| A SHORT COURSE ON SEXUALITY I. “Sexuality - Made in Heaven” In the Song of Songs the word “God” is not found but plenty of romance is (“love” x 25). Is the Church embarrassed by sexuality? NO! She is the first defender of it in all its wonder. The sad state of society today (e.g., sexually explicit play XXX) “Church, stay out of my bedroom!” But she goes much further - into your conscience. The universal struggle – “I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate” (Rom 7:15) – Original Sin. Temptations (invitations to evil) from outside (e.g., the media). “MALE AND FEMALE HE CREATED THEM” God is love and in himself he lives a mystery of personal loving communion. Creating the human race in his own image, God inscribed in the humanity of man and woman the vocation, and thus the capacity and responsibility, of love and communion. “God created man in his own image…male and female he created them” (Gen 1:27); He blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and multiply” (Gen 1:28) = responsible parenthood. Sexuality affects all aspects of the human person in the unity of his body and soul. It is the bodily expression of self. “I am a man/male person” = male to the core. The challenge: to acknowledge and accept our sexual identity. Physical, moral, and spiritual difference and complementarity are oriented toward the goods of marriage and the flourishing of family life. Equal personal dignity - though in a different way. THE VOCATION TO CHASTITY Chastity = the successful integration of sexuality within the person. Sexuality becomes personal and truly human when it is integrated into the relationship of one person to another, in the complete and lifelong mutual gift of a man and a woman. Priestly celibacy? Sexuality expressed in a different way. The chaste person maintains the integrity of the powers of life and love placed in him. Self-mastery (until death) = a training in human freedom (v’s slavery to the passions). Man's dignity demands this. But how? Self-knowledge, self-discipline, obedience to God's commandments, the moral virtues, and prayer. The virtue of chastity comes under the cardinal virtue of temperance, which seeks to permeate the passions and appetites of the senses with reason. You can have too much of a good thing, it’s called indulgence. Chastity is a gift from God, a grace, a fruit of spiritual effort. It is a school of the gift of the person. It is not about saying No; it is a big YES that implies various Nos. The virtue of chastity blossoms in friendship. All Christ's faithful are called to lead a chaste life in keeping with their particular states of life. Those who are engaged to marry are called to live chastity in continence. They should reserve for marriage the expressions of affection that belong to married love. My Initial Marriage Interview form – Question No.13: “How will you be able to remain chaste until marriage?” NINTH COMMANDMENT - “You shall not covet your neighbour's wife” (Ex 20:17). “Every one who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart” (Matt 5:28). Pleasure for its own sake = the person becomes and instrument. The Two Monks Concupiscence = intense disordered human desire, “the movement of the sensitive appetite contrary to the operation of the human reason”. Inclination to sin. Purity: “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God” (Matt 5:8). Purity of intention = seeking the true end of man (simplicity of vision) Purity = attraction/respect of goodness/beauty v’s repulsion of evil. The need to pray for the beautiful/vulnerable. With God’s grace we must discipline our feelings and imagination, and refuse all complicity in impure thoughts. Purity is in the present. Purity requires modesty, an integral part of temperance. Modesty means refusing to unveil what should remain hidden. It guides how one looks at others and behaves toward them in conformity with the dignity of persons and their solidarity - “It was the first time that I saw a black lady go red”. (E.g., the Roman lust cycle). Modesty protects the mystery of persons and their love. It encourages patience and moderation in loving relationships. Modesty is decency. It inspires one's choice of clothing. It keeps silence or reserve where there is evident risk of unhealthy curiosity. _________________________________________________ Sex is a good thing, then why all the “don’ts”? THE CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH (2331-2350, 2514-2527) |
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