Topic: To Stand for the Human Dignity and Sexuality

Christ’s Invitation to Appreciate Human Sexuality

“Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God,
and that you are not your own? For you have been purchased at a price. Therefore, glorify God in your
body.”

- Corinthians 6:19-20

Do you sometimes wonder why God made us male or female? Do you also sometimes wonder
why there are people who seem not to belong to either of the sexes?

God created man in His image, in the divine image He created them(male and female)/ God
blessed them, saying: “be fertile and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it…..” God looked at everything
he had made and he found it very good. - Gn 1:27 - 28,31

The traditional chaste and modest “Maria Clara” ideal Filipino womanhood has quietly faded
away.

When we learn that a new baby is born to a couple, the first question we usually ask is “is it a
boy or girl?” This question expresses how important sexuality is in human life….. by knowing the
sexuality also depend how the parents treated. As we mature, we grow in awareness of our sexuality
(biological or physical, psycho-emotional and spiritual.

Sexuality is everything in a person - physical, psycho-emotional, relational characteristic - that

makes us male or female. Our sexuality is part of who we are and is therefore a gift from God, drawing
us into deeper, fuller, and more authentic loving relationships with others.

While males and females are different in many ways, all person have the same fundamental
human dignity. As such, we should give equal respect to both men and women. Because of self-
centeredness, some have used the gift of sexuality as a mere OBJECT for personal pressure.
(sometimes, ruin other people’s lives)…. this beautiful gift has been cut off from its very foundation
and goal - a sharing in God’s true and life-giving love.

Our Church teaches that parents have the primary right and duty to educate their children in matters of
sexuality and the virtue of chastity.

Learning about Sex

  This curiosity about sex is part of growing up. Because we experience physical, psycho-
emotional, and spiritual changes as we mature.

 The Catholic Church has taught that parents have the primary responsibility of educating their
children in moral living, including education in chastity.

 If parents fail to educate their children in chastity, adolescents usually leaned and hear from
friends or the media which can be half-truths or even distortions of the true meaning of human
sexuality.

The Gift of Human Sexuality

 Our Sexuality refers to everything about our being human that makes
us either male or female.

 The Church Teaching on human sexuality as an affirmation of our

dignity as human persons, always highlighting that God’s gift of
sexuality is expressed beyond the sexual act, and that if persons
engage in the sexual act, it must fulfill its unitive and procreative
purpose.

Young people nowadays are caught in a web of confusion regarding sex and sexuality. What they see
on television and movies, what they hear on radio and what they read on newspapers, magazines, and
books present views on sex and sexuality which oftentimes, are contradictory to what their faith tells
them. It is therefore, imperative to present to them the Christian view of human sexuality which springs
from both Scripture and Church Teachings.

The Christian view of sexuality finds its originating principles in Creation. Two accounts in Genesis tell
us that “God created man, male and female’ and that “it is not good for man to be alone.” From the two
important passages, we can deduce certain fundamental views regarding sexuality.

1. In creating the human person male and female, God is showing us that each is a reflection of His
image. Each person, therefore, whether male or female, possesses equal dignity and is endowed with
the same inalienable rights and responsibilities proper to every human person. Equality, then is an
essential characteristic of sexuality, a characteristic that impels each one of us to accord everyone,
woman and man, the respect due to a human person.

2. This, equality, however, does not mean sameness or the loss of one’s identity as a man and woman.
The recognition of this equality paves the way for the recognition and appreciation of the basic
differences between a man and woman. These differences, on the other hand, lead to complementarity.
It is because of their distinctive sexuality that man and woman are drawn together, to work together, to
support each other and to nurture each other’s person. Complementarity as an essential characteristic
of sexuality enables each man and woman to realize his/her potentials as a physical, social, moral and
spiritual being.

3. Complementarity progresses to reciprocity. This means that when both man and woman realize the
value of each other in their progress towards maturity, they soon realize also their calling to mutual gift
of self, to a reciprocity. This calling is echoed in the words we find in Genesis, “It is not good for man
to be alone.” Each is a gift, blessing to the other and the “partnership of man and woman constitutes
the first form of communion between persons” (GS 12).

4. Finally, reciprocity culminates into the notion that sexuality is ultimately for love. The Catechism for
Filipino Catholics explains this truth in these words: “Sexuality orients every man and woman toward
interpersonal dialogue, and contributes to their integral maturation by opening them up to the gift of
self in love” (CFC 1073). Our sexuality then propels us to the selfless giving of self, to love others
unconditionally and to express this option to love in whatever state of life we are in, whether we
choose to:

 Get married and share our life with one person in a relationship that blossoms into the full
development of each couple and the procreation of children;

 Remain celibate, that is, to consecrate ourselves to God for the sake of the Kingdom. To be a
priest, religious man or woman therefore, does not mean suppressing one’s sexuality. Celibacy
is one of the means by which a person’s sexuality can find dull expression.

 Remain single, that is, a person opts not to marry or to be religious. Being single does not
constitute a denial of one’s sexuality. In fact, the capacity to show understanding, warmth,
openness and compassion to others can be manifested in equal measure by the lay faithful who
are single or unmarried.

Keeping these essential characteristics of sexuality in their mind and heart, young people can
find enlightenment and strength, especially when they are faced with issues that tend to distort the
true notion of sexuality. These issues are:

1. Indecency

 Promotes casual sex and rejects commitment. It is directed towards personal gratification
rather than the selfless giving of oneself in a relationship rooted in love. Indecency debases
one’s sexuality since it leads to the notion that persons are objects to be used rather than
human beings to be loved.

2. Pornography and Prostitution

 These practices dehumanize and exploit a human person. Sexuality, in these cases, it reduced
to a personal means for illicit, self-centered pleasure, devoid of love and commitment.

3. Homosexuality

 This condition hinders the achievement of sexual maturity since it constitutes a turning away
from the self-giving love and service to life that is the nature of human sexuality, as viewed from
the perspective of Christianity. While recognizing its grave moral disorientation, it is imperative
for Christians to show compassion rather than contempt for homosexuality and to lead them to
an experience of God’s healing love.

As a conclusion, young people need to see that the Christian ideal of sexuality is based directly on
Jesus Christ. From Him, they will recognize clearly and appreciate fully that “sexuality is a matter of
the whole person as created by God and therefore, sacred; that it deals with relationships that come
from the heart and therefore, ultimately involves commitment to love and service of life” (CFC 1116).
Topic: To Stand for the Truth for the Common Good

A. Sacred Scripture

1. What does being truthful entail?

2. How can we witness to truth in the midst of a world that seems to justify, tolerate, and even
promote falsity?

3. To whom do we turn to in our quest for truth and in our desire to live the truth?

In the Gospel of John we see Jesus not only talking about the truth but living it as well.

Jesus is the Truth

John 8:31-32

“If you remain in My word, you will truly be My disciples, and you will know the truth and the
truth shall set you free.”

John 14:5-6

Thomas said to Him, ‘Master we do not know where You are going; how can we know the way?”
Jesus said to him, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through
Me.”

B. Church Teaching

The Catechism for Filipino Catholics (CFC) explains how it is to be truthful and how to live the truth.

Truth as the Goal of our Life

Truth actually envelops our whole being:

1. There is truth of our thoughts when they correspond to reality and are not erroneous.

2. There is truth of our words, when we honestly declare what we really think and are not lying.

3. There is truth of our actions that correspond to our words, so we are not hypocrites who say
one thing and do another.
 Each kind of truth – of our thoughts, our words, and our actions – relates to others, and like our
very persons is essentially relational. Truth then, is not some private possession of ours, “all-our-
own.” Rather it is the center, the meaning, and the goal of our lives as members of the human
community and as disciples of Christ… Thus Christ proclaimed before Pilate: “The reason I was born,
the reason why I came into the world, to testify to the truth.”

Truth as a fundamental value in our lives as disciples of Christ was upheld by Jesus both in His words
and deeds.

In His Sermon on the Mount, Jesus commanded: “You have heard the commandment, ‘Do not
take a false oath.’ What I tell you is: do not swear at all… say ‘yes’ when you mean ‘yes’ and ‘no’ when
you mean ‘no.’” Thus, Jesus is telling us to do away with any duplicity and pretension and simply to
express what it is in our heart and in our mind.

But more powerful than His words are His deeds. By His actions, His very life, Jesus showed,
exemplified how it is to be truthful. All throughout His public ministry, never did we see Jesus “playing
roles’ or putting on a false face” just to impress others or to escape from the wrath of those who
wanted to kill Him. He was always true to Himself and genuine in His dealings with others. It is in His
person where we find the full manifestation of God’s truth.

It is from Jesus then, that we draw strength and inspiration to avoid the common offences against
truth:

1. Lying

 The intentional misrepresentation of the truth by word, gesture or even silence.

 In lying, there is the deliberate intent to mislead other persons who, in the first place, have the
right to know the truth.

 To lie is not only an act of injustice for it denies others the truth which they deserve to know, it
also “plants seeds of division and mistrust in the minds of others, and thus weakens the whole
network of social relationships which constitute the community” (CFC 1233)

Lying takes many forms ranging from…

 ‘boasting’ (pasikat) where a person exaggerates his/her qualities or actions in order to gain
favor with others;

 ‘saving face’ wherein a person lies in order to preserve his/her good name or image before
others or in order to escape blame

 ‘flattery’ (atik) and ‘careless lying’ (isturya-isturya)

A person may consider these forms of lying trivial or of no consequence yet the damage they
may bring about to the persons involved may be serious in terms of bad habits formed and destruction
of relationships.

2. Detraction and Slander/ Calumny

 Are considered serious offenses against truth since these acts destroy the good name of our
neighbors. While the faults being branded about may be real as in the case of detraction this
does not justify the act.
  Worse, if the faults are not true as in the case of slander or calumny, both acts are sins against
charity and justice for there is the effort to deprive others of their right to a good name and the
esteem of others.

 A more common manifestation of the propensity to lie against one’s neighbor are “tale-bearing”
among children and gossip (tsismis) among adults (cf. CFC 1240)

It is easy to see that withholding the truth, keeping it or denying it has repercussions not only
on the person who commits the offense but on others. Thus, it can be said that truth has an intrinsic
social dimension. The Catechism of the Catholic Church, quoting St. Thomas Aquinas, states that,
“Men could not live with one another if there were not mutual confidence that they were being truthful
to one another” (CCC 2469)

We can see then that the virtue of truthfulness impels us to be true to ourselves in word and in
deed. It protects us and moves us away from the three vices known as:

 Duplicity – deceptive or misleading word or act

 Dissimulation – hiding something by pretense

 Hypocrisy – the false claim or pretense of having admirable principles, beliefs or feelings

It requires from us honestly in revealing what others have a right to know. At the same time it
also requires “discretion” from us, meaning that we are not always obliged to tell all we know.
Sometimes, we are required to practice discretion in not expressing what justice requires us to keep
secret.

As Christians, we are all called to ‘live the truth.” “Living the truth” does not simply mean
“telling the truth” or merely avoiding “verbal offenses” or “lying.” It requires from us witnessing to the
truth. To witness to truth is to witness to Christ who is Himself the Truth. It entails “stripping away
everything vicious, everything deceitful, pretenses, jealousies and disparaging remarks of any kind (1
Peter 2:1); it entails consistency, meaning that what we think, we say and what we say, we do. For
some it may even entail the supreme witness of martyrdom that is, giving up one’s life for the sake of
the truth of Jesus, His Gospel or Christian teaching.

Witnessing to truth is difficult, especially for young people whose impressionable minds are
bombarded with falsities and half-truths. Yet, we do not lose heart for we know that the Holy Spirit, the
Spirit of truth is always there to give us courage and to enlighten us, especially when the truth is
difficult to find or when telling the truth will bring us pain, persecution and frustration. If the Spirit is
with us, we shall experience the liberating power of truth notwithstanding the difficulties that face us.