Recently, the Catholic Parish of Hastings (CPH) and the Catholic Parish of Napier (CPN) came together for Made for Communion, a two-day event exploring the Eucharist and the Church’s beautiful understanding of who we are as human persons through St John Paul II’s Theology of the Body (TOB).
We were grateful to welcome Maria Pais from Theology of the Body NZ, who led us through an introduction to this important teaching of the Church.
The event began on Friday evening at Sacred Heart Church, Hastings, with a Eucharistic talk followed by Adoration. It was a beautiful opportunity to gather as a community, reflect on the gift of the Eucharist, and spend time in the presence of Christ.
The following Saturday, we gathered at St Mary’s Church, Greenmeadows, for a full-day workshop with Maria: Theology of the Body: An Introduction. The day began with Mass and concluded with Adoration.
The Theology of the Body is a series of catecheses given by St John Paul II during his Wednesday audiences from 1979 to 1984. Drawing on Scripture, he explored what it means to be human and created in the image and likeness of God.
At its heart, TOB invites us to see that we are created for relationship and communion with God and with one another. Our bodies are an integral part of who we are and reveal something of our identity and our vocation to love. It offers a Catholic understanding of relationships, marriage, sexuality and our call to holiness.
Maria’s workshop gave those who attended an opportunity to begin exploring JP II’s writings and to consider how this teaching speaks into our lives today.
We received positive feedback from across both parishes, with many people appreciating the opportunity to discover TOB and explore a teaching of the Church that was new to them. The response highlighted the value of offering opportunities for our parish communities to explore the richness of the Church’s teachings and to deepen their understanding of what it means to be created for communion.
A special thank you to Maria for sharing her knowledge, passion and love for TOB with us, and to the Diocese of Palmerston North, Fr Vijay and Fr Hemi for their support in bringing this opportunity to Hawke’s Bay.
