In understanding the role of the physical world in human life, we have seen two extremes in human history. One perspective is materialistic hedonism, which sees the overindulgent enjoyment of the physical as the goal of life, with no reference to a higher cause or state of being. On the other extreme, we see schools of thought like Gnosticism, which view the material world as inherently evil and consider the goal of life to be the escape from the physical toward the spiritual. Catholicism rejects both of these perspectives.
The Church teaches that the material world was created inherently good. The physical world has been marred by the consequence of sin, but the physical is not evil. We are allowed to enjoy the goodness of the physical world, as long as we have the right perspective. We must always remember that the material world is God’s creation. The physical is never an end in and of itself, but something that speaks of the glory of God, the creator of the universe. Thus, if we approach the world correctly, our engagement with the physical will always lift our soul to God. In the Gospel reading for this Sunday, we see the curing of a man who is deaf and has a speech impediment. As soon as he is cured, he can hear the words of Jesus. He is also able to speak of Jesus to others. His situation is an image of how the physical can lift us up to the spiritual.
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