Archive for the 'Chastity' Category

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…)

In my last post on chastity in May, “Sex as a Gift,” I got some positive feedback, but I was also taken aback by some of the negative responses I received. Is sex really “a skill like any other,” as a poster named Alexander Helphand claimed? He said, “I can only imagine how disappointing it must be when two virgins get married and spend their wedding night jostling one another like blind puppies.”

Another poster, Rebecca, said comments like: (more…)

Last week, Delaware Senate candidate Christine O’Donnell came under fire after some 1996 MTV video footage surfaced of her speaking out against masturbation:

As far as I can tell, one of the most common reactions people have to the message in the video is to say little or nothing, other than maybe to simply refer to O’Donnell as “anti-masturbation candidate Christine O’Donnell” — as if it’s clearly obvious that someone who says masturbation is wrong is crazy. (more…)

While doing some reading over the past few days, I came across this passage that inspired me enough to share it. It is taken from a series of private revelations from Christ to “Anne”, a lay apostle, in 2005.

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. (more…)

“Sex is the secret of every human being, the delivery of it to another human being is a unique self-surrender, a gift of the whole person.” (Following Christ in the World by Anne W. Carroll, Seton Press, Front Royal, Virginia, copyright 2008, p. 103 .)

Perhaps one of the reasons why sex has become devalued in our society is because we have lost sight of one of the facts about sex: it is a total gift of self. It is not just something fun to do on Friday or a recreational activity—it’s serious, because the gift of sex has two purposes: “a unitative purpose (love-giving) and a procreative purpose (life-giving).” (Ibid., p. 94)

Put it another way: if you give someone you love a gift, do you usually want to give them a (more…)

I was privileged to give a series of talks on Saturday at the Diocese of Brownsville‘s Youth Chastity and Pro-Life Conference held at St. Joan of Arc Parish in Weslaco, Texas.

The Diocese’s Pro-Life Apostolate organized the event, which attracted a crowd of over 300 teens, along with dozens of college students, young adults, and parents. As I’m primarily accustomed to speaking in classrooms or at pro-life club meetings, this was the largest group I’d ever spoken to!

(more…)

If you asked 100 people at random if they believed abstinence education is effective, most of them would probably say no.

Most would probably say that teaching abstinence is “unrealistic”, that it doesn’t work, and that schools should instead be teaching so-called “comprehensive” sex education.

A big part of the reason why so many people believe abstinence education is ineffective is because its opponents — which include Planned Parenthood, NARAL, NOW, and other major pro-abortion groups — have relentlessly tub-thumping for years trying to convince people that it is so, such that it’s now one of those things that “everybody knows”.

And most mainstream media outlets have gone along with getting this message out there.

So ingrained in popular consciousness is this idea that when the Washington Post reported on a “landmark” study released Monday that demonstrated remarkable comparative effectiveness of abstinence education vs. so-called “comprehensive” sex education, they couldn’t bring themselves to fully admit what the research showed.

(more…)

Sex 180: the next revolution by Chip Ingram and Tim Walker will equip us to be modern-day revolutionaries to change the way our culture views sex. With a modern style, the book catches your interest right away, resulting in a compelling book that led me to renew it from the library at least 7 times. I’ll review some of the basic ideas of the book.

How can we start a revolution though…aren’t we just young adults trying to make sense of our lives, not to mention love? The authors say that we don’t have to have fantastic speaking skills or a mesmerizing personality because the revolution will start in our hearts and lives before it moves outward: “You just have to believe what God says about sex and live out what you’re talking about.” (p. 41) As they put it, it is a revolution of one that begins in us first before moving outward.

The authors describe how (more…)

Sometimes, girls will lose their boyfriends because they will not give in to their sexual advances. They may cave in so that they will not “lose” their boyfriends. But this is a terrible mistake.

An out of print book I own called The Catholic Youth’s Guide to Life and Love (copyright 1960) contains good advice for girls in this plight. The book’s author, the Very Reverend Monsignor George A. Kelly, wrote:

“Boys have always respected the girl who retains her purity, and they always will. They do not want a ‘passion flower,’ no matter what they may say on the spur of the moment. One sure way a girl can lose the respect of boys, and endanger her chance of marrying a respectable young man, is by becoming known as a lass who’s free and easy.” (p.96)

Do you see guys–or even girls, for that matter–really respect a so-called “passion flower”? No. Often, the men and boys ogle her and the girls gossip about her. No young lady should want to be viewed in this light.

Father Kelly points out that girls need to be firm and set standards for guys:

“No boy really wants a girl to submit to his improper advances. He may be weak himself, but he expects higher standards from her. He will multiply his respect if he knows she won’t ‘give in,’ not only to save herself from sin, but also to keep him from it.” (p.96)

And if a boy breaks up with a girl if she won’t give in to him? She’s better off without him, expecially since he doesn’t respect her enough to honor her wishes or defend her honor. No boy–or girl–is worth the weight of a mortal sin or sexual compromise.