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CathoLinks.com - Online Resources for the Faithful |
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Love Life |
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True
Love, Dignity, Virtue & Sexuality |
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.
...also take time to ponder God’s personal love for you specifically.
(These three links are a good start.)
True Love,
Dignity, Virtue & Sexuality
The
site links below are to help make known
the mystery and meaning of our humanity and of life itself;
namely, our call to love as God loves.
"We
are ALL created in the image and likeness of Christ. When you really believe
that, you will see the dignity within each person, simply because they are. If
you do not see this dignity, it is impossible to live right: loving others as
God has loved us.
When you know you are created in the image and likeness of God, you realize
that through you others can experience the Light of Christ. The foundation of
every Christian teaching and every moral principal is LOVE. And not just love
as we would understand it, but to love as God has loved. So to truly understand
how we are to live, the Pope challenges us to look at how God loves."
(reprinted from lifeteen.org)
This if
often called "self-giving love", which involves seeking only what is
truly best for the other person.
What
about Virtue?
The four cardinal virtues are Prudence, Justice,
Courage and Temperance.
"Becoming
virtuous helps us toward becoming a real lover of God and of others.
...Prudence is right judgement or moral wisdom.
...Justice is doing what needs to be done once Prudence determines what
is morally right.
...Courage keeps us steadfast when we are discouraged or confronted with
adversity.
...Temperance directs our emotions [and behavior] ...and channels our desires to the service of
love."
(Ann Nerbun & Mary Ann Fey,
Understanding Chastity: the
Mystery of Human Sexuality, 38, 42-43)
What about SEX ?
“Chastity” comes from the Latin castitas,
which means “pure, morally clean, unpolluted.”
Understanding Chastity: the Mystery of
Human Sexuality
is a clear pocket-size booklet that's really worth it's weight in gold.
It's available at http://www.familyhonor.org/resources.htm.
(See box below for more info about Family Honor and
sexuality education.)
Two more books that explain well the Church's
teachings on sexuality
in clear, precise, modern-day language and question/answer format are:
Real Love: On Dating, Marriage, and
the Real Meaning of Sex
available at http://www.reallove.net
and
Good News
About Sex and Marriage
available at http://www.christopherwest.com
*** The three books mentioned above are MUST
READS for young adults, engaged couples,
married couples, and those conducting marriage prep courses. ***
In addition to these books...
Click here to read the
official church document
The Truth and Meaning of Human Sexuality.
Click
here for more Straight Talk on Love and Dating
(godofdesire.com)
- See also http://www.lovematters.com
and http://www.pureloveclub.com
and http://familyhonor.org/understanding_totb.html
and http://www.theologyofthebody.net/documents.htm
and Human Sexuality and True Fulfillment
by Fr. Michael Callea, M.I.C.
Two great summary documents by the Love & Responsibility Foundation:
Pope John Paul II on Love & Responsibility
Freedom, Truth, Gift, Communion: JP2’s Theology of the Body
(NOTE: In order to view the last two
documents above you need the free Adobe Acrobat Reader.)
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Family Honor was created in 1987 to help provide
opportunities for parents and children to connect on important life
values, with a special emphasis on chastity and the goodness of God's gift of
sexuality. Their four main presentations (described below) teach
life-changing truths to parents and their children in a clear, engaging,
faithful and age-appropriate manner. The presenters have each been formally
trained in the following areas, the truths of which are woven beautifully
into the fabric of their presentations: Pope John Paul II’s
Theology of the Body, chastity and
virtue, fertility appreciation, family systems and healthy family life,
psychosexual development of children and adolescents, research on abstinence
education, communication skills that support family “connectedness”, and
history/trends in sex education. Leading & Loving - can help parents develop
better parenting skills and learn to build a stronger family. Topics include:
self-worth vs. self-esteem, effective communication skills, understanding
child psychosexual development, fertility appreciation and much more. For
parents only that have children up to age 14. Changes & Challenges -
teaches about God's wonderful gift of fertility and about the beauty of
becoming an adult. Topics include: fertility appreciation, how babies grow in
the mother's body, understanding the virtue of chastity, the SPICE concept
(five dimensions of human personhood: spiritual, physical, intellectual,
creative, emotional), and whole-person sexuality. For parents with their 6th
grade sons or daughters. Real Love & Real Life - teaches parents and
adolescents to build a better family life by learning to communicate,
anticipate and deal with changes. Topics include: fertility appreciation,
learning about appropriate future dating behavior (as in older teens),
developing values and responsibilities in the family, the changes in
adolescence, and much more. For parents along with their 7th or 8th grade
sons or daughters. Created to Love - helps parents and teens
maintain good communication and "connectedness" even as the teens
move toward adulthood. Topics include: effective communication, fertility
appreciation, dating, love vs. infatuation, and much more. Even as they move
toward independence, teens still look to parents for guidance and support.
This program can recharge that important relationship. For parents along with
their 10th, 11th or 12th grade sons or daughters. |
Click here for Helpful info about homosexuality
(couragerc.net)
and click below for some real solid
Medical and psychological research regarding
homosexuality.
(Catholic Medical Association)
Understanding Child Sexual Development
and Teaching Children Healthy Sexuality
(pureintimacy.org)
Modesty Guidelines, Modest Clothing, Modest Dress:
Click here for a list of Modest Clothing online shopping links
(colleenhammond.com.hosting.domaindirect.com/resources.html)
...and PureFasion.com is a modelling program that offers
modesty guidelines
and teaches the importance of living a life in accordance with God's will
and fostering a life of grace through purity of heart, mind, and body.
Models participate in an eight month Model Training Program covering:
public speaking, manners and social graces, hair and make up artistry, personal
presentation and much more.
|
IMPORTANT: For anyone facing an unwanted pregnancy and Covenant
House For anyone who may have already had an
abortion: |
Click here to Find a Pro-Life Ob/Gyn
Click here to Find a Pro-Life Physician
Couple-to-Couple League / Natural Family
Planning
La Leche
/ Breastfeeding and Natural Child Spacing
What about Social Justice?
(See our Catholic Social Justice section.)
...and
for those struggling with End-of-Life issues:
Click here for A CATHOLIC GUIDE TO END-OF-LIFE DECISIONS
(National Catholic Bioethics Center, NCBC)
See also NCBC on John Paul II’s
Address on Nutrition and Hydration for Patients in PVS
(ncbcenter.org)
and the Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic
Health Care Services
(National Conference of Catholic Bishops, NCCB)
Visit the Center for Bioethics & Human Dignity for various other topics
regarding
defending and promoting human dignity in scientific research and medical
practice.
(cbhd.org)
Go to the top of this section >
Go to the Home page
>
Go to the Site
Map >
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CathoLinks.com - Online Resources for the Faithful |
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Love Life |
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True Love, Dignity, Virtue & Sexuality |
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Dating, Marriage, & Real Relationships
The
site links below are to help make known
the mystery and meaning of our humanity and of life itself;
namely, our call to love as God loves.
To have
a "real relationship" you have to be willing to get real with one another.
This means real talk.
To do this you have to have a clear understanding of your feelings and be able
to communicate them to one another.
Since a healthy marriage is the best example of a healthy relationship,
here is a great tip from Marriage
Encounters, as well as a link to their online Dialog Companion resource.
These helps, along with the deep truths found throughout our "Love
Life" section, should help strengthen and guide all heart-to-heart
relationships.
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When
issues or arguments arise and you're about to ...if
you can substitute "I am" for "I feel", ...if
you can only substitute "I think" or "I believe" for
"I feel", |
Click
here for the online Dialog Companion from Marriage Encounters.
(wwme.org)
Below is an anonymous
poem about Being Real with others:
|
The
Dilemma To
laugh is to risk appearing a fool But
risks must be taken |
Click here for a Path to Understanding Intimacy with God.
(lifeaftersunday.com) [printer-friendly
version]
Click here for a great essay on Understanding
Behavior and Intimacy Disorder.
(pureintimacy.org)
E5 Men
“Husbands, love your wives as Christ loved the Church and gave himself up for
her.” (Eph. 5)
Jesus gave up his body for his bride, the Church, and E5 Men give up their
bodies for their brides through fasting.
These two site links offer help with
Troubled Marriages:
http://www.retrouville.org
http://www.wwme.org
...and here is a great book on making/keeping marriages healthy: For Better…Forever
(See also our Health & Wholeness section.)
The Deep Truths contained in the
Marriage Vows
"Because
God uses spousal love as an image of His love for us, then let's look at how the
Church defines marital love. And the best way to look at that is to look at the
marriage vows:
Have you come here freely and without reservation to
give yourselves to each other? Will you
love and honor each other as man and wife for the
rest of your life? Will you accept
children lovingly from God?
Break
these apart and you have five key requirements of the marriage vows (and of
true love):
Free - Have you come here freely?
Full - Have you come here without reservation?
Faithful - Will you love and honor each other
exclusively, above all others?
Fruitful - Will you accept children lovingly? Will you seek the one
another's good above your own?
Forever - Is your commitment permanent no matter what, for
as long as you both shall live?
Living
this out is tough, but worth it. When a couple shares love - freely, fully,
faithfully, fruitfully, and forever - they experience a deeper love of God.
"This makes sense for
marriage, but what about the rest of the planet you aren't married to?"
Any act that's called "love" must meet ALL five of the above
characteristics to be "True Love".
We are
called to love everyone (family, friends, enemies…even your school janitor)
with this sacrificial, unconditional love. The foundation of every relationship
has to be love, freely given, with no strings attached. Love that is total,
with nothing held back, no reservation or self-protection. Love that is
faithful, true to the other person, honoring them and
their dignity as a human being. Love that is fruitful, giving life to the other
person, never taking away.
Only
when we understand that we are created in the likeness of God, and that God is
love, are we able to understand sex at all. Because right now our view of
sex-shaped by the world-is so WARPED. They tell us we can find satisfaction in
earthly things, that we can quench all desires with acts of lust. But sex
outside of a sacramental marriage-oral sex, masturbation, pornography,
homosexuality, sex with animals, sex with apple pie- none of these can speak
the language that our bodies were created to speak.
Let me
wrap this up with a passage from Romans 12:
"I
urge you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to offer your bodies as a
living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God, your spiritual worship. Do not
conform yourselves to this age but be transformed by the renewal of your mind,
that you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and pleasing and
perfect."
It is up
to you to discern the authentic from the counterfeit. What will you decide? How
will your body reflect the image and likeness of God? How will God's love for
you effect your love for those around you?"
(reprinted from lifeteen.org)
What about SEX ?
(See also our True
Love, Dignity, Virtue & Sexuality section.)
|
IMPORTANT: For anyone facing an unwanted pregnancy and Covenant
House For anyone who may have already had an
abortion: |
Click here to find a
pro-life Ob/Gyn
Click here to find a
pro-life Physician
Couple-to-Couple League / Natural Family
Planning
La Leche
/ Breastfeeding and Natural Child Spacing
Go to the top of this section >
Go to the Home page
>
Go to the Site
Map >
|
CathoLinks.com - Online Resources for the Faithful |
|
Love Life |
||||
|
True Love, Dignity, Virtue & Sexuality |
||||
Health & Wholeness
The
site links below are to help make known
the mystery and meaning of our humanity and of life itself;
namely, our call to love as God loves.
Understanding Ourselves | Getting Help /
Getting Healthy
Understanding Ourselves
What you are is God's
gift to you.
What you become is your gift to God.
The 5 Dimensions
of the Human Person
- "the SPICE of Life"
"Each of us has Spiritual,
Physical, Intellectual, Creative and Emotional
dimensions.
We call these the "SPICE"
of life because it is the development and maturation of each of these personal
aspects that makes life so incredibly rich.
To be fully expressive in imaging God means, first, that we each develop
ourselves in our totality... Each person has to develop all the dimensions of
his/her personhood (SPICE) to become fully mature.
...We are wholly sexual
persons, body and soul, male and female images of God. Our sexuality is who we are, not what we
do. As sexual persons, we are created
good, meant to be held in honor, to become perfect,
and to bring glory to God."
(Ann Nerbun & Mary Ann Fey,
Understanding Chastity: the
Mystery of Human Sexuality, 19, 24)
What about PERSONALITY ?
Our personality is a
complex interplay of innate drives, needs and feelings.
Perhaps
this can best be understood with our Understanding
Ourselves chart
...and also by learning about Expressing Feelings,
The Basic Four Temperaments,
and two other famous works: Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
and Erikson’s Stages of
Psychosocial Development.
(NOTE: In order
to view the Understanding Ourselves chart above you need the free Adobe Acrobat Reader.)
To have
a "real relationship" you have to be willing to get real with one another.
This means real communication.
To do this it helps to have a clear understanding of your feelings and be able
to share them with one another. Since a
healthy marriage is a good example of a healthy relationship, here is a great
tip from Marriage Encounters, as well
as a link to their online Dialog
Companion resource. helps, along
with the deep truths found throughout our "Love Life" section, should
help strengthen and guide all heart-to-heart relationships.
|
When
issues or arguments arise and you're about to ...if
you can substitute "I am" for "I feel", ...if
you can only substitute "I think" or "I believe" for
"I feel", |
Click
here for the online Dialog Companion from Marriage Encounters.
(wwme.org)
Below is an
anonymous poem about Being Real with others:
|
The
Dilemma To
laugh is to risk appearing a fool But
risks must be taken |
Click here for a Path to Understanding Intimacy with God.
(lifeaftersunday.com) [printer-friendly
version]
Click here for a great essay on Understanding
Behavior and Intimacy Disorder.
(pureintimacy.org)
E5 Men
“Husbands, love your wives as Christ loved the Church and gave himself up for
her.” (Eph. 5)
Jesus gave up his body for his bride, the Church, and E5 Men give up their
bodies for their brides through fasting.
These two site links offer help with
Troubled Marriages:
http://www.retrouville.org
http://www.wwme.org
...and here is a great book on making/keeping marriages healthy: For Better…Forever
What about SEX ?
(See our True
Love, Dignity, Virtue & Sexuality section.)
Understanding
Ourselves | Getting Help / Getting
Healthy
Getting Help / Getting
Healthy
|
IMPORTANT: For anyone facing an unwanted pregnancy and Covenant
House For anyone who may have already had an
abortion: |
Click here to find a
pro-life Ob/Gyn
Click here to find a pro-life
Physician
Couple-to-Couple League / Natural Family
Planning
La Leche /
Breastfeeding and Natural Child Spacing
These two site links offer help with
Troubled Marriages:
http://www.retrouville.org
http://www.wwme.org
...and here is a great book on
making/keeping marriages healthy: For Better…Forever
Catholic therapists, counselors and psychology:
Click here for Guidelines for Selecting a Counselor or Therapist
(pureintimacy.org)
Click here to Find a Catholic Therapist
(catholictherapists.com)