Chastity

As I have said before, one of my FAVOURITE parts of my  job is when I get to write the front of the weekly bulletin. It is a chance for me to reflect personally on the readings from the Sunday but also to write! I love writing (which is why I started this blog). This past Sunday I ended up doing the bulletin front - I wasn't scheduled to but filled in for someone who wasn't able to get it ready.  I chose to talk about the topic of chastity in light of the recent letter to  young people put out by the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops.   What I thought was just 'ok' was apparently more than ok. I have been blessed to have received great feedback from a number of people. One lady even called and left a message on my voice mail at work. She isn't a parishioner of the parish but comes to play cards on Wednesdays. She said she picked up a bulletin and was so impressed and loved that I took on a challenging topic.  Her message was so sweet and I almost cried (tears for sure welled up)

I wonder, Is God giving me these opportunities to write and speaking to me through these complete strangers?  I pray that I can be open to what God is calling me to with this gift He seems to have blessed me with.

If you are interested here is my reflection.  The Gospel for last Sunday was Matthew 5:38-48.


 In the Gospel today, we are challenged to be perfect, as our Heavenly Father is perfect. I don’t know about you but to me that is a HUGE challenge.  In our daily lives there are standards that we are held to or ones that we strive for and this trumps ALL of those!  As Christians we are on a journey to holiness. This journey will take us through trials and triumphs but we need to always keep at the centre our focus of being holy and perfect as God is perfect.

In January, the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops released a pastoral letter to young people on chastity.  In a world that has little respect for sexuality, they are speaking out and calling our young people (and all of us) to a higher standard - to be perfect like our Heavenly Father is perfect.  St. Paul tells us many times in his letters that our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit (in today’s second reading).  If God dwells in us then people should be able to see God working in our lives through our actions. In their letter the Bishops say, “The body is our doorway to salvation, and so how we treat it matters.”

Chastity is something that we are all called to, young and old, single, married, religious, or ordained. It calls us to purity of body and mind. “The virtue of chastity involves the integration of the powers of love and life placed in us. This integrity ensures the unity of the person and is opposed to any behaviour that would distort it.” When we try to separate our body from our spirit, we live a double life, become self-centred and lose sight of the beauty around us.  

Society tells us to listen to our bodies and to follow our own desires – ‘if it feels good do it.’ But Jesus calls us to a great standard. He says, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me” (Mk 8:34). Chastity is a struggle and requires that we order our lives with God at the beginning of everything.  By knowing what we believe, surrounding ourselves with friends who are supportive of our faith, and choosing wisely the entertainment we seek, chastity and holiness is possible.

When World Youth Day was held in Toronto in 2002, Pope John Paul II (who will be beatified on May 1st) said, “Just as salt gives flavor to food and light illuminates the darkness, so too holiness gives full meaning to life and makes it reflect God’s glory. How many saints, especially young saints, can we count in the Church’s history.” We have many men and women who have gone before us who are great examples of chastity and holiness. One of my favourites is Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati who went against his family’s lifestyle and what society told him and chose to act on God’s call to follow Him.

As we go about our faith journey’s I pray that as a community we can help our young people and one another to strive for chastity and holiness in our daily lives.

The full letter from the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops can be found on their website: www.cccb.ca.