chastity crash course p.1 // God is not a killjoy!

Most of us go through relationships. Courtship is exciting. We don't know what to do. How do I win her heart? How do I approach her? It's hard to connect and build a relationship, but when we're attracted, we find ways.

It gets more exciting when we finally get to meet and chat with her. We do things we didn't imagine we'd do, like volunteering in parish just to impress her, or buying expensive stuff just to please her. We'd soak ourselves in phone conversations even when our favorite show's on the tube. Finally, you become a couple.

After some time the word "forever" starts to get in mind, and intimacy starts to grow. Our parents thought us not to do "bad things" so we try to take things slow, but somehow, as time goes by and intimacy increases, it just gets harder. It feels so good and right, why call it "bad"?

Is God and the Church killjoys? Somehow most of us feel that way -- that "abstinence" is such an unfair "law". "True love waits" is usually all the explanation we hear, and it really doesn’t make sense to a heart filled with passion. We end up being torn between two choices -- suppress what we feel was good, or give in to our desires. We can try our best to abstain, but the difficulties make it easy for us to set aside our faith, especially when one thing is leading to another. If God doesn't want me to be happy, then He probably doesn't understand.

But Jesus tells us, "I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly... These things I have spoken to you that my joy might be in you and your joy may be full."

Unfortunately, as we find from the situation above, the word "abstinence" immediately comes to almost everybody’s mind when what the Church teaches about sexuality is brought up -- don’t do this, don’t do that! How can one believe in Jesus with this in mind. But is "abstinence" really all that the Church teaches?

A lot of people, not-so-old included, are consistently surprised to hear that the Church isn’t teaching mere "abstinence", but chastity. If only they knew the real deal. Hopefully, this series will help you understand why chastity is such beautiful thing, and why the Church teaches it.

Let us pray to Jesus...
You have created us for love. You made us for Yourself, and our hearts will not be at rest until they rest in You. So, open our minds and our hearts, so that this time of study may be a time of prayer. Help us to let go of those things that keep us from receiving the joy You wish to give us today and always. Amen.


Next in this series...
What does God have to do with relationships and sexuality? Why did God create us the way He did? What does God have to do with love and romance?