Friday, August 27, 2021

 Memorial of Saint Monica

(I Thessalonians 4:1-8; Matthew 25:1-13) 

Before the school year begins, many anxious parents of incoming freshmen call university chaplains.  They ask the ministers to watch out for their son or daughter.  Unfortunately, the son or daughter rarely shows up for services so the ministers cannot help them.  St. Monica was this kind of parent worried about the spiritual life of her son Augustine.

Augustine eventually became one of the great saints of the Church, but as a youth he was associated with illicit sexual indulgence and freethinking.  Augustine was obviously very talented, but Monica prayed that he become a Catholic Christian, not a success among men.  She also sought the help of St. Ambrose, the bishop of Milan where Augustine was living.  Eventually Ambrose shepherded Augustine into the Church.  Monica was like Paul in today’s first reading.  The apostle advised his converts of God’s will for them – their holiness.  

Our young often leave religious customs behind when they go to college.  After promising to be faithful disciples at Confirmation, they may choose hedonism on campus. We must pray for them like St. Monica did for Augustine.  If possible, we might also take an active interest in what is happening at the campus ministry center.

Friday, September 1, 2017

Friday of the Twenty-first Week in Ordinary Time

(I Thessalonians 4:1-8; Matthew 25:1-13)

As much as the Internet has improved business possibilities today, it has brought a special windfall to purveyors of sex.  Arranging sexual liaisons and dealing in pornography are leading Internet activities.  The young as well as the old, stay-at-homes as well as gallivants, are all within the Internet’s reach.  This fact makes Paul’s advice to the Thessalonians in the first reading as poignant as ever.

Paul warns the Thessalonians about the pitfall of sex.  It is his chief concern.  He contrasts holiness with lust because the first is given to imitating God’s love for all while the second is taken up with selfish desire.  He criticizes exploiting a spouse for pleasure as lacking proper motivation.  He is advising his readers to purify their private lives so that they may contribute to the good of all even in their own bedrooms.

Many in the Church as well as society believe that what a married couple does in their bedroom is nobody else’s business.  Although it is hard to imagine laws that restricting a couple’s actions there, we should not say that anything goes.  The Church is right to admonish married couples, as Paul does here, that married life has its distinctive chastity.  If the partners are to become truly free and loving people, they should practice the necessary discipline just as sure as the unmarried need to refrain from sexual intimacy.

Friday, August 30, 2013

Friday of the Twenty-first Week in Ordinary Time

(I Thessalonians 4:1-8; Matthew 25:1-13)

Reading today's passage from St. Paul's letter to the Thessalonians, we get the idea that lust was perhaps the biggest temptation in his day.  It was the vice that set Greece against Troy in history's most famous war. Still today sexual desire creates intolerable situations.  Two years ago a promising politician in New York had to resign his seat in Congress for sending lewd pictures with his telephone.

In the reading Paul warns his readers that marriage too may be polluted by prurient desires.  Spouses should not look at each other as sexual objects but as companions who will bring them closer to Christ.  They are to love like Christ who gave himself as a sacrifice for his disciples.

We are challenged to overcome sexual desires in an overly indulgent culture.  Prayer is the first line of defense.  Discipline avoiding concentration on sexual stimuli is also necessary.  We should make every effort not to become preoccupied with sexual fantasy but to develop a mature attitude toward sexuality.  It is a positive natural force but like a nuclear meltdown can get out of control.

Friday, August 26, 2011

Friday of the Twenty-first Week in Ordinary Time

(I Thessalonians 4:1-8; Matthew 25:1-13)

As much as the Internet has improved business possibilities today, it has brought a special windfall to purveyors of sex. Arranging sexual liaisons and dealing in pornography are leading Internet activities. The young as well as the old, stay-at-homes as well as gallivants, are all within the Internet’s reach. This fact makes Paul’s advice to the Thessalonians in the first reading as poignant as ever.

Paul is warning the Thessalonians about the pitfall of sex. He contrasts holiness with lust because the first is given to imitating God’s care for all while the second is taken up with egotistical pleasure. Interestingly, he criticizes taking a spouse primarily to satisfy one’s carnal craving as lacking proper motivation. He is advising his readers to purify their love of animal desire so that they may contribute to the good of all, even in their own bedrooms.

Many in our society, and even in our Church, are wont to say that what a married couple does in its bedroom is nobody else’s business. Although it is hard to imagine laws that would restrict a couple’s actions there, we must not say that anything goes. No, the Church are right to admonish married couples, as Paul does here, that marital sex needs regulation to produce truly free and loving people just as sure as the unmarried need to refrain from sexual fulfillment.