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Now you might think it a tall order to talk about
this subject with anyone, but try talking about it to a large and
energetic group of seventy-five teenagers for two hours straight!
What's worse is that most of them are bombarded with extremely
strong sexual content in nearly everything they listen to or watch
on television.
Last November 2003, the new Josephite Pro-Life,
Pro-Marriage, Pro-Family Committee held its first Building A Culture
of Life Conference at Saint Francis of Assisi Catholic Church in Breaux
Bridge, Louisiana. The conference, which addressed how we might better
protect the sanctity of life, marriage, and family in our communities,
was both well-attended and well-received by more than two hundred people.
Among the many problems discussed, one of the more
pressing concerns was the lack of understanding and appreciation for love
and sexuality especially among adolescents. They often receive very little
worthwhile information on this serious and sensitive subject thereby leaving
them vulnerable to numerous dangers. As a result, the conference featured
an afternoon workshop focusing on this issue alone.
Now you might think it a tall order to talk about this
subject with anyone, but try talking about it to a large and energetic group
of seventy-five teenagers for two hours straight! What's worse is that most
of them are bombarded with extremely strong sexual content in nearly everything
they listen to or watch on television. Their views are much the same as Jay- Z,
J-Lo, Lil' Kim, Ludaris, or even 50 Cent. MTV and BET seems to play as much
a role in forming and conditioning their views about love and sex as any
Sunday sermon or CCD class. This is a terrible shame!
First Things First
After setting some important ground rules,
my wife Gloria and I began with an unexpected "ice-breaker."
Gloria asked, "Is sex good…?" After an astonished silence,
she said matter-of-factly, "Campbell Soup is good…" Next she
asked, "Is sex great?" Only two boys ventured a "yes" to which she
stated bluntly, "Frosted Flakes are great." By then, we had everyone's
attention. So Gloria declared "Sex is good; Sex is great; and most
importantly, SEX IS HOLY!" Everyone sat stunned. When asked for their
reaction, the teens said that they had never heard that before.
Going back to Genesis 1-2, Gloria described how
we are made in the image and likeness of God who is a family of three
distinct persons who love one another so powerfully that they are
literally one. We call this one-of-a-kind family the Trinity.
We are called to image God by the way we love and one of the
ways we love is through sex within the Sacrament of Marriage.
In short, sex allows us to image the inner love and life of God.
Thus she explained that anything that misuses sex actually
profanes it and ultimately desecrates the very image of God whom we are.
By Michael Scott
For more information about the Josephite Pro-Life,
Pro-Marriage, and Pro-Family Committee or its "Building A Culture of Life
Conferences," please contact Father John Raphael, S.S.J.
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