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January
9, 1995
"A Fresh, Spiritual Way of Thinking" Today, however, the teachings of Christ and His Church are frequently presented as "old fashioned" or "unrealistic." Many people claim that the Church is "behind the times," that she does not understand what life is all about or what people are experiencing. Some even go so far as to demand that the Church change and approve ideas and patterns of behavior that we have always known to be contrary to God's plan. The confusion that comes from such mistaken ideas about human existence has had a terrible impact. Many people claim to believe but have no clear idea about the God they believe in. There seem to be as many ideas about God as there are people. It appears that people fashion for themselves "gods" they can feel comfortable with. When the teachings of the Lord, which are handed on by His Church, become difficult for groups or individuals, Jesus is simply re-defined. This distorted understanding of God, Christ, and His Church leads to misconceptions about the meaning and identity of the human person and the human family. These misconceptions manifest themselves most alarmingly in the tragic collapse of the ethical principles of solidarity and respect for the sanctity of human life. Our times are marked by ethnic tension at home and outright warfare abroad; by a hardening of hearts toward the poor, the sick, and the suffering; by the killing of the unborn and the abandonment of the elderly. The lesson of our age is that the problems of the human family only intensify when God is forgotten. The hope for combating all that seeks to destroy solidarity and to devalue human life is rooted in a genuine knowledge of Jesus Christ and the God whom He reveals. It is in Christ that we encounter the God whose every concern and action is for our well-being and our redemption. Through a personal encounter with Jesus, the first-born of all creation, we come to a correct knowledge of ourselves. The Son of God made flesh reveals the meaning of human existence, the plan that existed from the foundation of the world. God's plan touches every aspect of our existence and every dimension of our lives. It is not surprising, therefore, that misunderstanding the truth about God has led to misconceptions about the truth, the goodness, and the beauty of human sexuality. The purpose of this letter is to help you reflect on the truth about God and, therefore, the truth about human existence. As the custodian of the teachings of Christ, the Church is by no means behind the times; she is always ahead of them. Our age needs to catch up to the Church and to conform itself with the mind of Christ, who is the same yesterday, today, and forever. I.
The Human Person Because God was not compelled to create anyone or anything, everything that exists is the fruit of His freely given love. The wonder and the beauty of creation should move us in love and gratitude toward the God who made the earth, the sea, the sky, and all that they contain. We also learn from the story recounted in Genesis how God's crowning achievement was the creation of the human family. Out of everything that God makes, only man and woman are made in His image and likeness. As good and beautiful as the plants, the animals, and all of nature may be, nothing compares with the goodness and beauty of humanity. Only women and men are images of God. But what does it mean to be made in God's image? While the full meaning of this is revealed by Jesus in His teaching about the intimate loving communion we call the Trinity, the truth of God's nature is already present in the Book of Genesis.3 When God chooses to create the human family He says, "Let us make man in our image and likeness." These words prepare us for Jesus' teaching about the Trinity and about the intimate loving communion that is the life of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Being created in the image of the God who is three persons in One, we can love in a way that reflects the love of the Persons of the Trinity. This is not merely an ideal for which the Christian strives, it is the truth about how we have been made. The
truth about the original beauty and meaning of the human person
is revealed in the account of the creation of the human family found
in Genesis, Chapter 2: In the description of Adam's solitude, we find insights into our own lives, insights that are beyond what a literal reading would convey. When Adam realizes that no created thing can relieve his solitude, God moves to satisfy Adam's longing for intimate, loving, and life-giving companionship. Only someone like Adam, who has been made in God's image, will be able to love the way that Adam longs to love and be loved. God creates the woman not as an object for the man, but as someone who also longs for love and who can love him in return. Through the complementarity of their bodies and their gifts, the man and woman will be able to love like God: freely, completely, exclusively, and fruitfully.5
B. Sexual Awakening: Adam's encounter with Eve, however, is primarily spiritual. The Book of Genesis is describing a spiritual awakening in which the woman and man recognize their freedom to give themselves to one another. Only in the presence of one another do the man and the woman understand the truth about the loving nature of God, and thus the truth of their existence: to share with one another the love that God has shared with them. They also learn that their love can give life, that their love can participate with God in creating another person. In fact, God has so created human beings that they can only discover their true identity through this "sincere gift of self" that describes the type of loving for which they have been made.8 But
to live this way, God must be the center of their lives. True loving
communion is only possible if the man and the woman accept that
God knows what is best for them. This is made clear when God commands
them not to eat from the tree in the middle of the Garden: At that moment, the man and the woman discover something important about their own freedom. They can choose to cooperate with God or to abandon His plan. They recognize that they are free even to sin - in their relationship with God, in their relationship with one another, in their interaction with nature. The reality of their freedom is made clear in the account of original sin in Genesis, Chapter 3. Since the man and the woman are not forced to obey the Lord's command, they respond to God in freedom. The original sin of the man and the woman in the garden was their rejection of the Lord's authority over their lives and their rejection of His authority over nature. The practical consequence of their decision to determine what is best for themselves is a radical break in their relationship with God, with one another, and with nature. That which was created to give expression to God's way of loving is no longer seen as beautiful. Private or personal sin has an exterior dimension. That which is most good and true and beautiful can, because of sin, be regarded as something bad, something dishonest, and something ugly. Thus, ashamed of their bodies, the man and the woman hide as much from one another as from God. Fractured by sin, naked and ashamed, they try to conceal themselves in the garden. In spite of their sin, the Lord reaches out to them. He calls the man and the woman to step into the light of His presence. In conversation with the couple, the Lord explains the full impact of their rejection of His authority. God describes the dimensions of this original sin: it hinders their relationship with Him, with each other, and with nature. Sin has touched every aspect of their existence. But the Lord does not call out to them only to explain the effects of sin. In the midst of His explanation, God gives the man and the woman something to hope for. God promises that redemption will come to them, that the far-reaching effects of original sin will be made right. In the promise of salvation, God guarantees that we will once again be able to live as He has created us: in loving communion with Him and with one another.10 II.
Spiritual Awakening: The Meaning of Human Existence This important time of growth is really a spiritual awakening like that of Adam and Eve before they sinned. The changes of your body should awaken within you a new and deeper understanding of yourself, of others, and of the meaning of human existence. Sexual maturity is not merely one stage of life among others. It is the stage in life when we begin to recognize more fully the meaning of human existence. We quite naturally begin to appreciate other persons in their own uniqueness. We understand the need for friendship and for human community, especially that of the family. Through the sexual development of our bodies, we encounter in a personal way the beautiful mystery of being human. We come to see ourselves as women and men capable of a genuine and fruitful union of body and spirit. Unlike animals, who respond to the urges and inclinations of their bodies only by instinct, we awaken to the sexual dimensions of our bodies in terms of freedom. We are not to respond to the drives of our bodies in the same way that animals respond to theirs. During our sexual development we are faced with important decisions about the true and proper way of responding to the drives and feelings that accompany these changes. But we are not determined or enslaved by the drives and urges of our bodies. They are not forces over which we have no control. They are not given only for our pleasure. The human person is called to allow the actions of the human body to communicate honestly the plan of God written on the heart. B.
Living God's Plan for Us The way we choose to respond to the changes of our bodies should respect the truths of human sexuality that have been revealed by God, and it should be in harmony with the purpose for which God created us male and female. The meaning of human sexuality is not imposed or determined by individuals, social customs, or political mandates. While these may positively or negatively influence how we think about ourselves as sexual beings, the true meaning of human sexuality is in the way God created us. The teachings of the Church not only affirm the worth and splendor of the body, they also prevent the body from being thought of as an instrument capable of expressing, "whatever I want, whenever I want, with whomever I want." The human body is not merely an instrument of personal pleasure. The human body is the temple of the Holy Spirit. After all, it is in bodily union that spouses are able to give expression to that loving communion of Father, Mother, and Child that shares in and mirrors the very life of the Persons of the Trinity.13 C.
Celibacy as an Expression of Loving Communion Unfortunately, many people have difficulty understanding the purpose and meaning of the celibate state of life. This has happened because the truth above the naturally symbolic meaning of the sexual act is widely rejected. While the claim is made that sexual expression does pertain to love in some way, few are willing to accept that there is only one type of loving to which human sexual activity is properly directed. Like Judas, who betrayed Jesus with a kiss that should have expressed friendship and affection, many people try to impose their own meaning upon human sexual activity. As a result of this serious mistake, not only is the worth of the human body diminished, but love itself becomes completely misunderstood and, ultimately, is rendered meaningless. 14 III.
Seeking the Truth Because a husband and wife become one flesh in marriage, you are the sign of that one-flesh unity! The man had relations with his wife Eve, and she conceived and bore Cain, saying, "I have produced a man with the help of the Lord. "15 As the embodiment of your parents' love for one another, you proceed as the fruit of their unity in a way that resembles the procession of the Holy Spirit from the love between the Father and the Son. Your parents love you for yourself, but also for the way you express their love of one another. Their immense love for you is what best clarifies the Fourth Commandment, "Honor your Father and your Mother." You honor them by allowing them to live out their proper role as your teachers. By sharing their own wisdom, and, especially, by sharing the deepest truths of our Catholic Faith, they demonstrate how they want what is best for you: that you know yourself as a child of God. IV.
Encouraging the Young in Chastity From this perspective it rightly can be stated that the entire human family is indicted by the problems associated with young people. Suicide, drugs, gang violence, a lack of respect and appreciation for human life, teen-age pregnancy--these are not so much the legacy of the young as they are the epitaph of the old. These social realities are not simply the fault of young people. While they are responsible for the choices they make and the consequences of their actions, young people will only understand the moral significance of their choices and actions to the extent that their lives have been opened to the truth. What has been sown by one generation is reaped by another. The welfare of the young demands a love from parents and adult members of the community that has the strength to stand against the false doctrines of this age, to sow the seeds of truth that will yield a harvest of justice and peace for the entire human family. The most fundamental requirement for helping the young is teaching them the spiritual nature of their sexual awakening. The ability to use the body sexually is not simply a physical phenomenon that can be directed toward any goal or be expressive of any consensual or externally imposed meaning. Teaching human sexuality as primarily a process of biology distorts that which is most uniquely and characteristically human: the ability to express love. Affirming the spiritual truths of human sexuality charges all believers to stand against the cycle of destructive sexuality. It is not enough to exhort our young to live chastely from fear of disease or pregnancy. Young people must be formed in a life of virtue from which a life of chastity emerges as a response to the goodness, truth, and beauty of the entire human person--body, soul, and spirit. We are body persons. Acting against the natural integrity of the human body diminishes the whole person. The abuse of alcohol, the use of drugs, or a habit of sexual promiscuity prevents one from experiencing the fullness of human life and can lead one to a fear and loathing of self and of others. B.
Teaching Responsibility by Example C.
Informing Public Policy While law does not make morality, it does serve to teach and form members of a community. We must insure that our laws foster and support a healthy public morality. We must not be afraid to call the world to repentance, to a radical change of heart that opens the human person to the life prepared for him from the foundation of the world. Our
responsibility to share the freeing truth of the Gospel includes
supplying the resources for establishing community programs that
respect the truth of human sexuality and support true human flourishing.
To do this it will be necessary that we address attitudes and programs
that are not directed toward the good of family life. And we must
resist the forces that would drive from the public square religious
voices and those whose moral understanding is religiously informed: Our responsibility to the wider community necessitates an active role in bringing renewal and reform to every dimension of life--social, educational, political--that demeans or devalues human sexuality. The cultural situation we face today threatens the good of family life at its very foundations. When the federal government extends special protection to clinics that do violence to women and children, when it goes so far as to impose special burdens on the freedom of speech of those who protest such violence, the entire nation should cringe with horror and disgust. But, as a community of believers, we should not fall back meekly and complacently. Now, more than ever before, our nation needs from us a sign of hope in our unyielding commitment to that spiritual way of thinking that exposes "the fruitless works of darkness"34 and draws all persons into the surpassing greatness of Christ. V.
Facing the Challenge 2. Trust the Lord and your own good judgement in rearing your children. Let your children see you praying. Pray with your children and share your faith with them. Talk to your children. Take the time to know what is going on with them. Be involved in school programs and in other programs in which they are involved. Exercise your rights to examine materials and to be fully informed. Do not be afraid to withhold your consent for your children to participate in programs you consider harmful or ill-advised. 3. Reject programs that promote attitudes towards human sexuality and ways of life that are opposed to chastity. Safeguard your children from programs that hand out birth control pills, condoms, and other contraceptive devices. 4. Help unmask a philosophy of human sexuality that pretends to be value free but, to the contrary, proposes false values and condones activities that undermine human dignity. 5. Band together to help one another meet your responsibilities and to help set a new direction in our communities. Parish groups might be formed. Efforts with other churches can be helpful. In communities having only public school systems, community-wide groups may be necessary. 6. Individually and with other groups that share common interests, exercise your rights to speak up and influence policies and programs proposed by school boards, school administrators, individual teachers, and other public services. 7. Continue to grow in the knowledge of your faith. Learn the beauty of the Church's message about human sexuality. Have in your home materials, like the new Catechism of the Catholic Church, that will help you to instruct your children about the rich heritage of the Catholic faith. B.
For Priests 2. Continue to teach clearly the Catholic understanding of human sexuality in the opportunities afforded you, including, when appropriate, the Sunday homily. In addition to sharing the profound Catholic vision of human sexuality, people should be called to repent for their sins, to use the Sacrament of Reconciliation, and to continue their conversion to Jesus Christ. 3. Encourage parents to meet their responsibilities and be ready to assist them personally and through well-designed programs. 4. Ensure that any program in the school or religious education program meets standards set by the Diocese. This will involve significant parental participation. 5. Be willing to cooperate in appropriate area-wide programs, especially with other Catholic institutions. Undertake ecumenical cooperation when appropriate and possible. 6. Find ways to facilitate the formation of mutual help groups for parents, and encourage groups of parents to be involved in the formation of local public policy. C.
For Diocesan Officials VI.
Conclusion The difficulties we face today, young or old, rich or poor, ill or healthy, must be met with the attitude of Christ, who never thought equality with God something to be grasped at.35 Most of the problems and tragedies of our day result from an attitude that claims equality with God. The world and all material reality is perceived by many as a possession belonging to the human family. Without acknowledging the Creator, the world is treated as something that, through our ingenuity and artifice, we can master and dominate rather than as a gift with which we are entrusted. Nowhere is this attitude and manner of behavior more destructive than in terms of human sexuality. How sad it is that human fertility is now regarded as a burden and a curse from which women must be liberated. The human inclination to evil has ushered in new atrocities that seek to destroy human relationships. But love is stronger than this. To re-kindle the hope that is ours as believing parents, pastors, educators, social workers, doctors, politicians, we have only to look to Our Lady. If we will take a courageous stand beside our young, protecting them from all that will bring them pain and harm, we have only to seek the comfort and support of the Virgin of Nazareth, whose own fecundity resulted from the power of God's life-giving Spirit. To the Woman who crushes the head of the serpent, whose children will always be at enmity with the prince of this world, we should lift up our hearts in prayer. And when we feel that the world rejects us, we must remember that it first rejected her Son. May the Mother of God, the Spouse of the Holy Spirit, the New Eve, intercede for us, that our hearts may be enlightened to the truth of our existence and the love for which we have been created. Given
at my Chancery, the 9th day of January, the Feast of the Baptism
of the Lord, in the year of Our Lord 1995. Notes
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