On the sacredness of our body: a meditation on I Cor 6,13-14

"In whatever way the call to discipleship comes, Paul reminds us that we do not encounter the Holy as disembodied spirits. Rather, our bodies are sacred "temples of the Holy Spirit." That Jesus took on human flesh and that God raised him bodily underscore the importance of the body. A corporeal spirituality helps us counter any exploitation of the body: in the sex trade, or overexposure in the manner of dress, or the battering of bodies with abuse or torture, or the devaluing of aging bodies. It is through our bodies that we experience godliness, and it is in them that we glorify God." (Barbara E. Reid, "America," January 5-12, 2009).