Tag: chastity

On
Elizabeth Durack

Speak up for public morality; teach virtues

To the editor:

We have in my neighborhood in Madison annually a kind of reenactment of the tornado of human bodies witnessed by Dante in the Inferno’s scene about sins against chastity: a nude swarm swirling around busy downtown on bicycles, eliciting a wave of stares, grins, whoops, glee, and photo taking by bystanders, as perhaps the demons enjoy seeing tormented souls, and certainly a vignette of post-sexual-revolution social sin.

Madison’s “World Naked Bike Ride” either opposes fossil fuels or celebrates the immunity of moral chaos to correction by authority. Not everyone experiences it as altogether benign: a local woman who had been sexually assaulted in early life recently told a journalist that “seeing dozens, often hundreds of naked bodies unexpectedly is a trigger for her.”

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On
Fr. Tad Pacholczyk

Parents play key role in sex education

While some parents might be happy to avoid the awkward conversations that arise around human sexuality by allowing the school system to provide their children’s sex education, it is nonetheless important for parents to recognize that they are the most significant teachers and models for their own children as they mature sexually.

Instilling a healthy attitude about sexuality in young people involves a variety of considerations, including conveying a proper sense of constraints and boundaries. These boundaries arise organically through the virtue of chastity, by which a person acquires the ability to renounce self, to make sacrifices, and to wait generously in consideration of loving fidelity toward a future spouse, out of self-respect, and out of fidelity to God.

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On
Abbot Marcel Rooney

Adaptation and renewal of Religious Life: Chastity and charity linked

Reflections on Religious Life column by Abbot Marcel Rooney

Editor’s note: During this Year of Consecrated Life, this is the eighth in a series based on the Second Vatican Council’s document, Perfectae Caritatis (Decree on the Adaptation and Renewal of Religious Life) written by Abbot Marcel Rooney, OSB, former abbot primate of the Benedictine order who now resides in Madison.

In this commentary on the Decree of the Second Vatican Council, On the Adaptation and Renewal of Religious Life (Perfectae Caritatis), we have been reflecting on how the council fathers envisioned a deep renewal of what the Church calls “the Consecrated Life.”

Number 12 of the decree speaks of one of the evangelical counsels, chastity, as at the core of that life.

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On
Abbot Marcel Rooney, OSB

Adaptation and renewal of Religious Life

Reflections on Religious Life column by Abbot Marcel Rooney

Editor’s note: During this Year of Consecrated Life, this is the first in a series based on the Second Vatican Council’s document, Perfectae Caritatis (Decree on the Adaptation and Renewal of Religious Life) written by Abbot Marcel Rooney, OSB, former abbot primate of the Benedictine order who now resides in Madison.

Pope Francis has declared this year as one to be dedicated to the Life of Religious Consecration.

This is not a one-sided emphasis, since this is also the year of the Synod of Bishops which will be dedicated to the discussion of married life. It is important to see both ways of life as at the heart of the whole Church’s life and calling to witness Jesus.

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On
Kevin Wondrash, Catholic Herald Staff

Hundreds attend chastity talk on the UW-Madison campus

Internationally-known chastity speaker and author Jason Evert speaks to a packed hall of more than 300 students on the UW-Madison campus for his talk “Save Your Marriage Before Meeting Your Spouse.” The event was presented by student group Badger Catholic. (Catholic Herald photo/Kevin Wondrash)

MADISON — On Thursday, Feb. 6, the University of Wisconsin Badgers men’s hockey team defeated number one ranked Minnesota 2 to 1 before almost 9,000 fans at the Kohl Center.

While Bucky was defending the home ice against Goldy, less than one half mile away at UW-Madison’s Gordon Dining and Event Center, more than 300 college students packed the building’s “Concerto Room” to hear about chastity.

Internationally known speaker Jason Evert was on hand to give his talk, “Save Your Marriage Before Meeting Your Spouse.”

Evert and his wife, Crystalina, have spoken on six continents to more than one million people about the virtue of chastity. He and his wife are the authors of more than 10 books, including How to Find Your Soulmate without Losing Your Soul and Theology of the Body for Teens.

The event was presented by Badger Catholic, a student organization on the UW-Madison campus that seeks to inspire greater discussion about spirituality and faith in order to encourage students to better their lives and the lives of those around them.

A large crowd

As the event began, additional chairs had to be brought in, but it wasn’t enough to seat the overflow crowd, who either sat on the floor or stood against the walls.

Evert began his talk, acknowledging the large attendance. He said he was happy to see “standing room only of people skipping a hockey game to save your future marriage . . . this is a beautiful thing.”

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On
Bishop Robert C. Morlino, Bishop of Madison

Rejoice always! Pray always!

Dear Friends,

Gaudete Sunday this year was truly a Sunday of rejoicing for me. I thank God for that, and I pray that it was a great day of rejoicing for all of you, as well. It would have been enough had I simply been given the gift of our liturgy in anticipation of our celebration of Christ’s coming, but there were some additional gifts to be experienced.

 

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On
Fr. Tad Pacholczyk

Sexual attractions and the call to chastity

Making Sense out of Bioethics column by Fr. Tad Pacholczyk

People often surmise that same-sex attraction is inborn, and that homosexuals are “naturally gay” or “born that way.” They suppose that if God made them that way, then it must not be a sin to act on their sexual desires.

The possibility of a “gay gene” is sometimes offered as a further defense, suggesting that the condition, and its associated behavior, are inevitable and inescapable.

One commentator summarized it this way: “Asking someone to stop being homosexual would therefore be equivalent to asking an Asian person to stop being Asian or a left-handed person to stop being left-handed.”

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