DISCIPLE: StMCS Rolls Out Theology of the Body School-Wide

Recess was rainy, so the 8th-graders in Melissa Ginther’s Theology of the Body (ToB) class arrive raucous and wet. She opens with prayer: a peppering of personal intentions from around the room, which are then lifted to the Lord in unison. Then the lesson begins. Today the students are exploring the Creation and Fall of Man, looking for key words and phrases that unveil the deeper meaning of the familiar story in Genesis.

Insights are rewarded with a Starburst; everyone participates, grappling with what it means to be created in God’s image and why even a small sin against an infinite good requires the divine payment of Christ on the Cross.

In the hallway, two other 8th-graders offer their perspectives on the new class.
 
“Especially since we’re receiving Confirmation in March, this class helps us learn more about our faith and make the right decisions,” says student Sam Gallus. “We go into the Bible and what Jesus said in more depth to figure out what it means.”

Classmate Josh Becker agrees. “We go into everything, word by word, metaphors and that kind of stuff, learning what it truly means, our purpose, and how we fit into the church. We’re going to be the ones controlling our own faith, so we’re taking the reins on it!”

ToB  is new to St. Michael Catholic School this year. As Director of Catholic Identity and Mission, it’s Ginther’s responsibility to help identify programs and materials that reinforce Catholic teachings and archdiocesan learning outcomes. Over the summer, she and other key staff members worked to implement a complete K-12 ToB curricula from the Ruah Woods Institute. Ginther is the primary teacher this year, as they learn how best to present the material for each grade level.

“I think sometimes we take for granted that disciples are just happening in our community,” she says. “As the culture is drastically changing, we’re having to shape them and form them differently. We’re living out the Great Commission more intentionally as a school.”

Specifically, says Ginther, our culture has lost sight of what a human person is.

“The Giver defines the gift: God imbues creation with its meaning, and that meaning is objective, outside of the person,” she says. “Using John Paul II’s teachings, Ruah Woods is reinforcing a systematic view of creation as gift. Men and women are the highest level of that gift, both to one another and to the world—and that has beautiful rights and responsibilities with it.”

While many Catholics are familiar with ToB in the context of marriage, Ginther emphasizes that it calls for a fundamental paradigm shift in man’s worldview, as its meaning and application are much broader than most people realize.

“We’re living in a culture that knows how to sell young people lies, especially through social media: lies that they’re not good enough, strong enough, smart enough, and altogether missing out on something better,” she says. “Nevertheless, ToB presents a different worldview, one where I can see everything as a gift. It fundamentally changes my willingness to sacrifice, my willingness to lay down my life to fulfill the rest of the gospel.

“That’s why George Weigel calls ToB the time bomb of the third millennium—because when it begins to shape worldviews, oh man! It changes everything!”

This article appeared in the Advent 2022 issue of DISCIPLE, our parish newsletter. If you are not receiving DISCIPLE in the mail, call our parish office at 763-497-2745 to update your mailing address or register as a new parishioner.