ONE of the most surprising if
disturbing phenomena in our
times is that with all the undeniable problems related to chastity,
there’s hardly anything done about it. No concerted effort, no
campaign nor drive is being done.
Problems, of course, include premarital and extramarital
sex, pornography and self-abuse that seem to be an epidemic left to
fester especially among the young, infidelity, homosexual activities,
forms of immodesty, etc.
We even have celebrities now publicly confessing they are
helplessly addicted to sex, treating their perversions just like a
case of alcoholism or drug dependence. Some of them, quite wrecked by
it all, now avail of rehab which, of course, is not a bad idea. But
would that be enough?
And let’s not forget that a few of those who for religious
reasons are consecrated to celibacy have committed highly scandalous
crimes from which the Church continues to reel. To me, these anomalies
comprise the most heinous of all sins against chastity.
We need to do a more pro-active approach to this crisis.
Among the things that we can do is to spread more widely, especially
in families, schools and parish churches, that blessed doctrine now
dubbed as ‘theology of the body.’
The theology of the body links the whole reality of our
body, and especially our sexuality, to the humanity of Christ, the
second person of the Blessed Trinity who became man, who took on a
human body, to show us, among others, how our body should be
understood, used and cared for.
The theology of the body tells us the good news about our
body, the beautiful designs God, our Father and Creator, has for it at
the beginning of our creation, and the redemptive efforts that due to
the sinful and wounded condition of our humanity, God through Christ
in the Spirit has done and continues to do for it.
We should be able to do this, especially nowadays when we
can count already on the tremendous help offered by our communication
technologies. Obviously, before we can make use of these technologies,
what is fundamentally required is the proper attitude to help,
reinforcing it with the proper spirituality, and then with due study,
patience and persistence. Without these, everything else would be in
vain.
Aside from spreading this doctrine through talks, classes
and other collective means, what is also most important is to be able
to enter into personal relationships with the persons concerned.
It is in these relationships, which should be marked by
true friendship and confidence, that the persons concerned can be
encouraged to do a continuing ascetical struggle, purifying their
attitudes and understanding of things, developing virtues,
strategizing ways to deal with their weaknesses, temptations and
falls.
In this regard, we need to reassure everyone that there is
always hope no matter how bad one’s predicament in this area is. God
always forgives and also gives us the necessary graces to heal what is
sick and wounded.
Developing true friendship, trust and confidence is a must
in this task, because most of the problem in this area stems from the
fact that those with this problem often feel too ashamed to open up
and so are left unattended and unhelped.
That is why, we have to see to it that in the families the
relationship between fathers and sons, between mothers and daughters
should be such that this delicate topic of sexuality and chastity can
be brought up without fear or shame.
We have to encourage everyone to make use of the spiritual
and supernatural means first—prayers, sacrifices and mortifications,
recourse to the sacraments, filial devotion to Our Lady who is our
Mother most pure and chaste.
Then we have to help everyone acquire the skills of
ascetical struggle—knowing oneself so well as to know what his
strengths and weaknesses are, what he can take and what he cannot with
respect to dangers and temptations that we cannot avoid, how to smell
possible dangers and how to put oneself as far as possible from these
danger, what we ought to do when we fall, etc.
And when it cannot be avoided to have, so to speak, a
frontal combat with our weaknesses and temptations, we should learn
the necessary skills. Very often, this kind of combat takes place when
we are alone, somehow telling us that our worst enemies are actually
our own selves.
What should therefore help us is to be reminded always
that we should never be alone, even if we are physically alone. We
should firmly set our minds and hearts on God and others, especially
when we are physically alone.
times is that with all the undeniable problems related to chastity,
there’s hardly anything done about it. No concerted effort, no
campaign nor drive is being done.
Problems, of course, include premarital and extramarital
sex, pornography and self-abuse that seem to be an epidemic left to
fester especially among the young, infidelity, homosexual activities,
forms of immodesty, etc.
We even have celebrities now publicly confessing they are
helplessly addicted to sex, treating their perversions just like a
case of alcoholism or drug dependence. Some of them, quite wrecked by
it all, now avail of rehab which, of course, is not a bad idea. But
would that be enough?
And let’s not forget that a few of those who for religious
reasons are consecrated to celibacy have committed highly scandalous
crimes from which the Church continues to reel. To me, these anomalies
comprise the most heinous of all sins against chastity.
We need to do a more pro-active approach to this crisis.
Among the things that we can do is to spread more widely, especially
in families, schools and parish churches, that blessed doctrine now
dubbed as ‘theology of the body.’
The theology of the body links the whole reality of our
body, and especially our sexuality, to the humanity of Christ, the
second person of the Blessed Trinity who became man, who took on a
human body, to show us, among others, how our body should be
understood, used and cared for.
The theology of the body tells us the good news about our
body, the beautiful designs God, our Father and Creator, has for it at
the beginning of our creation, and the redemptive efforts that due to
the sinful and wounded condition of our humanity, God through Christ
in the Spirit has done and continues to do for it.
We should be able to do this, especially nowadays when we
can count already on the tremendous help offered by our communication
technologies. Obviously, before we can make use of these technologies,
what is fundamentally required is the proper attitude to help,
reinforcing it with the proper spirituality, and then with due study,
patience and persistence. Without these, everything else would be in
vain.
Aside from spreading this doctrine through talks, classes
and other collective means, what is also most important is to be able
to enter into personal relationships with the persons concerned.
It is in these relationships, which should be marked by
true friendship and confidence, that the persons concerned can be
encouraged to do a continuing ascetical struggle, purifying their
attitudes and understanding of things, developing virtues,
strategizing ways to deal with their weaknesses, temptations and
falls.
In this regard, we need to reassure everyone that there is
always hope no matter how bad one’s predicament in this area is. God
always forgives and also gives us the necessary graces to heal what is
sick and wounded.
Developing true friendship, trust and confidence is a must
in this task, because most of the problem in this area stems from the
fact that those with this problem often feel too ashamed to open up
and so are left unattended and unhelped.
That is why, we have to see to it that in the families the
relationship between fathers and sons, between mothers and daughters
should be such that this delicate topic of sexuality and chastity can
be brought up without fear or shame.
We have to encourage everyone to make use of the spiritual
and supernatural means first—prayers, sacrifices and mortifications,
recourse to the sacraments, filial devotion to Our Lady who is our
Mother most pure and chaste.
Then we have to help everyone acquire the skills of
ascetical struggle—knowing oneself so well as to know what his
strengths and weaknesses are, what he can take and what he cannot with
respect to dangers and temptations that we cannot avoid, how to smell
possible dangers and how to put oneself as far as possible from these
danger, what we ought to do when we fall, etc.
And when it cannot be avoided to have, so to speak, a
frontal combat with our weaknesses and temptations, we should learn
the necessary skills. Very often, this kind of combat takes place when
we are alone, somehow telling us that our worst enemies are actually
our own selves.
What should therefore help us is to be reminded always
that we should never be alone, even if we are physically alone. We
should firmly set our minds and hearts on God and others, especially
when we are physically alone.
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