Upon hearing of the Theology of the Body, I researched the term and came upon an American theologian named Christopher West. I read that he had made it his life's work to unpack the Theology and make it accessible to the ordinary lay person. Copies of his talks were available and shipped to me.

For the first time in my life I began to understand why the Church teaches what She does on major issues to do with human sexuality (such as contraception, abortion, divorce and homosexuality) and why these have not changed “with the times.” A wonderful aspect of Theology of the Body is that it is a non-judgmental and inclusive of all persons – a closer picture of how I believe the original and authentic Jesus would have been. The unfortunate thing about my internal discovery was that no one else around me knew anything about [it]. This limited my discussions at a time when I was so excited about discovering it myself.

Seven-and-a-half years passed before I heard about the Theology of the Body or Christopher West again. One day while discussing with my parish youth group which World Youth Day events to attend, I saw that Christopher was giving three talks across Sydney. I was fortunate enough to attend two of the talks with more than three thousand people. My interest in TOB was reignited! However, apart from obtaining more CDs and books, I felt the absence of a close avenue to pursue more learning and relationships in this area.

Thankfully, more Australians were introduced to Theology of the Body through World Youth Day and I was able to join a group that was travelling all the way to United States to attend the first installment of the Certification Program; TOB 1 “Head and Heart” Immersion Course. Altogether, there were 92 participants from Ireland, Canada, Mexico and different parts of the US. Together we unpacked and explored the approximately 500 pages [of] inspiring, life enhancing work of J[ohn] P[aul] II in 30 hours.

Christopher incorporated cultural references from music and film into each of our sessions. Our course also had a concert with two recording artists who write music inspired by TOB, a talent night and great table discussions. All of this mixed in with plenty of time for individual prayer, Mass, confession and adoration, I had found the opportunity I was looking for to discuss and learn more about TOB with other peoples who were as eager as myself.

These experiences allowed my soul to dance and my passion for life [to] reinvigorate. I journeyed to the U.S. for the five-day conference to gain a greater and deeper understanding of Theology of the Body from a world-renowned expert in this field and to allow Christ to enter and ignite my heart. It is very easy to learn facts and memorize the accepted responses to various dilemmas, but how many times in our busy lives do we take the time to allow truths to penetrate our hearts and invite a change for the better?

The connection of the mind and heart, facing painful wounds and allowing healing to take place was what I was searching for. In thirty hours, we explored just about every aspect of Catholicism in a perspective that I had never encountered before. We focused on the different types of love and the versions offered in our world. We learned more about the fundamental place of Mary in our faith. We encountered forgiveness in a truly authentic way, and we came to value the vocations of the religious and the celibate life as inspirational rather than a deficit.

It was inevitable that by seeing vulnerability and raw emotion in each other true friendships with others were forged. This enabled me to have a deeper awareness and the appreciation that we are all truly companions on the journey of life.

Eva works for the Catholic Education Office in Sydney as a primary school teacher and Religious Education Coordinator. She attended the TOB 1 “Head and Heart” Immersion course this past October and TOB 2 “Into the Deep” in January 2010.