Obsession

No, I'm not talking about a line of cologne for men.

But rather...I was just thinking back to a comment on one of my Facebook posts.  Perhaps I like posting Catholic things regarding sexuality and things of that nature on Facebook/Twitter.  But I haven't in a long while... And people like confronting me about those posts.  Which is great!  I like a challenge.  But long story short...this one time, a friend of mine brought up that the Catholic Church's obsession with sexuality is unhealthy.  I didn't take offense to this.  And I don't think I ever responded to that.  But I've given it some thought since then.

Honestly, I think the Catholic Church's obsession with sexuality isn't unhealthy...rather, it's the general lack of obsession of sexuality in society that is unhealthy.  In the sexually-saturated world that we live in, you're probably thinking, "wait, aren't we pretty obsessed with sex?" ...and to that, I would agree!  But, not fully.  Because the general obsession with sexuality that I see out there in the world lacks the fullness of authentic sexuality.  In other words, the world is obsessed with sex! Yes! But only some reduced or twisted form of it.  And that's not Catholic.

You see, the Catholic Church is obsessed with the beauty and truth of sexuality as God intended.  And we can reason what the purpose of sexuality is based on natural law, which examines the human body and we can use reason and logic to conclude why male and female and sexual union.  Ultimately, because we, human beings, are God's creation...our very being, our bodies...point towards God and His Love.   The one flesh union between man and woman in the marital embrace speaks the language of God's love.  That's Catholic.

Sex is a beautiful thing.  And anything that takes away from its beauty is most likely not in line with what the Catholic Church teaches on sex.

So yeah, obsession.  The Catholic Church is obsessed with sex because the current worldview isn't obsessed with it enough.

All of this deserves more reflection and explanation, but...not in this blog post.  I'm just thinking about obsession.  But thankfully, much of that reflection and explanation has already been done.

In the unending search for truth in sexual obsession, Catholic-style, here are some topics/people worth Googling for more info:
Theology of the Body and Blessed Pope John Paul II
Christopher West
Chastity.com
Jason & Crystalina Evert
Humanae Vitae by Pope Pius VI

Faith. Hope. Charity. Obsession.
- JD

All Natural!

I'm a big fan of a Catholic radio show called Catholic Answers Live which airs in the evenings during the week.  The host of the show is Patrick Coffin and every hour the show he usually brings in a guest where they focus on a particular topic. Listeners are allowed to call in and ask questions regarding the Catholic teaching of the topic of that hour.  Pretty cool stuff!  I've learned a lot.  And it gives me something to listen to on my commute home from work. Patrick Coffin, in addition to being a radio show host, is also a book and blog writer (and he wears a few other hats not worth mentioning here).  If not evident from the picture above, he wrote Sex Au Naturel where he presents factual and scriptural points on the Catholic Church's teaching regarding sex and contraception/sterilization/abortion.   I just finished the book today after reading it here and there for a few weeks.  My motivation for reading it stemmed from him shamelessly plugging his book whenever callers pose a question regarding contraception.  In light of what's going on in the United States right now with the HHS mandate that demands all insurance companies to cover contraception and abortifacient drugs, I felt it necessary to arm myself with whatever resources I can muster to defend the Church's teaching. What I liked about the book was how readable it is.  Patrick presents the information clearly and concisely with a ton of references.  The book is meant for Catholics to read, and he even says that at the beginning.  He covers the history of Christian teaching on contraception, the implications of Humanae Vitae, makes the case for Catholic authority on teaching this matter, birth control, the overpopulation myth, and sterilization...and things in-between.  You can find more info about the book and its Amazon link here on his website at patrickcoffin.net. It's short, but I don't know how many pages there are because I have the Kindle edition...haha. But anyway, while this blog post isn't a critical review of the book...I know that I'll probably be referencing this book or referencing his references for future blog posts. I definitely recommend this book for those Catholics and Christians who aren't too clear on Church teaching regarding contraception.  He isn't preachy or judgmental--he just echoes facts and verses.  It's also going to be a good resource for an aspiring Catholic apologist, especially now that the issue of contraception has been elevated to national attention.  NOW is the time to let the American society know why the Catholic Church teaches what she teaches regarding sex and contraception. On to the next book about sex and Catholic teaching... Faith. Hope. Charity. Going green. - JD