the body of Christ, a temple of the Spirit.” (CCC 364).

Our body, no matter how imperfect, is deemed acceptable by God to house our precious soul. Blessed Marmion teaches how, unlike ours, although created, Christ’s soul was perfect. “…our Divine Savior willed, during His mortal life, to bear our infirmities, all those infirmities compatible with His sanctity….There is nothing in the nature of man that Jesus has not sanctified.” Jesus is a loving brother and King wanting to walk with us through the suffering; a walk He walked first. And felt more intensely than any human can comprehend.

Behold, I make all things new. (Revelation 21:5)

For those who regret any kind of changes they have made to their body, hope remains. At our death, those of us who have remained loyal to Him will receive the same blessing as St. Dismas: eternity in Paradise with Him (CCC 1020-1025). At the end of time when Jesus returns and abolishes all evil (Revelation 19 & 20), our souls will return to our then-resurrected bodies (CCC 1038), perfected as the creation God originally made (CCC 1042).  “Happiness will fill and surpass all the desires of peace arising in the hearts of men.” (CCC 1048)

So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown corruptible; it is raised incorruptible. It is sown dishonorable; it is raised glorious. It is sown weak; it is raised powerful … Behold, I tell you a mystery. We shall not all fall asleep, but we will all be changed, in an instant, in the blink of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. (1 Corinthians 15:42-43, 51-52)

“Hope springs eternal in the human breast”. Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam 😊

(Image by Nikita Krasnov via Pexels)