Archive for the 'Chastity' Category

The University of Michigan’s Dr. Michael New recently wrote:

The best predictor of someone’s attitude toward abortion is his or her opinion on the morality of premarital sex. People who think that premarital sex is morally acceptable are very likely to be pro-choice. Conversely, individuals who think premarital sex is wrong are likely to be pro-life.

He then went on to say:

…I always remind pro-lifers that a promiscuous society will never support significant restrictions on abortion. While pro-lifers are good at talking about fetal development and personal responsibility, we are less comfortable with subjects such as sexual activity and contraception. Indeed, it is doubtless more difficult to advocate for sexual restraint than for the unborn. However, this is a battle in which pro-lifers must continue to engage if we are to succeed in our goal of providing legal protection to all unborn children.

In other words, the “Culture of Life” that we envision is unthinkable without chastity. This is not a startlingly new revelation, but we can always use a reminder. (more…)

While browsing the other blogging spheres, the following article caught my attention. It’s never been considered “cool” to follow a 2000-year old religion, to live chastely, right? Or has it.

As blogger Edmund Mitchell muses in his post All Hispters Eventually Become Catholic, it can’t get much more bland than sleeping around, getting high, and watching Jersey Shore. This generation of Catholic hipsters has refused the mediocrity of self indulgence for something much much more fulfilling…

If you’ve been living in a bomb shelter under your parent’s house since 1990 and don’t know what a hipster is, then go here and read up to get a rough idea. I think they’re Catholics. (more…)

Have you ever met someone who seems really nice but you almost didn’t talk to them–or else were distracted by–what seemed to you some sort of flaw? For example, did you think a guy wasn’t worth talking to because he had dreadlocks, or a girl was a slob because her nails were really dirty?

I am proposing the frame of mind we try to avoid but yet can’t fully avoid–don’t judge a book by its cover. We start making assumptions about people before we even talk to them.

A big area this factors in is the area of fashion. We look if the clothes people are wearing are fashionable or sloppy, clean or dirty.

Here’s what I ask you: what does immodest dress give an impression of?

It doesn’t matter if a clothing item is at the height of fashion, because if it’s immodest, it’s immodest regardless of its popularity. Women have a particular need to be modest because men are more easily aroused by immodest dressing than their female counterparts.

If we dress immodestly, we buy into (more…)

One of my biggest faults is obstinacy. Hence, I continued to research the issue of French kissing before marriage, even after my last post about kissing. I stubbornly believed that it must not always be wrong since it seems to be in almost every movie, including highly-acclaimed black-and-white films. Wrong!

My quest led me to one of the best online articles I’ve found about chastity and dating. Not only does it discuss kissing, but it also discusses topics like arousal and expressing affection in courtship. The article is “DATING AND CHASTITY, Preparation for A Warm, Loving Christian Marriage” by Rev. T. G. Morrow.

Reverend Morrow reiterated the Catechism’s teaching that seeking sexual pleasure outside of marriage is sinful, which of course, is something that French kissing is. He also addressed one of my other questions:

However, there has to be a bit more to it than that. After all, some may argue (and some do) they are not seeking sexual pleasure in their sexual encounters, but just to show affection. What, then would be another reasonable criterion to judge by? The nature of the activity. If an activity is by its nature highly stimulating, then it belongs only in marriage. This would include French kissing and touching sensitive areas of the body.

See just how we have been lied to and cheated for so many years? I received a strong Catholic education until I graduated from high school, yet I still have always questioned what should be such a simple issue. I can’t help but wonder (more…)

Putting something down in writing has somewhat of an “official” feel. Maybe it’s a flashback to my Business Law classes and contract requirements, but nevertheless, you are making concrete an abstract concept when you write it down.

Whether dating or single, practicing chastity – not merely avoiding sex, but the internalization of thinking, living, and loving in a proper manner – will build you up as a person.

So, since I am here to make your life easier, you should make a concrete list of reasons practicing chastity is so worth it. For example: (more…)

“What are you giving up this Lent?”

Wednesday marks the beginning of Lent, and prayer, fasting, and almsgiving are traditionally practiced over the next forty days. We give up meat on Fridays while fasting on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday, but many Catholics also practice an additional form of fasting from something such as candy, or desserts, or coffee.

I never really understood why. When people asked me what I was giving up, I always would tell them that my Lenten resolution was to spend more time in prayer, or go to daily Mass. To me, that would make me MUCH holier than giving up chocolate!

And honestly, it wasn’t just some excuse so I could stuff my face with cake and laugh while my friends watched miserably. (more…)

Valentine’s Day. The holiday can invoke various responses, from joy to sadness, or loneliness to ire. Despite our dating status, though, it should make us happy. Why?

Valentine’s Day shouldn’t just be about roses, chocolates, and significant others–it’s a time to remember our love for everyone, including family and friends. It’s what Jesus would want us to do–show love for everyone. It’s a commercial holiday, but we don’t need to let consumerism and romance get us in the dumps on Valentine’s.

A lot of people, including me at times, can get depressed when it comes to their love lives. It’s refreshing to adopt what I’d call the “Michael Bublé optimism” you find in (more…)

As I mentioned last week, this year’s TeenSpeak conference was a huge success with two great talks by Josh Brahm of Right to Life of Central California.

But in a special surprise, former Planned Parenthood clinic director Abby Johnson, who was giving the keynote address to the adults at the concurrent SpeakOut Illinois conference, came by to give a quick talk.

Her call to purity and to the hard work of keeping the pro-life movement going was so inspiring, and it’s definitely worth sharing:

Earlier this month, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s administration issued a mandate requiring so-called “comprehensive” sex education for all middle and high school students in NYC public schools.

In response, Dr. Anne Nolte, a family practice physician in Manhattan, wrote last week that the city’s new requirement reminded her of the saying, “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again but expecting different results.”

She then goes on to make some bold observations:

If we had the courage to look honestly at teen pregnancy, we wouldn’t be satisfied with a mandate that does the equivalent of placing a tiny band-aid on a gushing artery. If we had the courage to admit that we don’t have a solution, we’d be unwilling to spend more money on an old model that has pretty much failed. (more…)

Recently I was reading a series of private revelations reportedly given by Christ to “Anne”, a lay apostle. One topic that struck me was Christ’s message regardng purity, a much ignored virtue in our world.

While the messages have not yet received the imprimatur (official approval of the Catholic Church), the bishop of Kilmore – Anne’s diocese – has given permission for their publication on the basis that there is nothing in them that is contrary to faith or morals, and much that is positive and nourishing for the faith.

Today we must talk about purity. My children, lack of purity is a very significant problem in your world. I search for purity and only find it in rare pockets. (more…)

I finally got around to watching the third installment of the “Twilight” saga, Eclipse. While I am a casual observer of the series, I found this movie had interesting pop culture theories and offers comparison and contrast to the topics I hold important.

In the movie, Bella argues that marriage is just a piece of paper, points out high divorce rates, and thinks the marriage in our generation means “I got knocked up.” Edward, on the other hand, views marriage as his generation’s way of saying “I love you” (Edward, a vampire, was born in 1901, while Bella, a human, is a teenager from our generation). He wants to marry her before (more…)

I’ll be honest. I’m a big country music fan. In an age of techno, digitally mastered music, there is just something about country that feels so authentic. So, when I’m driving around, I’m often tuned into our local country music radio.

Sometimes I will have to switch the station because, well, some of the songs can get…er…raunchy. And honestly, I just don’t want listen to it. So when I recently heard a new song released by the band Lady Antebellum, I immediately fell in love with it. Because it seems to promote a message of chastity. Check it out: (more…)

And the leading man swept the leading lady off her feet and gave her a passionate kiss….So many people love movie kisses, which often look perfect and induce sighs amongst hopeless romantics. However, these kisses are usually French kisses.

When it finally got to be time I would have the opportunity to start dating, I started to wonder if French kissing would be “right” or “wrong” (just cause everyone does it, it doesn’t necessarily mean it’s right). I tried researching the topic. Some people seem to say it’s wrong while others say there’s nothing wrong with it….so is it a grey area? Reading in-between the lines, (more…)

Did you know that Martin Luthur King Jr. was against premarital sex? I didn’t know until recently. Evidently, Martin Luther King Jr. said this in a monthly advice column for Ebony Magazine (1957-1958):

I think you should hold firm to the principle of premarital virginity. The problems created by premarital sex relationships are far greater than the problems created by premarital virginity. The suspicion, fears, and guilt feelings generated by premarital sex relations are contributing factors to the (more…)

While doing some research on another website about comprehensive versus abstinence only sex education, I learned that May is Teen Pregnancy Prevention Month.

While that particular website’s take on the event is by promoting the use of birth control in its various forms, I have another proposition.

How about all unmarried teens abstain for the entire month of May? I am willing to bet, by doing so, not one teen will get pregnant. And I’m further willing to bet that your life won’t fall apart like you might imagine.

Yes, maybe it might end the relationship you currently have with your girlfriend or boyfriend. But if physical affection is the glue that holds your relationship together, don’t you think maybe, just maybe, it’s better to unglue it?

It would certainly seem that if, without sex, a couple has nothing in common, that the relationship might not be built on the healthiest of foundations. (more…)