Riflessioni ad alta voce

Sexuality and vow of chastity Recalling what we have already said we can affirm that: - Man is made for relationship - Love is the language of this relationship Both relationship and love come from God and are a necessary part of human nature. From that we have to deduct that the vow of chastity cannot go against these two points. We can say that: The vow of chastity is in no way against relationships or love, but has a different way of fulfilling them. We do not give up the relationship but simply the physical aspect of it in order to develop better the social and spiritual aspects. We do not give up love, but the erotic aspect of it in order to develop better the agape aspect. So whoever makes the vow of chastity has to be a mature person, able to understand his own impulses and desires, accept them as part of his nature and sublimate them rather than satisfy them.

Biblical passages on Chastity -) The intimacy with the Lord: Hos 2,16-25; Hos 11, 1-4 -) God’s love: 1 Jn 3,1-3; 1 Jn 4,7-21 -) chastity and apostolate: 1 Cor 7 33-35 -) chastity: anticipation of the kingdom of heaven (Mt 23,30) Questions for reflection Who are the people I can say I really love? How do I express my love for them? Who are the people I feel attraction for? What is attractive in them? Am I happy with myself, my sex, my family, my body, my companions? What are the things in myself, my sex, my family, my body, my companions which I do not like? Am I a busy person or do I have a lot of empty time? Am I happy with the things which I do? When there is any fall do I have the courage to confess it to the priest? While confessing it do I use generic words hoping the priest will not understand? Is there anything in my past life I feel guilty about, I find difficult to talk about, to think about?

From the writings of Don Orione Chastity Modesty and religious mortification are the safeguard of the beautiful virtue. Mortification and piety are the basis of morality of life. The more you pray, the more you keep on the right path. Why do we sometimes hear people say: That priest... is he like that? Because he does not pray! A soul without prayer is like a barren land, one that is not watered by the life-giving dew. If a person leaves prayer behind she will leave her vocation! .............. Woe to the person who thinks that he is safe and neglects to take precautions! We have to fight all the time in order to win, right up to the end; our life is a continuous battle, and the one who perseveres wins. I really cannot commend this beautiful virtue enough to you! Blessed are the pure: beati mundo corde! Blessed are those who have a pure heart! ............... There will never be any lack of occasions for falling, whether you are here or whether you go to other house...

The vow of chastity in our Constitutions Art. 18 of our Constitutions say that Chastity is first of all a gift given by God. Chastity is something that does not come naturally, and sometimes asks us to act against the desire of our human nature. To follow it is possible and good because we are not merely human but also “divine” through the grace coming to us from the Cross of Jesus. It is to this divine aspect that the vow of chastity refers to, and it is in the name of the fulfilment of this aspect that we are called to sacrifice some aspects of the human nature. We are called to be in intimate communion with the Trinity, communion which is love, and chastity is the way of reaching the highest level of love. As children of God with a special vocation, we are called to witness this divine reality present in us. (Art. 19). If wedding is a covenant among two people to live and love each other in the name of God, chastity is a covenant with God himself, to live and love h...

Danger of a wrong interpretation of the vow of chastity: the double way Today, together with the extraordinary example of so many men and women committed to their consecration, we may find somebody having a wrong interpretation of the vow of chastity. This is possible when we focus only on some aspects of it, while neglecting the global picture and the foundations of the vow itself. This happens when we separate the vow from the consecration and from the fellowship of Christ. The error can be in two different ways. Some may stress too much on the aspect of not getting married. This can become the reason for rejecting every possible relationship (communication) with people of the opposite sex. This attitude hides some serious psychological problems. Some other, instead, considering not to get married, solely a rule to be practiced literally, they avoid marriage but allow themselves secretly everything else. This double life of commitment on the outside and of lust on the ...

Here is an extra reading to help us to reflect on what was the attitude of Jesus while relating with women. EXTRA READING: Jesus and the women. Somebody may say that Jesus was like anyone of his time a close minded misogynist. In fact none of the twelve apostles was a woman. Did Jesus think, like people of his time, that women were useless or inferior? Before answering about Jesus let us have a look at the condition of women in the Jewish society at the time of Jesus. The power of men inside the family was “Absolute”. The girl was under the dominion of the father till the moment she would get married (thing that would happen in her early teenage). After that she would move under the protection of her husband. If ever her father would die before her marriage, her elder brother (not her mother) would assume the power. After marriage she would not be free to enter public places unless fully veiled. A serious man would never entertain a woman in a public place and if ever he...

The vow of Chastity What is actually chastity? It is difficult to give an exhaustive answer in few words. Every man is called to find his fulfilment in God who is pure love. The love of God is a pure one, free from every possible human attachment, but our nature , which craves for such love, is at the same time ruined by sin and so feels also the pressure of other attachments which often at his eyes look look like real love. Chastity is the combination of three elements: The call of making the journey of purification of our love The commitment we undertake to do our best in this journey The much needed grace of God to make this journey possible. So the vow of chastity is much more than celibacy (not getting married), but regards all the ways in which we deal with our relationships. We sin against chastity whenever we try to possess others, we exploit them for our purposes, we put them before God. Whenever, in doing things, we look for human appreciation rather than righ...