"You have heard that it was said, 'You shall not commit adultery.' But I say to you that every one who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and throw it away; it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away; it is better that you lose one of your members than your whole body go into hell." Matthew 5: 27-30
This comes from a discussion I recently had about purity. Our culture today is totally disordered when it come to our perspective of human sexuality and how men and women relate to one another. God created us, man and woman, and gave us the gift of love and sex so that we might find comfort and pleasure in one another, and for the purpose of procreation. According to God's economy, man and woman mutually support and respect each other and that gift is properly shared within the bond of the union which we have come to recognize as the Sacrament of Marriage.
Today, however, society places a much higher value on the heightened sexuality of individuals and the power and status that imparts to them. Children have become more sexualized at a younger and younger age, to the point where the Chicago Public Schools are about to start teaching sex ed to kindergartners. Young men and women are bombarded with images of scantily clad people on every form of media. Pornography is only a click away on any computer or smart phone. The institution of Marriage is routinely mocked and is no longer held up as the ideal for a sound culture.
We must embrace the notion that sex, a gift from God, is not meant to be displayed and flaunted in the public square at every opportunity. Dressing provocatively, sexting and posting inappropriate posts on social media sites are not examples of men and women exercising their freedoms or displaying their personality or innate sense of self. These actions are demeaning and pervert the true nature of God's intentions for us. There are other ways to define oneself than to compete to see who can show the most skin or pose in the most provocative manner.
We are called to remain pure in two ways. First, we should dress appropriately and to avoid being the object of temptation for someone else. Second, we should look away and to avoid putting inappropriate images and temptations in our minds that can be used against us by the Enemy.
Adam and Eve did not recognize there nakedness until after the Fall. We are the sons of Adam and the daughters of Eve, and we therefore have a disordered view of human sexuality. We are also heirs to the Kingdom of God through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and through him we find the ability to repent of our sins and to find a sense of order in our lives according to God's Will. I believe that it is God's Will that we remain pure in heart, body and spirit; man and woman united in the bond of marriage and sharing in the intimacy of the marriage bed.
Fr. Michael+
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