Chastity, A Life Choice

On Sunday, I was asked to address a group of high school guys at the Colorado Springs Chastity Rally.  The young men were very attentive and seemed very receptive to the words of my message.  As I spoke to these 14-18 year olds, I was hit that men over 18 need to hear this message just as much.  Living a life of chastity is a choice and it is a call for all of us, whether we’re single, dating, married or a priest.  In a marriage, a man must remain chaste… be careful not to confuse this with celibate, they are not the same thing.  Living chastity means that we are living out our sexuality in the way that God intended.  If you don’t know if you’re living a chaste life, I highly recommend diving into books that talk about this.  My recommendations include “Theology of the Body for Beginners” and “The Good News About Sex and Marriage”.  Both books are written by Christopher West.  If you’ve read these books and are looking for more, you can always read the documents that these books come from, “Theology of the Body” by Pope John Paul II.

Living a chaste life is fulfilling.  It’s not easy, but it’s fulfilling.  The world is telling us that in order to be cool, hip and a real man, we must be having a ton of sex with every woman we come into contact with.  This is NOT what God intended for us.  You have the power to choose.  You can choose a life of emptiness, moving from one night stand to one night stand.  Or, you can choose a life of fulfillment, by giving yourself as a free gift to your wife in the sacred act of marital love.  In my mind, there’s no question which one is better.

Man up!