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Theo Tigno•
10/14/2004 12:14 pm
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Thursday, October 14 2004 |
Ephesians 1:1-10
Paul, an Apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, to the holy ones who are in Ephesus and faithful in Christ Jesus: grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavens, as he chose us in him, before the foundation of the world, to be holy and without blemish before him. In love he destined us for adoption to himself through Jesus Christ, in accord with the favor of his will, for the praise of the glory of his grace that he granted us in the beloved.
In Christ we have redemption by his Blood, the forgiveness of transgressions, in accord with the riches of his grace that he lavished upon us. In all wisdom and insight, he has made known to us the mystery of his will in accord with his favor that he set forth in him as a plan for the fullness of times, to sum up all things in Christ, in heaven and on earth.
Dawg's thought:
Today's prayer intention is for God's grace upon this year's presidential election.
Lust vs. Chastity (whoah!)
Here are a few excerpts from Christopher West's "WHAT IS THE THEOLOGY OF THE BODY & WHY IS IT CHANGING SO MANY LIVES?"
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A New Context for Understanding Sexual Morality
The Church's sexual ethic begins to make sense when viewed through this lens. It's not a prudish list of prohibitions. It's a call to embrace our own "greatness," our own God-like dignity. It's a call to live the love we're created for.
Since a prophet is one who proclaims God's love, John Paul II describes the body and sexual union as "prophetic." But, he adds, we must be careful to distinguish between true and false prophets. If we can speak the truth with our bodies, we can also speak lies. Ultimately all questions of sexual morality come down to one simple question: Does this truly image God's free, total, faithful, fruitful love or does it not?
In practical terms, how healthy would a marriage be if spouses were regularly unfaithful to their wedding vows? On the other hand, how healthy would a marriage be if spouses regularly renewed their vows, expressing an ever-increasing commitment to them? This is what's at stake in the Church's teaching on sexual morality.
Masturbation, fornication, adultery, intentionally sterilized sex, homosexual acts, etc. none of these image God's free, total, faithful, and fruitful love. None of these behaviors express and renew wedding vows. They aren't marital. Does this mean people who behave in such ways are "inherently evil?" No. They're just confused about how to satisfy their genuine desires for love.
If I offered you a million dollar bill and a counterfeit million dollar bill, which would you prefer? Dumb question, I know. But what if you were raised in a culture that incessantly bombarded you with propaganda convincing you that counterfeit was the real thing and the real thing was a counterfeit? Might you be a little confused?
Authentic Sexual Liberation
Why all the propaganda? If there's an enemy that wants to keep us from heaven, and if the body and sex is meant to point us there, what do you think he's going to attack? Sin's tactic is to "twist" and "disorient" our desire for the eternal embrace. That's all it can do. When we understand this, we realize that the sexual confusion so prevalent in our world and in our own hearts is nothing but the human desire for heaven gone berserk.
But the tide is changing. People can only put up with the counterfeits for so long. Not only do they fail to satisfy, they wound us terribly. Sadly, the truth of the Church's teaching on sex is confirmed in the wounds of those who haven't lived it. Our longings for love, intimacy, and freedom are good. But the sexual revolution sold us a bill of goods. We haven't been "liberated." We've been duped, betrayed, and left wanting.
This is why the world is a mission field ready to soak up John Paul II's theology of the body. And this is why it's already changing so many lives around the world. The Pope's teaching helps us distinguish between the real million dollar bill and the counterfeit. It helps us "untwist" our disordered desires and orients us towards the love that truly satisfies.
As this happens, we experience the Church's teaching not as a burden imposed from "without," but as a message of salvation welling up from "within." We experience the truth that sets us free. In other words, we experience what the sexual revolution promised but couldn't deliver authentic sexual liberation.
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Take care and God Bless.
*To read the whole article, go to http://www.theologyofthebody.com/article13.htm
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