Archive for the 'Chastity' Category

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…)

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…)