36
Incarnational Duality
At this point, it bears fruit to recall the words of St. John Paul II, in that the original unity
of man and woman in the beginning expresses an incarnational duality, as “two ways of ‘being a
body’.” 145 Father Stephen Torraco gives flesh to this profound language in describing the
mysticism involved in charting by a couple using NFP methods. 146 He refers to fertility charting
as a form of “Incarnational” mysticism that “opens the couple up to an experience of the Gospel
of Life.” 147 However, unlike traditional mysticism, Fr. Torraco points out that Incarnational
mysticism begins with the physical body rather than with detachment from it. 148 Furthermore, he
asserts that daily charting leads to the sanctification of the spouses as they grow in respect for the
meaning of their fertility. 149 As well, by gazing through the fertile window at the mystery of
145
John Paul II, “Original Unity,” sec. 1.
Stephen Torraco, The Gospel of Life in Healthcare, DVD-ROM (Alabama: Eternal Word Television
Network, 2011), disc 2, 16:55.
147
Ibid., 14:27.
148
Ibid., 17:10.
149
Ibid., 5:30.
146