This past week, I attended the Watterson School Union , and by the Law (Federal, State and
City), and they are underway. These
things take time and as long as a process is in motion, nothing further can be
said. This causes frustration, no doubt,
but the only comment possible is “No comment.”
When questions like this were reached in the trial of St. Joan of Arc,
her response was “Passez outre,” that
is, “move on to another question.”
Second, a major concern has been
that of the safety of our children and ensuring that they are able to discuss
with helpful adults what needs to be discussed to give them an understanding of
the situation. There have been messages
received that law enforcement officials called “menacing,” rather than
“threatening.” Rumors have escalated
what has been received. There is one
police officer present on premises (at the Diocesan expense, not Watterson’s)
and the School is, as usual, under “level one security,” which means access to
the building is limited. (This is the
usual condition of our schools, including St. Timothy School
Finally, the question of communication
has been raised both at the level of the School and of the Diocese. Bishop Campbell was interviewed personally by
the media and information has been published.
The School and the Diocesan Office of Education have agreed to ensure
that parents and others get information in a timely fashion. Questions and concerns can be sent to the Watterson School
For all of us, this is a moment to
choose to maintain our unity in the Faith and in our support for one
another. We are a family and we owe it
to one another not to “abandon ship” when we need each other the most. The world will use such painful experiences
to divide and conquer. God can use the
same experience as He used the Cross – to open the door to a new Life and to
deepen our understanding of how close He is to us.
Year of Faith October
11, 2012 – November 24, 2013
The Vocation to Chastity 2337 Chastity means the successful integration of sexuality within the person and thus the inner unity of man in his bodily and spiritual being. Sexuality, in which man’s belonging to the bodily and biological world is expressed, becomes personal and truly human when it is integrated into the relationship of one person to another, in the complete and lifelong mutual gift of a man and a woman. The virtue of chastity therefore involves the integrity of the person and the integrality of the gift.
The integrity of the person 2338 The chaste person maintains the integrity of the powers of life and love placed in him. This integrity ensures the unity of the person; it is opposed to any behavior that would impair it. It tolerates neither a double life nor duplicity in speech. (Cf. Matthew 5:37.)
2339 Chastity includes an apprenticeship in self-mastery which is a training in human freedom. The alternative is clear: either man governs his passions and finds peace, or he lets himself be dominated by them and becomes unhappy. (Cf. Sirach 1:22.) “Man’s dignity therefore requires him to act out of conscious and free choice, as moved and drawn in a personal way from within, and not by blind impulses in himself or by mere external constraint. Man gains such dignity when, ridding himself of all slavery to the passions, he presses forward to his goal by freely choosing what is good and, by his diligence and skill, effectively secures for himself the means suited to this end.” (Gaudium et Spes 17.)
2340 Whoever wants to remain faithful to his baptismal promises and resist temptations will want to adopt the means for doing so: self-knowledge, practice of an ascesis adapted to the situations that confront him, obedience to God’s commandments, exercise of the moral virtues, and fidelity to prayer. “Indeed it is through chastity that we are gathered together and led back to the unity from which we were fragmented into multiplicity.” (St. Augustine, Confessions 10, 29, 40.)
2343 Chastity has laws of growth which progress through stages marked by imperfection and too often by sin. “Man... day by day builds himself up through his many free decisions; and so he knows, loves, and accomplishes moral good by stages of growth.” (Familiaris Consortio 34.)
2344 Chastity represents an eminently personal task; it also involves a cultural effort, for there is “an interdependence between personal betterment and the improvement of society.” (Gaudium et S 25 § 1.) Chastity presupposes respect for the rights of the person, in particular the right to receive information and an education that respect the moral and spiritual dimensions of human life.
2345 Chastity is a moral virtue. It is also a gift from God, a grace, a fruit of spiritual effort. (Cf. Galatians 5:22.) The Holy Spirit enables one whom the water of Baptism has regenerated to imitate the purity of Christ. (Cf. 1 John 3:3.)
The integrality of the gift of self 2346 Charity is the form of all the virtues. Under its influence, chastity appears as a school of the gift of the person. Self-mastery is ordered to the gift of self. Chastity leads him who practices it to become a witness to his neighbor of God’s fidelity and loving kindness. 2347 The virtue of chastity blossoms in friendship. It shows the disciple how to follow and imitate him who has chosen us as his friends, (Cf. John 15:15.) who has given himself totally to us and allows us to participate in his divine estate. Chastity is a promise of immortality. Chastity is expressed notably in friendship with one’s neighbor. Whether it develops between persons of the same or opposite sex, friendship represents a great good for all. It leads to spiritual communion.
The various forms of chastity 2348 All the baptized are called to chastity. The Christian has “put on Christ,” (Galatians 3:27.) the model for all chastity. All Christ’s faithful are called to lead a chaste life in keeping with their particular states of life. At the moment of his Baptism, the Christian is pledged to lead his affective life in chastity.
2349 “People should cultivate chastity in the way that is suited to their state of life. Some profess virginity or consecrated celibacy which enables them to give themselves to God alone with an undivided heart in a remarkable manner. Others live in the way prescribed for all by the moral law, whether they are married or single.” (Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith, Persona humana 11.) Married people are called to live conjugal chastity; others practice chastity in continence: “There are three forms of the virtue of chastity: the first is that of spouses, the second that of widows, and the third that of virgins. We do not praise any one of them to the exclusion of the others.... This is what makes for the richness of the discipline of the Church.” (St. Ambrose, De viduis 4, 23.)
2350 Those who are engaged to marry are called to live chastity in continence. They should see in this time of testing a discovery of mutual respect, an apprenticeship in fidelity, and the hope of receiving one another from God. They should reserve for marriage the expressions of affection that belong to married love. They will help each other grow in chastity.
2359 Homosexual persons are called to chastity. By the virtues of self-mastery that teach them inner freedom, at times by the support of disinterested friendship, by prayer and sacramental grace, they can and should gradually and resolutely approach Christian perfection.
Comment: This section of the Catechism is included to
bring some light concerning Catholic Church teaching on Marriage and
Sexuality. It is the Church’s firm belief
that God offers grace to live in accord with the call to chastity according to
one’s state in life. Much of the current
culture calls the Church’s teaching into question because it doubts the
possibility of living up to such a call and of receiving the grace to put it
into practice. While it is true that
such an ideal is high, it is also true that human beings are capable of great
achievement only when they aim high. Our
aim is Eternity and a living relationship with God. Can you see the wisdom of the Church’s
teaching even if you have questions about it?
Focolare Word of Life May 2013
Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed
down, shaken together, and running over, will be put into your lap. (Lk 6:38)
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