NDHS hosts Made for More, a tribute to Theology of the Body
By Maggie Parsons
World-renowned speaker on Theology of the Body Christopher West and his supporting musician, Mike Mangione, brought St. John Paul II’s teachings to life as their live event Made for More came to Notre Dame High School in Chattanooga on March 4.
St. John Paul II established the Diocese of Knoxville on Sept. 8, 1988, and 38 years later his Theology of the Body teachings are being brought to life by Mr. West and his music partner.
What did the Made for More presentation reveal? God’s plans being perfect in His place and time for each person.
Mr. West is one of the founders of the Theology of the Body Institute, where he has served since 2004, and is the current president. He is the author of many books, all focusing on teaching Theology of the Body in all capacities.
He has written a beginner’s book on understanding Theology of the Body for those new to the groundbreaking teaching.
Christopher West is accompanied by musician Mike Mangione during the Made for More program on March 4. (Photo Maggie Parsons)
In other books, he discusses the hunger of beauty and answers the questions he has received most about Theology of the Body.
Mr. West has been studying the Holy Father’s important writings for decades, even thinking about them beginning at a young age.
“I’ve felt ever since I was a little kid that I want to know more if there really is a banquet that corresponds to the hunger in my heart,” Mr. West said.
“Christianity is not a starvation diet; it’s an invitation to a wedding feast. That rocked my world, and I knew then I was going to spend the rest of my life studying, teaching, and sharing it with others,” Mr. West said, revealing what his first reaction was after reading John Paul II’s teachings and highlighting the good God put in his heart for what is to come.
Mr. Mangione is a professional American musician who has been sharing his talents with the Theology of the Body Institute since 2008. He has partnered with Mr. West on their live event Made for More, traveling among cities for almost 20 years.
“When we receive the gift of Christ, we give ourselves as a gift back, and it becomes a cyclical thing where you give by receiving and you receive by giving,” Mr. Mangione said.
“As an artist, that experience in my personal faith was an easy transition for creativity because any time I create, I’m using materials to put something together. But the Lord is the ultimate creator,” Mr. Mangione added, speaking about the beauty of using what God has created in putting a song together because it is from Him whom everything has been created.
Notre Dame’s auditorium was filled with people of all ages and from all walks of life. The event was aimed at adults as well as for those in high school and college and was billed as being applicable to everyone’s station in life.
There were just under 400 people in attendance, each person saying a quiet yes to the Lord while opening his or her eyes and heart to His promises.
“It’s the fullness of truth and life for everyone; there’s too many young people being distracted away from it,” said David Morais, a parishioner of Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Chattanooga who attended the event.
Mr. Morais and his wife, Ella, were in attendance at the event with two of their children and recognized the exposure the younger generation needs to understand the importance of the topic.
Mr. West started his discussion with theophany, meaning to know God and how it correlates in the Church to the revelation of divine beauty through the beauty of creation.
He continued discussing the beauty seen in nature, then asked the audience what the most beautiful thing God created was, noting that God created man and woman.
He continued, asking that if it is true humans are God’s most beautiful creation, why do we not have the same reaction meeting people as we do when we see a rainbow?
“Tonight, the invitation is to begin to understand what we call theophany through the body and how John Paul II reflects on it,” Mr. West said.
He followed by emphasizing what that dismissiveness looks like in today’s world. He highlighted a verse from the Gospel of Matthew, which says the world “looks, but does not see.”
“We were destined to be born by God. It’s an incredible thought to dwell on and to think, we are not biological accidents, we were meant to be here,” said Ella Morais, highlighting the uniqueness each person is in God’s eyes and how that should not be uprooted when dismissed by those who do not quite understand.
The culture is saying this is what you want, and anybody who goes down that path will eventually realize, I’m made for more than this,” Mr. West stated, pulling in the title of the event.
To turn around the distractions the world places in the minds of Christians, Theology of the Body must be lived out, not just listened to.
Mr. West and Mr. Mangione lead the assembly in prayer. (Photo Maggie Parsons)
“It’d be a privilege to fan the flame of this in people’s hearts and to get them at that moment when they realize their value, their worth, their dignity in the eyes of God and begin to live that out,” Mr. Morais remarked, reaffirming what Mr. West spoke on and taking the initiative for what God calls each person to do—spread the Word so that everyone might hear.
Whether it’s someone’s first time hearing Pope John Paul II’s teachings or something they have been studying for years, each person should not only hold the teaching close but also instill it as a lifestyle.
“For me, it looks like learning how to love my wife, learning how to love my kids, learning how to imitate Christ when He says, ‘Love one another as I have loved you,’ and asking how did He love us? He said, ‘this is My body, given for you,’” Mr. West said, illustrating what Theology of the Body looks like in his life.
Off stage, he takes the Lord’s sacrifice of His body as the ultimate example to follow.
Throughout the evening, Mr. Mangione played his guitar and sang, integrating his music with Mr. West’s teaching. Mr. Mangione emphasized in his lyrics those key Theology of the Body points for those in the audience to meditate on.
“Prayer is an actual conversation; it’s a communion between two parts. So, with music, I am able to use the materials that I’m working with to form a common union with the audience and to maintain a common union with the Lord,” Mr. Mangione said, sharing how he uses his music as a way for the audience to connect with the Lord.
“I don’t try to write hits or write a certain song to manipulate people in a certain way. I try to be open to receive inspiration and then view myself as co-creating with the Creator to produce something that’s reflective of Him,” Mr. Mangione noted, showing how his work is not his own but is pointed toward God as a way for others to know Him.
A beautiful way Christ was centered in the talk was the presence of the Eucharist in the tabernacle for the duration of the presentation.
“This here in the Blessed Sacrament is the more in which we were made,” Mr. West said, turning his eyes to the presence of Jesus.
He stated the very truth that is found in being a Christian; it’s that God, who is beauty, appeared in the flesh for His people.
It is the ultimate truth of what God has in store for the lives of His believers, the example of Himself giving His life for all so that they may have eternal life through Him,” Mr. West said.
“The most important message that John Paul II holds is that the love we really desire is in the depths of our being. If we are honest with ourselves, it is possible,” Mr. West remarked. “Not by trying hard, but by being open to a gift that God wants to give us. There is a banquet that corresponds with our hunger.”
Pope St. John Paul II taught Christian people the love that is in them is possible through God’s gift. So, as each person fully opens himself or herself to the will of God’s promises, they, too, will be able to participate in the wedding feast with Him, for which they hunger, Mr. West said.