Rise of the TOB

A Paradox of Truth

2010-08-24T10:32:00.000-05:00

Life and the world are full of contradictions.
One may also call them paradoxes.
We find them all around us, and not in the way that song that isn't really about ironies says. Things that seem to be rightside up are often upside down, and the other way around. It can be confusing!
For example - I love to be alone. I hate that I love to be alone because I know I shouldn't love being alone because it doesn't take much alone time before I hate being alone and only want people again. Yet, the more you end up around people the more you miss being alone... it's a vicious cycle, really.
Another great one would be suffering in general... love-hate relationship, of course. No one really loves hardship, right? Yet, we love the fruits. We appreciate the formation, the growth, the lessons learned that come from hard times. Then, we begin to love the experience of the hardship because we understand what comes after it. We don't love the pain, but we love what it can bring to us. So there is often some balance of appreciation and loathing that work together in our minds and hearts when we endure trials.
Among the million and one things I need to write about, and the other million and two that are based solely on reflections drawn from things I have read (for that is when my mind most often explodes), in particular a recent excerpt from Man and Woman He Created Them: A Theology of the Body by Pope John Paul II caught my attention.
John Paul is reflecting on the nature of sin and concupiscence in humanity. The context of anything out of this extremely rich text is necessary for a full understanding, but I will dare to expound on a sentence and hope for the best. He says, "Concupiscence is to be explained as a lack, as a lack, however, that plunges its roots into the original depth of the human spirit."
I had to read that line over and over for a while to get the imagery down. The privation of anything is only a deep as what has been deprived. The depth of human goodness, of the original innocence man was created in before the fall of sin, sets the boundaries and limits for how far concupiscence, directly as the lack-of this innocence, reaches.
This should elicit a few responses from us. Immediately, it should be impressive. We are rather aware of the negative effects of sin in our world... clearly concupiscence has paraded its power all over our society and ourselves. Adversely, this should mean we were doing pretty well prior to the invasion of sin in our world. If it's black and white, and the black is dark and pervasive, it can only imply that the white is bright and stunning. This is encouraging! Despite the many failures we experience in the game of "being good in life" we should be both motivated and confident because according to this paradox, we were made for something much greater than what we have known.
Consider the fullness of the freedom mankind knew before the effects of sin! John Paul discusses how concupiscence deals with man's desire. It is the yearnings in our heart that are corrupted. We do not want the good, we want what we decide is good. We are not able to see clearly to know the true good from what appears good, and so we often are mistaken in our wants. Also, our desires, being thus blinded, become habitually more self-serving as we are given the dissatisfying gratification of what we had thought was best for us. Rather than building up a freedom for our hearts, we build instead a cave, that leads further and further down into disappointment. When we are looking for fulfillment outside of ourselves but allowing only selfish desires to guide that search, we aren't bound to get very far.
So rather, John Paul points to the glorious freedom we possessed when we were created and living without any lack. The purity of our hearts and our desires allowed us to simply be in the good. We were good. There was no need for yearnings for things which would not satisfy. We discovered ourselves in free-gift to the other. We found our capabilities, our glories, our joys through service and gift. These ways-of-being were the culminations of freedom, for since we possessed ourselves so fully through such pure intentions, we were able to so fully give ourselves over, and through the gift rediscover the affirmation of our individual self in its fullness. Again, this is all much easier to understand if you sit through the many pages of the Pope's entire text.
As it is, the point is simple. This paradox, just as the Incarnation or the Cross and Resurrection, contains such depth precisely because of the power of the original good. The understood "lack" of good ought to set our imaginations free to create the idea of just how full of good we must have been. This imagining should simultaneously set our personal goals and hopes for living in authentic freedom. Clearly we will never be able to be completely free from sin - yet, we certainly could make great progress towards that beauty that first dwelt in the soul and body of man.
If nothing else, the symmetry and consistency of such truth - that the lack is only as deep as what was once present - whispers of recreation and hope that is absolutely overflowing with confidence and energy. Even that is a contradiction! Whispers of things that enthrall and eventually lead you to explode with the amazement at the promise God makes to us. That we could be so healed, so filled, so named, so remade, so broken and then so complete... it is worth the reflection.

The Double Standard About Pedophile

2009-09-30T10:55:00.003-05:00

Read an interesting article that finally inspired me to post after months of being AWOL...

Father Polanski Would Go to Jail

The long and short of it - priests (and the Church as a whole, in fact) have a dark cloud placed over them and face tremendous malignment and vilification because a small number of them (roughly 4%) are guilty of pedophilia while famous director Roman Polanski, an admitted sexual abuser, gets an Academy Award.

As Fr. Reese rightly points out in his article, any person or organization who's members are guilty of such a crime should be placed under a microscope. Attempts should be made to get to the bottom of it, so to speak. And those guilty should be justly punished.

The point is that while this process is taking place in the Church, it is not in Hollywood for people like Polanski. There is a double standard.

Now, the thing that really struck me is not so much this double standard. It's a huge problem and one I am afraid will continue. But this article serves as a reminder of just how broken we are as people, across the board.

Sexual brokenness rears its ugly head in many ways. Pedophilia is just one of them. Any time our bodies are being used for anything other than to love as God loves (by giving ourselves over to another, not taking something from them) we deviate from the intent with which God created them. And when we deviate from God's plan, things get dicey.

What is worst of all is that ANYONE guilty of sexual abuse, would be given a free pass. People have viciously attacked the Church in light of the scandal, yet others guilty of the same crime are allowed to move on unscathed. Forget the double standard, it just reeks of evil.

Christopher West on Nightline

2009-05-20T13:04:00.004-05:00

Video Here: http://abcnews.go.com/Video/playerIndex?id=7534337

Hey, so I know I'm like 2 weeks late on this bit, but there hasn't been anything "on-time" about this blog in the past year anyway :)

As many may know by now, Christopher West was featured on ABC's news show Nightline. I actually thought it was a success for the simple fact that hundreds (I imagine) of people who've never heard of the Theology of the Body before now have been introduced... sort of.

The feature was not without it's eyeball-rolling moments - ABC labeling West a sex therapist, over-exagerrating West's analogy with Pope John Paul II and Hugh Hefner (founder of Playboy), to name a couple. Yet, seeds were planted. I've gotta believe that some people investigated TOB a little further because of this 8 minute presentation.

At any rate, it has made for a lot of dialogue on the net, especially in the Catholic blogosphere. For the record, here's the TOB Institue's reaction to the feature... http://www.tobinstitute.org/announcement.asp?AnnouncementsID=22

Love & Monkeys

2009-04-27T10:55:00.001-05:00

A neat little snippet of a talk by Dr. Janet Smith

Only by His Divine Mercy

2009-01-12T11:51:00.003-05:00

So, I'm becoming increasingly convinced, in what I see happening in the world around me and in my recent prayer experiences, that the Divine Mercy is the single most important devotion to come from the 20th Century.

I do not say this to slight other devotions. Indeed I love Our Lady and find much comfort and hope in her appearances in Fatima. Lord knows we need her prayers and her guidance.

What I see is a world just absolutely lost. Like, in the middle of the jungle, without a compass or water, beaten within inches of death, lost. We are pushing God further away every day, and finding ourselves deeper in that jungle.

I wish I could express my thoughts more clearly. All I know is that WHAT BUT HIS MERCY CAN SAVE US? I mean really, THANK GOD FOR HIS MERCY! How lucky are we that HE IS SO FORGIVING!? We've spit in His face and pushed Him away. We've given away the freedom he blessed us with. We've fallen for the same lies of the evil one over and over again. We're KILLING EACH OTHER and we've practically buried ourselves alive. And yet - His Mercy is more powerful than all of that. All the sin in the world COWERS at His Divine Mercy!

No matter how bad things get, and I can only imagine how much worse they will get, we have such a good reason to hope - because God is Merciful. If only the world would whisper at once... "Jesus, I trust in you".

Magnificat

2008-12-22T11:32:00.003-05:00

My soul glorifies the Lord, *

my spirit rejoices in God, my Saviour.

He looks on his servant in her lowliness; *

henceforth all ages will call me blessed.

The Almighty works marvels for me. *

Holy his name!

His mercy is from age to age, *

on those who fear him.

He puts forth his arm in strength *

and scatters the proud-hearted.

He casts the mighty from their thrones *

and raises the lowly.

He fills the starving with good things, *

sends the rich away empty.

He protects Israel, his servant, *

remembering his mercy,

the mercy promised to our fathers, *

to Abraham and his sons for ever.

2008-11-18T10:06:00.003-05:00

I was searching TOB videos and came across a friend achieving You Tube fame. This is Father Mike Schmitz of Duluth Minnesota, an absolute rock star priest.

Big Event THIS WEEKEND!

2008-10-02T10:22:00.004-05:00

For those loyal Rise readers who still check up on us to see if we we've crawled from underneath a rock yet, there is an exciting event happening this weekend...

Long Island Teen Freedom presents The New Revolution, a medical symposium.

It takes place THIS SATURDAY, October 4th from 9 AM to 1 PM at the Huntington Hilton. It is a FREE event and includes, aside from a continental breakfast, keynote speakers Dr. Philip Mango of the St. Michael Institute who will be speaking on "The Psychology of Masculinity and Femininity" and Ms. Rashida Jolley, chastity educator, and former Miss District of Columbia and Miss America Pageant Contestant. There will also be a panel of other educators and speakers to discuss the very important medical issues at the heart of our over-sexualized society.

It makes me very proud to be a part of Long Island Teen Freedom. The fact that something like this is taking place on Long Island is very big! Be there if you can!

History of the Church's Teaching on Abortion

2008-09-09T20:46:00.001-05:00

http://www.zenit.org/article-23554?l=english

This is a wonderful article on the history of the Church's teaching on the issue of abortion, so I wanted to share!

They asked for it!

2008-08-08T10:36:00.005-05:00

After reading this great article on the 40th Anniversary of Humanae Vitae by George Weigel on Catholic Exchange, I would just like to share a little tidbit with you...

Recognizing scholars such as Janet Smith, Richard Doerflinger, Christopher West, Colleen Carroll Campbell, and Mary Eberstadt, among others, Weigel points out that the bulk of leadership in regards to the Church's teaching on moral chastity has come from lay people in recent years. That's not to say that there aren't plenty of ordained leaders putting forth an effort to properly educate the faithful in the area of Catholic sexuality, however it is no secret, as Weigel states, that many have "done a poor job of explaining it".

I just had to chuckle at this (and kick myself for never connecting the dots). The Second Vatican Council discussed a universal call to holiness, meaning all, not just priests and religious, were called to live holy, devout lives aiming to please God and serve Him. It also meant that they could and should contribute even more to the life of the Church. So many saw this as an opportunity to get out from under the control of the old-fashioned, archaic teachings of the ordained men in the Church heirarchy. With the laity being granted "more power" some of the more "out of touch" statutes of the Church could be overturned.

When the Humanae Vitae bombshell was dropped, I can only imagine the gut check felt by these "forward thinkers". Right in the face of the Spirit of Vatican II, Pope Paul VI maintains with a vengeance the Church's stance that the regulation of human birth by technological means is wrong! Oh the pain!

Fast-forward forty years. Who within the Church is defending this "out of touch" encyclical called Humanae Vitae? The same lay people that the Holy Spirit called through the Second Vatican Council to step up and serve Him. As if we didn't already know... GOD KNOWS WHAT HE IS DOING! It was time for the lay faithful to do their part in upholding the truth. Not some new modern version of the truth, but the timeless TRUTH as set forth by Christ Himself.

Ah yes, Pope Paul VI was a prophet, for the world he described is the one we live in. Yet, it has never been clearer to me that the Holy Spirit guided the Church every step of the way during Vatican 2 in preparation of this new age of the fall that has become us. Sometimes it is just so hard to see the Spirit at work... and then other times it just hits you like a ton of bricks.

Humane Vitae - 40 Years Later

2008-07-25T06:48:00.003-05:00

Today marks the 40th anniversary of Humane Vitae and I couldn't be more proud to be Catholic. In the rebellious world of the late 1960's, amidst the pressure to "progress" and move beyond the "outdated" restrictions of the past, Pope Paul VI, to the surprise and disapproval of many, issued his encyclical On the Transmission of Human Life (HV), affirming the Church's stance against birth control. So much more than that, it is a chilling and prophetic vision of a future where life is insignificant, where the human person is just some bones and flesh, another means to an end. Enter the modern day - divorce rates through the roof, abortion a mere procedure, almost 10 times the number of STD's, pornography addiction, and women still missing out on the respect God made them for. What does all this have to do with regulating birth? As soon as you take the procreative part of sex out of the act you get disaster. Paul VI knew that somehow. Despite the pressure to conform as most other Christian churches did. Birth control is not a way to avoid pregnancy. There already is a way to do that - abstinence. Birth control is a way to have sex without worries, without attachment. It is a license to have the promiscuous, casual sex that our grandparents missed out on. And that is what sex has become - a recreational act. Pope Paul VI wasn't trying to take away our rights. He was trying to save the sexual act, God's greatest gift to man, from the chains of a culture of death.

If you are in the NY-Long Island area there is a really exciting event tonight in tribute to Humane Vitae happening at St. Kilian Parish in Farmingdale. More info... here.

And if you didn't catch the other two links, you can read Humane Vitae... here.

Pope Paul VI, pray for us.

Back from Sydney

2008-07-23T12:49:00.005-05:00

Well I'm back on Long Island and back to reality after World Youth Day '08 in Sydney, Australia. Here are some highlights and moments that moved me:

- The closing Mass with Pope Benedict. I hear there were over 500,000 people there. It certainly felt that way
- Being close (enough so to take this picture) to Pope Benedict not once but twice.
- Attending the Matt Maher & Hillsong United concert in which they held Eucharistic Adoration for the 50,000 or so people that were there. Yes all those people and you could hear a pin drop.
- Meeting many cool Aussies and being present to hear Cardinal Pell of Sydney welcome the USA pilgrims as Australia's "most important friends" at the opening Mass.
- Witnessing the conversion that took place, especially in people going to confession for the first time in years.
- Playing the "pony game" with about 200 people from all over the world as we awaited the Pope's arrival.
- Learning how to play rugby.
- St. Mary's Cathedral and praying front of the body of Pier Georgio Frassati.
- Seeing the American flag and the Iraqi flag flying together on the same pole.
- Receiving a cape and Poland flag from some new Polish friends.
- Listening to over 20 Australians who were kind enough to say "the dingo ate my baby" on video.
- Making many new friends.
- Bishop William Murphy's (Diocese of Rockville Centre) catechesis.

There were certainly many more highlights. I am just so blessed to have been there to witness the Spirit. Now I hope that I can witness to the Spirit.

CCC 2365

2008-07-14T17:44:00.002-05:00

Hello!
My name is Alissa and I am joining the Blog Team of "Rise of the TOB". I am thrilled to contribute some small amount to the great "New Evangelization" which our late Pope John Paul II called for, and worked for in a speacial way through the Theology of the Body.
I wanted to share one of my favorite Catechism references which I think has a beautiful take on the truth of the Sacrament of Marriage:

"Fidelity expresses constancy in keeping one's given word. God is faithful. The Sacrament of Matrimony enables man and woman to enter into Christ's fidelity for his Church. Through conjugal chastity, they bear witness to this mystery before the world.
St. John Chrysostom suggests that young husbands should say to their wives: I have taken you in my arms, and I love you, and I prefer you to my life itself. For the present life is nothing, and my most ardent dream is to spend it with you in such a way that we may be assured of not being separated in the life reserved for us. . . . I place your love above all things, and nothing would be more bitter or painful to me than to be of a different mind than you."
- CCC 2365
I think St. John's words establish a very clear understanding of the beauty possible in human relationships when we take to heart the golden rule of loving God with our whole selves and our neighbor as ourselves. Our challenge in this day and age is to learn to live lives of such humble love that we would choose to speak as St. John suggests even when it is most difficult and when our wills pull us in other ways. When we make the choice to love, we continue to follow the path of Christ and often we begin to discover the joy of being in this world when our work and toil is to overcome evil with good, and bring peace where there is none.
God bless.

Off to World Youth Day

2008-07-09T17:40:00.004-05:00

Well, tomorrow morning I will be leaving for Australia by way of Hawaii. Not too shabby, huh?

This will be my first World Youth Day experience and to say I am excited is a massive understatement. What a joy it will be to see over 200,000 young Catholics take over Sydney for a week - all culminating in Mass with our Holy Father. Certainly I was blessed to see Pope Benedict when he came to NY. I am doubly blessed to travel across the globe to see him again just a few months later.

I guess this isn't exactly Theology of the Body related, but JPII instituted WYD and penned TOB, so there... it fits! But seriously, this is a generation mixed of young people either starving for the message of the Gospel of Life or carrying the torches and waving the TOB banner. I would imagine the TOB presence will only be greater in Sydney as the teaching continues to grow. It will be interesting to see.

At any rate, I haven't been posting often any way, but it will certainly be 2 weeks before I put anything on the blog. Laura will also be away. We have a new contributor who will be introducing herself shortly. I'm very excited about having Alissa on the Rise team and i believe you will enjoy her insights.

Well, that's all for now. The heart of the summer officially starts today for me. After Sydney, it's a tad over a month before my wedding day. What a year God has planned for me. Amen.

A reading from the Book of Tobit

2008-07-02T22:58:00.003-05:00

On their wedding night Tobiah arose from bed and said to his wife,
"Sister, get up. Let us pray and beg our Lord
to have mercy on us and to grant us deliverance."
Sarah got up, and they started to pray
and beg that deliverance might be theirs.
They began with these words:

"Blessed are you, O God of our fathers;
praised be your name forever and ever.
Let the heavens and all your creation
praise you forever.
You made Adam and you gave him his wife Eve
to be his help and support;
and from these two the human race descended.
You said, 'It is not good for the man to be alone;
let us make him a partner like himself.'
Now, Lord, you know that I take this wife of mine
not because of lust,
but for a noble purpose.
Call down your mercy on me and on her,
and allow us to live together to a happy old age."

They said together, "Amen, amen."

Tobit 8:4-8

Yup, I'm officially leaning towards this as the OT reading at my wedding.

1 in 4 teen girls have an STD?

2008-06-06T14:52:00.004-05:00

I must turn your attention to Matthew Archibold's (Creative Minority Report) coverage of a National Journal article that seeks to clear up some things about the recent CDC (Centers for Disease Control) finding reported in newspapers all over the country that 1 in 4 teenage girls have an STD.

This study which to me, a resident of Long Island, screamed out for abstinence education (which has not been federally funded on Long Island for 30 years) in our schools. Apparently, some on the other side of the fence took this to mean that abstinence education is not working. To which I reply - um, where is abstinence ed. being taught... because I certainly didn't receive it when I was in high school 8 years ago. Even so, I'll never understand the logic behind "have sex, so that you don't get a sexually transmitted disease". But then again, there are still teachers telling students that condoms are 99% effective when they've been proven to be 85% at most (for HIV) and 50% effective against others (Chlamydia, Gonorrhea, Genital Herpes, HPV [perhaps]) . Credit to The Medical Institute for Sexual Health.

Living with the End in Mind

2008-06-02T19:02:00.004-05:00

One part (of the many parts) of Pope John Paul II's message in the Theology of the Body, is to remind us as Jesus does in his conversation with the Saducees about the resurrection (Mark 12:19-27), that we are destined for a world beyond this one. And so, our lives here must be lived with our "next life" in God's Kingdom in mind. This isn't to say that we should walk around with a checklist of dos and don'ts that will "qualify" us for Heaven. What I am trying to say is that we need to take seriously our call to love as God loves - with everything He has, including His life. In genuinely pursuing our ability to love as He loves we are making ourselves ready for Heaven in the process, in which that ability will be most fully realized.

That being said, loving as God does means putting others first - sacrificing ourselves and taking up our own crosses. We can only get close to God when we put ourselves on Calvary with him. That means exposed, beaten, mocked, and eventually killed, as well as mentally, emotionally, and spiritually tortured. Sounds downright frightening. And yet we know how it turns out. We know the result of it... the gates of heaven are opened.

So why is it so dang hard to accept our crosses?

While I'm Not Blogging...

2008-05-13T10:38:00.004-05:00

Consider checking out a great blog I should have mentioned a long time ago:

Reflections of a Paralytic

This is an exceptional blog by Chelsea Zimmerman who has a most inspiring story. I'm excited to add it to the blog roll. And since there is nothing new to read here... go check it out!

And then come back to Rise of the TOB... soon!

Pope Benedict XVI on "freedom"

2008-04-21T10:46:00.006-05:00

Dear friends, truth is not an imposition. Nor is it simply a set of rules. It is a discovery of the One who never fails us; the One whom we can always trust. In seeking truth we come to live by belief because ultimately truth is a person: Jesus Christ. That is why authentic freedom is not an opting out. It is an opting in; nothing less than letting go of self and allowing oneself to be drawn into Christ’s very being for others (cf. Spe Salvi, 28).

Pope Benedict XVI - Papal Youth Rally, St Joseph's Seminary in Yonkers, NY (April, 19, 2008)

I still can't believe I was there to see it. What a day. What a message. What a pope!

God is good. When we realize that and place our trust in him, we will truly never be more free.

No Blog Can Describe

2008-04-17T10:41:00.006-05:00

There are simply no words for what is happening as Pope Benedict is in the midst of his visit to the United States.

I would be doing a great disservice by saying anything other than "go see for yourself".

You may do so on the USCCB site.

The Holy Father couldn't have picked a better time to come. America needs the model of his dedication to the Truth and his awesome faith in God's love more than ever.

Quote

2008-04-08T11:27:00.004-05:00

"[F]rom John Paul's perspective, the problem with pornography is not that it reveals too much of a person but that it reveals too little."

- Christopher West, Good News About Sex & Marriage

Nobody's 'sposed ta be here

2008-03-30T00:09:00.002-05:00

Okay, maybe for a time, but ultimately we are meant for something much greater than this world can provide.

This might be the most important thing to remember from the Theology of the Body. Of course I could say that about 100 other points the late pope made. But at this moment anyway, the idea that our bodies are pointing us toward a greater reality than what we can see, hear, smell, feel, or taste is really resonating with me. It's like every time we find ourselves feeling down, lonely, alienated, and just not clicking with others, it's a siren going off. There's something wrong here, and I belong somewhere else.

We'll never find total happiness on Earth. If the love that totally satisfies was here, then we would never fight with our family and loved ones. They would be enough. But deep down, we all know it's not. That's why we leave home and going looking for something bigger and better. And some of us never stop looking.

There is a greater love out there, and that Love is a communion of 3 persons known as God.

We gotta keep trucking, keep loving like he told us too. We're going to fail, and others are going to fail us, even those we love most. But God (LOVE) promises the gift of himself to those who believe in Him. And it will be there in Paradise, that we'll realize how very much we do belong.

What is Chastity?

2008-03-26T10:57:00.001-05:00

According to Dictionary.com:

Chastity - the state of being chaste.

Brilliant. Now, according to The Catholic Faith Handbook for Youth:

Chastity - the virtue by which people are able successfully and healthfully to integrate their sexuality into their total person; recognized as one of the fruits of the Holy Spirit.

That's more like it. But, what does New Advent, your friendly neighborhood Catholic encyclopedia, have to say:

Chastity - the virtue which excludes or moderates the indulgence of the sexual appetite . It is a form of the virtue of temperance which controls according to right reason the desire for and use of those things which afford the greatest sensual pleasures.

We are seriously cooking now! The bottom line - CHASTITY IS ABOUT FREEDOM! Sadly, images of chains and shackles appear in our minds when we hear the word "chastity". Yet, there is nothing binding about chastity! In fact, chastity is a grace given to us by God to unbind us from the urges and desires of our body. Now, those urges and desires are NOT BAD. But sin is, and can twist the yearning in our hearts for love, into a yearning for pleasure.

If you cannot control this yearning, my friend, you are not free. Chastity is about being in control of your body and not allowing the body to control you. And it's a virtue, a gift, that we need throughout life, in any state of life - celibate or married. Chastity considers the value of self, as well as the value of others. Living chastely is not just abstaining from sex. It is mastering the power of your body, and seeking to use it in it's proper place, fulfilling it's greatest potential - growing closer to the Lord in the process.

The Pinnacle

2008-03-21T19:24:00.003-05:00

I just haven't been writing a whole lot. I shouldn't make any excuses but I'm going to anyway. Full-time youth ministry, part-time abstinence educating, part-time grad school, and planning a wedding leaves me with very little time to update the blog. I apologize to those who were following it closely and may have phased out. In fact, there are probably few reading this now :( But, truth be told, mostly good things have kept me away from "The Rise". I believe I can speak for Laura, as well as any other potential contributors when I say, we'll try to do better! Please continue to keep us in your prayers.

Of course, today is Good Friday. The day Our Lord gave his life so that we might be free from the chains of sin that we found ourselves bound to since the fall of man. And, how those chains continue to hold us down! The hurt I see in people, especially people my age (mid-late 20's) is horrifying. God has already won this battle! He has already come to untie us, to destroy the shackles! But out of love, he lets us choose to be free or not. Is there a better day to choose to be freed? If you are bound to anything... alcohol, drugs, smoking, promiscuous sex, jealousy, greed, hate, pornography, gossip, the occult - ANYTHING... LAY IT AT THE FOOT OF THE CROSS. The Lord will take it away. Of nothing else could I be so certain. His Mercy is greater than anything evil can muster.

Thanks for reading. God Bless.

A Quiet Moment

2008-03-08T11:10:00.003-05:00

I love this image of the Holy Family by Timothy P. Schmalz called "A Quiet Moment".

Obviously the Holy Family, imaging the communion of persons that is God - The Trinity, is the best model we have for what family is supposed to be. This sculpture shows that interconnectivity. Everyone has their place, their role, their purpose. Joseph, Mary, and of course the Lord, all bravely answer their very different calls.

I like this statue also because it provides a great image of what it means to be male and female.

Men are called to be fathers, biological or spiritual, in everything they do. It doesn't just mean siring children. It means that you're a dad in every facet of life. Joseph shows us what father means - protector, provider. Joseph gives his bride and child a lap to rest on, and at the same time makes himself vulnerable, hunching over to protect them from danger. Men, we need to embrace our women and their dignity in our arms and be willing to die in order to uphold it.

There is nothing weak about Mary in this picture. She is nurturing the Infant like no man could ever imagine. It's a mother's touch and she has it mastered. All women possess that power to care for God's children, not to mention the power to GIVE life! And when a man comes along who understands his responsibility to protect his bride, well then that makes for quite a potent team. Quite a holy family!

St. Joseph, pray for us

Holy Mary, seat of Wisdom, pray for us

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

The Lost "Rise of the TOB" Contributor!

2008-02-27T14:23:00.011-05:00

Hello again!

I just wanted to make sure any readers of the "Rise of the TOB" blog knew that I wasn't really lost. I originally posted back in December (you can search back for that one) when Nolan first invited me to be a part of the blog. But then the craziness of life over the holidays and life since then got the best of me and I failed to come back here to contribute. So here I am again and I will try to make a better effort at posting to the "Rise" in the future. Some TOB thoughts since my last post...

From Christmas to Valentine's Day, I was gone every weekend but one. This included two Notre Dame weddings and two Notre Dame retreats - if I had to be away so many weekends, what could have been better? For me, these were great weekends away - to reconnect with some old friends and to reflect on life in general. After the weddings though, I was really conscious of the fact that I have some pretty solid friends. Both Notre Dame couples did not live together before their wedding and both couples also saved themselves for each other and remained abstinent until their wedding night. For me, this is all "very TOB" as I like to say. I'd like to think that this is normal for twenty-five year olds but as I returned home to NY after many weekends away, I realized that these two couples were really living the counter-cultural message of the TOB - even if they didn't exactly realize it as such. I commend them for being committed to what they believed in their hearts to be true and to what they believed would be the best decision for their future marriage. I thank both couples for their witness to me and to others of God's profound grace when you follow His will. God bless them!

It's Valen-times! The silliness of the "day of love".

2008-02-14T16:56:00.001-05:00

A VERY Inconvenient Truth

2008-02-11T15:46:00.000-05:00

This article(here) is nearly a year old. I'm sure many blogs have long since covered it. But this truth is not passe. Things have not gotten better.

More Than 1 in 4 U.S. Women Aged 14-59 Has HPV Infection.

Wow.

HPV is the most common sexually-transmitted infection (STI) in America. It is rampant. There are over 100 different strands of it, over 30 of which are sexually-transmitted. What most people don't know is that it is transmitted by SKIN-TO-SKIN CONTACT (not the exchange of body fluids). And you can get it from all sexually activity... not just intercourse. A condom provides no known effectiveness in preventing HPV. Not all strands have recognizable symptoms. If you're sexually active, you could have it and not know it.

Oh, and there is no way to test for HPV on men.

So... what does the drug industry to do? It pushes a drug called Gardasil on young ladies (ages 9-26) . Because they have no self-control of course, heaven forbid we suggest to them that they abstain from sexual activity. What's the drug do? Prevents 4 of the 30 sexually transmitted types of HPV. 2 of which cause cervical cancer - there are other types that cause cervical cancer which Gardasil is not effective on.

You've seen the commercial... "ONE LESS"

One less what? One less person infected by HPV? Only if it happens to be one of the four Gardasil has an effect on.

One less victim of cervical cancer? Only if you aren't infected by the type of cancer-causing HPV that Gardisil doesn't have an effect on.

The "One Less" campaign is a sham. It's a false sense of security. What it really says is that our daughters and sisters are nothing more than animals who cannot control themselves, and so are the young men who are coming after them. Overrun by the instincts, they do not have the mental capacity to say "no". I say, OUR KIDS DESERVE BETTER.

Any doctor who doesn't suggest abstinence as a healthy choice to a young woman should have their license revoked. You want One Less? How about one less sexually active teen. Or one less person who can't wait until marriage. That is the kind of campaign we need.

After years of sex without consequences, it's finally coming back to haunt us. These are trying times. The truth has never been clearer... Chastity is the most healthy choice.

Shameless Plugging... with a TOB Twist!

2008-01-30T15:46:00.000-05:00

I am very blessed to be a part of a new website called Amazing Catechists. I will be writing a monthly column for them (my first one is up already... here) focusing on youth ministry and perhaps some TOB for teens. This is going to be a great resource for anyone doing any kind of catechetical ministry, be it religious education, adult faith formation, RCIA, etc. Our moderator, Lisa Mladinich is a very enthusiastic Catholic writer and teacher and she has assembled a really exciting roster of columnists to contribute. Pay us a visit if you have a chance.

Here is a great article on Theology of the Body by Ellen Gable Hrkach... Common "Mis-Conceptions"

Guest Post

2008-01-23T14:22:00.000-05:00

With permission - here is an excerpt from the weekly bulletin letter by Father Robert Blyman, pastor of Our Lady of Mercy Parish in Hicksville, NY:

Remember that on January 22nd, we mark the anniversary of the Supreme Court decision, Roe versus Wade, which made abortion legal in our country. Many from our diocese and parish will be marching in Washington, D.C. to express our belief that abortion is morally wrong. Only God can give life and only God can take life.

The abortion debate has been prolonged in our country. Many, including many who call themselves Catholic, believe abortion should be legal. The Catholic vote on abortion is no different than the non-Catholic vote. This does not make abortion right. Often human emotions, rather than reason, takes over as we reflect on abortion. Can we honestly sacrifice one human life for the sake of another? Modern medicine, especially our newer ultra sounds, show us the life of the baby very early on in gestation. I believe it takes a little mental gymnastics to say a child in the womb is not a human being.
Let us pray that all men, women, and children may co[m]e to reverence life from the moment of conception to the moment of natural death. Let us pray for those women and men who have chosen to abort a life. Often they do this overcome by emotions of fear and anxiety. God is a forgiving God and God can bring good out of evil. Many of the staunchest foes of abortion are women and men who have experienced an abortion and come to realize what they did. The woman who was the focus of Roe versus Wade is such a person. She now regrets what she b[r]ought about. We should be compassionate and merciful with all who suffer in relation to the abortion issue.

35 Years Ago...

2008-01-22T10:58:00.000-05:00

35 Years ago today, in the case of Roe v. Wade, the US Supreme court decided "that abortions are permissible for any reason a woman chooses, up until the "point at which the fetus becomes ‘viable,’ that is, potentially able to live outside the mother's womb, albeit with artificial aid." (from the Wikipedia article).

It's the annual reminder of how very far from truth and dignity modern society has drifted. How very broken the moral compass is. How very unspectacular human life has become.

Here are some quotes to ponder on this day:

"Abortion is the ultimate exploitation of women." - Alice Paul, suffragist leader.

"I've noticed that everybody that is for abortion has already been born." - Ronald Reagan, former president

"It seems to me clear as daylight that abortion would be a crime." - Mohandas Gandhi, Indian spiritual leader

"If we accept that a mother can kill even her own child, how can we tell other people to not kill each other? Any country that accepts abortion is not teaching its people to love, but to use any violence to get what they want." - Mother Teresa

May our prayers be with the HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS in Washington, D.C. for the March for Life, the MOST ATTENDED annual march in the nation's capitol.

Countdown to a 40 Year Anniversary

2008-01-19T13:20:00.000-05:00

"The transmission of human life is a most serious role in which married people collaborate freely and responsibly with God the Creator. It has always been a source of great joy to them, even though it sometimes entails many difficulties and hardships.
The fulfillment of this duty has always posed problems to the conscience of married people, but the recent course of human society and the concomitant changes have provoked new questions. The Church cannot ignore these questions, for they concern matters intimately connected with the life and happiness of human beings."

July 25th, 2008 will mark the 40 Year Anniversary of Pope Paul VI's encyclical Humanae Vitae (Of Human Life).

Preparations to celebrate the Church's counter-cultural stance against abortion and artificial methods of birth control (contraception) as reaffirmed in Humanae Vitae need to start NOW!

We are truly only beginning to understand how important this prophetic teaching is and will be for the future of the church. Pope Paul VI predicted a downfall in morality and saw the challenges that would be posed to the dignity of women should contraception gain widespread acceptance in our society. Well here we are - divorce rates up, teen pregnancy rates up, a thriving porn industry, and women... still don't have the respect they deserve. And people don't care. It's a "me-first" culture. And we're all just a means to an end.

This teaching, written 40 years ago, is a light that can no longer be ignored. In the same vein, John Paul II developed the Theology of the Body, giving his flock the depth behind the principles of Humanae Vitae and the way in which we can carry it out.

Thank God for Pope Paul VI, and thank God for Humanae Vitae.

So, what are we doing to celebrate?

Pope Paul VI, pray for us.

On Chastity

2008-01-11T14:22:00.000-05:00

"Chastity is not merely abstinence; it is more than whether or not you have sex. "

"Chastity is not just about getting the body and soul, the flesh and spirit working in rhythm and out of that 'tug-o-war,' it's about directing both toward God (love)."

" ...sexual intercourse is reserved for the Sacrament of marriage. Marriage is designed to be the living, physical embodiment of sacrificial (not selfish) love. That's right, married people live chastity too."

Just a few examples of the many insights that can be found in the new book 100 Things Every Catholic Teen Should Know by Mark Hart & Todd Lemieux.

Chastity is not something easily summed up in a page and half so that it may be understandable to the average teenager. Yet, Mark and Todd manage to do just that for this and 99 other topics vital to knowing and living the Catholic faith. No matter if you are a teen or an adult, this book will serve as a great reference. Buy it... HERE.

D'ya know about 'Juno'?

2008-01-06T20:05:00.001-05:00

There really is an exciting trend in Hollywood of [perhaps unintentionally] pro-life themed films. I never saw 'Knocked Up' but supposedly there was a good element to that movie in them having their child. Bella of course was intentionally pro-life. 'Juno' an indie-esque comedy by the makers of 'Thank You For Smoking' apparently is the newest movie that shows the bravery of a young woman who finds herself pregnant in world that sees abortion in her situation as the norm. The plot outline at IMDB reads... "Faced with an unplanned pregnancy, an offbeat young woman makes an unusual decision regarding her unborn child" (italics mine). What's exciting is the really funny cast they've assembled around the star Ellen Page - Michael Cera and Jason Bateman (Arrested Development), Jennifer Garner (Daredevil), and JK Simmons (Spiderman).

I can't wait to see it.

EDIT: Ha ha. I'm so excited I posted the trailer 3 times!

Coming to a school or youth ministry near you (I pray)

2008-01-03T15:56:00.000-05:00

Jason & Crystalina Evert, and Brian Butler have given youth ministers and religious educators an awesome gift with their curriculum Theology of the Body For Teens. Buy it here and use it today with the teens you work with. Be not afraid!

Happy New Year

2008-01-01T20:14:00.000-05:00

A prayer to the Blessed Mother for Purity...

Mary, loving Daughter of God the Father, I give my soul to your care. Protect the life of God in my soul. Do not let me lose it by serious sin. Protect my mind and my will so that all my thoughts and desires will be pleasing to God.
Hail Mary...
Mary, loving Mother of God the Son, I give my heart to your care. Let me love you with all my heart. Let me always try to love my neighbor. And help me avoid friends who might lead me away from Jesus and into a life of sin.
Hail Mary...
Mary, loving Spouse of the Holy Spirit, I give my body to your care. Let me always remember that my body is a home for the Holy Spirit who dwells in me. Let me never sin against Him by any impure actions alone or with others, against the virtue of purity.
Hail Mary...

May 2008 bear much fruit in the TOB movement.

Merry Christmas

2007-12-27T16:30:00.000-05:00

I know... I'm way late. I decided not to blog for a few days for the Christmas season. Oh wait... I only blog 1-2 times a week any way :P

Merry Christmas from the Rise of the TOB Bloggers!

May Mary and Joseph pray that this humble little blog bear much fruit!

Today's Gospel

2007-12-23T14:00:00.000-05:00


18: Now this is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about. When his mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found with child through the holy Spirit.
19: Joseph her husband, since he was a righteous man, yet unwilling to expose her to shame, decided to divorce her quietly.
20: Such was his intention when, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home. For it is through the holy Spirit that this child has been conceived in her.
21: She will bear a son and you are to name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins."
22: All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet:
23: "Behold, the virgin shall be with child and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel," which means "God is with us."
24: When Joseph awoke, he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took his wife into his home.
- Matthew 1:18-24 (NAB)

Joseph was a real man. A real husband and a real dad. And Jesus wasn't even his biological son.

St. Joseph, pray for us.

Called to be Father

2007-12-18T17:07:00.000-05:00

We need better dads. The biological kind and the spiritual kind.

Every man is called to be a husband and father in some sense of the word. The married man is called to be spouse to his wife and father to their offspring. The celibate man, either through the priesthood or religious life, is called to be spouse to his bride - the Church - and father (hence a Catholic priest being know as "Fr. So-and-so") to his spiritual children throughout the world. It transcends even these distinctions though, as being a father has a specific nature that should carry out throughout our existence. We are called to protect, provide, and give of ourselves as Christ did (willing to die on a cross) in everything we do. Guys, if we're not doing this, we're part of the problem, not part of the solution. Too many of us are looking to receive, take, and let someone else suffer for us. I've been their more times than I'd like to admit.

This world is begging for all of its people to stand up and change things. I can only play my part as a man, and so I call out my fellow men to do the same. Take up your mantle. Be the "dad" God made you to be, whether you're an 18 year old or an 88 year old. Do it for the sake of our women. Do it for the sake of each other. Follow Jesus, and he'll show you exactly what needs to be done. And Saint Joseph ain't to shabby of an example himself.

Special thanks to the men who gathered for the first ever Men's Group Meeting of the Diocese of Rockville Centre last night. Good things will come!

UNPROTECTED

2007-12-10T12:23:00.000-05:00

I would like to post a more thorough review in the future, but I feel compelled to at least tell you all briefly about this very important book. I finished reading Unprotected by Dr. Miriam Grossman about a month ago after it was recommended at an abstinence education seminar. In the book, Grossman, a campus psychiatrist with over 10 years of experience at UCLA who originally published under the name Anonymous MD, reveals the truth about political correctness on the college campus. No doubt, it has gotten out of control. By taking real cases and switching the names and places for the privacy of her patients, the author explains the many ways that members of her profession endanger students by being tight-lipped, "nice", and frankly too darn liberal. Young, sexually active adults are at risk for more diseases than ever. Birth control and contraceptive methods continue to prove to be unreliable, unhealthy, and damaging to future hopes of fertility. Abortion may indeed bring about severe emotional distress. Risky-sexually activity, especially that of homosexuals, places people at greater harm, leading to disease and other mental and emotional problems. These are statements that people do not want to hear. And according to Dr. Grossman, doctors don't want to share them. But they are true, backed by science and statistical evidence. At the expense of our "being nice" and avoiding challenging someone's lifestyle choices are today's young people. As someone who falls in this age bracket (or I guess a bit older), I cannot disagree with Dr. Grossman. There is a generation of misinformed young adults out there seeking fun, excitement, and love. Instead they are getting pain, heartache, and STDs. Finally someone has the guts to stand up and say that there is a problem. Grossman's book should be required reading for all college students, all parents of college students, all high school guidance counselors, and anyone else who has anything to do with sending kids to college. Most importantly this book should be read by those in the medical field who can really make a difference.
This is a health book. Every issue that Grossman confronts is backed with facts and experience. Still, she is not afraid to admit the effect that the PC world of the college campus has had on religion... and that its not good. Grossman, a Jewish woman, recognizes the great qualities of good faith and it's healthy effects on young believers. Her field has ignored this though.
I was just so totally impressed by Grossman's boldness and dedication to the truth. She pulls no punches, and yet comes off like a very concerned, professional, and absolutely brilliant psychiatrist. There are signals coming from everywhere, not just from the Church. They are telling us that something is wrong. They are telling us that we were made for more. Unprotected is one of those signals.

It's Common Sense

2007-12-08T14:52:00.000-05:00

Here's the video for "Retrospect for Life" (1997) by one of my favorite rappers, Common, featuring Lauryn Hill of the Fugees. I don't see eye to eye with Common on many issues, and I'm not sure I'm 100% on the ball with him here. Still, he makes some really profound statements that cut to the heart as he recalls his struggle to decide with his girlfriend whether or not to get an abortion. He even imagines himself feeling guilty in the future. The song is dedicated to his son, so I think we know what they decided. At least one "N-bomb" is dropped in case you might be offended.

"I'ma use self control instead of birth control
Cause $315 ain't worth your soul
$315 ain't worth your soul
$315 ain't worth it"

Trumping Atheism with TOB

2007-12-04T12:21:00.001-05:00

The upcoming release of the Golden Compass - a film with anti-religious undertones, specifically anti-Catholic ones, and based on an even more anti-Catholic series of books - has really got me thinking. Although Golden Compass is the most blatant at the moment, it is by far not the only agent of atheism in the media today. There is a score of new books devoted to discrediting belief in God. GC comes in a different genre though, fantastical and directed at children. Indeed, the atheist propaganda can and will take many forms.

It doesn't show signs of stopping. In fact, my guess is that the anti-religious agenda will only get worse as directors and writers push the envelope, to see how far they can go. However, it is my proposal, that again God has provided, and the Theology of the Body has come at the perfect time in history. No, it wasn't received to shatter a movie at the box office, it was received to convert hearts and awaken us. Well the wool is being pulled over our eyes, and part of that is this surge of atheism. TOB has the power to annihilate that surge. Hear me out.

The Theology of the Body is much easier to understand and accept for someone who already has faith. But, if we look at it in it's barest, simplest sense - that our bodies reveal something about who we are - I think it's a starting point that all people can catch on to.

We live in a world where the desires of the body have been given more free reign than ever. We are people controlled by our body. "Hungry? Why wait?" In pain? Pop a pill. Need sex? Well you can have that too. Forget will power. When we want something, we feel we deserve it NOW. And usually we get it. This is why the average person can't wrap their heads around the idea of abstinence until marriage. Why is my body saying now, and you're telling me to wait until later?

But what if the body was saying something different? What if all those urges were meant to point us to something else? To the greater love of God? By getting to the heart of the matter, we might find that our instincts are actually part of God's plan for us. It's just that our fallen world has given us a different explanation.

People need to know how great their bodies are. How special, and unique, and wonderfully mysterious. This is what we should be filling the minds of our children with. We need more books, stories, movies, artwork, and music that feeds our hearts with this message. This battle with atheism is not intellectual. It is an attack on personhood. They want to champion individual thought, but it comes at the expense of the body. Our bodies are too powerful though. God made them so.

JPII, pray for us.

UPDATE: Speaking of trumping Golden Compass, The Chronicles of Narnia Prince Caspian trailer is out and can be veiwed: HERE

Long live Aslan!

Happy to be part of the "Rise!"

2007-12-01T15:41:00.000-05:00

Hello everyone! My name is Laura Giannuzzi and as Nolan already said, I am one of the new contributors to the "Rise of the TOB" blog. Nolan and I have known each other for a few months now through our work in youth and campus ministry in the Diocese of Rockville Centre. When we first met, I knew he was interested in the Theology of the Body and could tell he was rock solid in his faith. Since then, we have both been working in ministry but have also begun teaching for a new abstinence program called "Long Island Teen Freedom." Last week, I gave a presentation at the Life Center of Long Island on the TOB and later I got an exciting call from Nolan asking me to be a part of his blog. I had been thinking about doing something like this for a while (thanks to encouragement from Dawn Eden, Elizabeth Andrew, and Leticia Velasquez ) but I just didn't feel like I had the time to start one or keep one up. So when Nolan invited me to be part of the "Rise" team, it was what I call a "God wink" (more on that another day) and I eagerly said yes!

You can read my profile for more information about me (and of course more about me will come to our audience through future posts) but as an introductory post, I thought it would be good to start with how I even got into the TOB, as that's the main subject matter of the blog. I was introduced to the TOB almost two years ago. I was living in Pensacola, Florida at the time and was in my second year of ACE, a unique post-grad service teaching program (see ace.nd.edu). At a spring auction at Pensacola Catholic High School, I ran into Bob Blake, a family member of a neighbor of mine and moderator of the TOB study group at St. Anne's Church in Gulf Breeze. He had invited me to St. Anne's earlier that year for their Life Teen mass but at the time, I was very involved in my own parish, and frankly I didn't even know what Life Teen was. So this time, he invited me to his Theology of the Body study group. I had never heard of the TOB at this point, but he explained a little and I was intrigued. I am now eternally thankful for Bob Blake and for his invitation. This invite came at a very important time in my own faith life and in my personal life. There are no accidents!

I met with the group for the first time, discovered I was the only one not married and the only one under age 40, and liked what I heard. They informed me what books they were using and I went right home and ordered the two of them online - "Men and Women are from Eden" by Mary Healy and "Theology of the Body for Beginners" by Christopher West. I eagerly thumbed through both books, looking for the information on the issue on contraception. See, the issue of contraception is what got me interested in the TOB from the beginning. I had been involved with a variety of pro-life activities in my life and through those experiences, I had gotten more interested in the issue of contraception. No Church or biblical scholar, I started to get very intrigued why the Catholic Church taught what it did and why other Christian denominations had no official teaching on artificial contraception and if they had, why they had abandoned it over the years. As stated earlier, my introduction to the TOB came at a time in my life when I was somewhat doubting the Church. I had had some very strong evangelical Christian influences in my life and I was impressed by how on fire for Jesus they were and how they lived their lives and I was intrigued both by how involved they all were in their churches and how they could defend what they believed much better than I seemed to be able to. I still believed there was truth in the Catholic Church, but I was unsure on so many levels and if I was going to believe in this thing called the "Church" and was going to call myself "Catholic," then I needed some better background in my faith and some solid defense for what the Church taught. When it comes down to it, I was really in search of Truth, with a capital "T"...and the Lord answered my prayers with the TOB. This is why I often say, the TOB saved my life!

I have to say I was disappointed when I saw artificial contraception and natural family planning discussed at the end of both books. I liked what I read about the topic, but I was still looking for more and was certainly looking for better ways to defend the Church and her teachings. In the beginning of my study with the group, I admit, I was a little frustrated...all I wanted to do was discuss contraception with these couples and find out why or why not it was okay. But I participated patiently and the Holy Spirit began to work on my heart and open my eyes to the beauty of not only the TOB, but of the Church, again with a capital "C." I stayed in Florida and participated in the study group through December of 2006. In that time, my faith and love for Jesus was really growing. In December, I was introduced to Dawn Eden and her book, "The Thrill of the Chaste" through a random (nothing is random in life - "God wink") Google e-mail alert. I soon discovered what "chastity" really meant and boy, did this go perfectly in line with what I was learning from the TOB and what I was going through at the time. I went through a rather difficult experience during advent, which brought me back to New York a little earlier than I had planned. But one of the benefits of being back in NY was the amount of all things Catholic going on. From Young Adult groups, to Faith on Tap, to Catholic Underground, to inspiring lectures, I was overwhelmed with how much was going on. I dove right in though and kept drinking of all things good that I could. During this difficult time in my life, I was continually strengthened by my faith and the support of family and friends and I began to go deeper into Catholicism and apologetics in general (the defense of the Church). I was buying books left and right and couldn't even keep up with myself. I started going to the NYC TOB group when ever I could make it and was able to attend the Sisters of Life TOB retreat lead by Father Luke Sweeney, Vocations Director for the Archdiocese of New York in February. Although much of the material was a review for me, I was excited to be in the company of others who were interested in the teaching and I began to really see the TOB as a means for evangelization. I soon heard that Christopher West was coming to LI for a weekend conference/retreat on the TOB in April. I was so excited and marked off the date on my calendar right away!

This was such an amazing experience for me - to meet Christopher West and hear him explain the TOB was such a blessing. I think I spent $300 that weekend buying TOB materials without any clear direction of what I was to do with it. I was so on fire from that weekend that I quickly signed up for the week long "Head and Heart Immersion" course/retreat with Christopher West in August. This was a real leap of faith since I didn't even have a job for the next year yet! Sometime shortly after though, I took a full-time job with the Diocese of Rockville Centre in Campus Ministry and a part-time job with The Life Center of Long Island as an instructor in their new abstinence program, "Long Island Teen Freedom." Things were starting to look better for me overall and I knew both of my new jobs would allow me to bring the TOB to more people.
The August retreat/course with Christopher West was like nothing I had ever experienced before. It was a full graduate Theology course in a week as well as an in depth spiritual retreat experience. Now, this was going deeper into the TOB than I had ever gone before. It was amazing! I came back thirsty for more and with a desire to bring the TOB to everyone! Because of my new work in campus ministry, I could no longer attend the Wednesday night NYC TOB study group. I knew there was no TOB study group for the Diocese of Rockville Centre (DRVC from here on out) and I had a feeling that I was going to have to be the one to start it. And so I did! Under the spiritual direction of Father Brian Barr, Director of Campus Ministry and Vocation Director for the DRVC (who also went on the Head and Heart course back in January with Nolan), we kicked off our group on Wednesday October 24th at Hofstra University, where I work as a campus minister. With little publication, eight people showed up. With some more publication and thanks to Todd Lemieux's talk the next week at Faith on Tap, entitled "Man, Woman, What's the Difference?," the next time we met, Wednesday November 7th, we were fourteen people strong. I had to order more books and get a bigger room! I figured this was a good problem to have. We met again last Wednesday night, November 30th, and again, we were fifteen strong, with some new and old faces. I hope some of those people come to read this blog and people who read the blog will be inspired to come to our study group and/or start their own where ever they may be. You don't have to be an expert to do so...you can do it!!!

To close, Father Loya, a Byzantine priest well versed in the Theology of the Body, has been known to say (and said on our week long TOB retreat) that he thinks all of the world's problems can be solved through the TOB. The deeper I go into this material and the more I live through life, the more I believe this. If we can understand what it means to be male and female, and thus what it means to be human, and can more clearly understand the beauty of what Scripture is telling us about history and humanity, then we can indeed answer life's burning questions, especially the hot button ones! I pray you too will fall in love with the Theology of the Body as I have. And I pray your journey for Truth will lead you to a better understanding of God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit, Scripture, Tradition, and the great Church He began on earth for all of us. Thank you to John Paul the Great for bringing the TOB to a world that desperately needs this message! God bless you all as we begin the Advent season on this beautiful yet chilly weekend!!!

New Direction for the Rise!

2007-11-28T14:14:00.000-05:00

In February of 2007 I started the Rise of the TOB Blog as a way for me to share my very limited knowledge and developing presentation of the message of the Theology of the Body. After what will be 10 months of running the blog as a one man show, I have discerned that the site needs to take a turn in a different direction to better accomplish the goals I first had in mind when I initially created it.

Rise of the TOB will now be run by a team of Theology of the Body students and enthusiasts. New contributors means more consistent updates, fresher writing styles, and a variety of experiences and stories to share. We'll also be posting writings from guests every now and then - some well known and others who haven't yet had the opportunity to share their own personal presentation of the Church's teaching on Love & Responsibility.

We are not experts. We do not have all the answers.

What is promised is this... We love Jesus Christ, we are loyal to his Church, and have all been very much inspired by the work of Pope John Paul II. There is a secret hidden behind all of the sexual sin that plagues this world. There is a yearning inside all of us that has become distorted. In our bodies lies the truth about love, sex, life, and happiness. We hope to share that truth with all who will listen.

In the next week, Laura Giannuzzi will introduce herself in her first post, so I will let her take care of that. In the coming weeks some more contributors will be brought into the fold.

We are predominantly based out of the Diocese of Rockville Centre (Long Island, NY) and so we'll naturally be speaking through that lens. Part of our intention is certainly to serve as an online hub for everything Theology of the Body on Long Island. However, our readership is intended to include all people across the globe; to point anyone looking for answers to the truth.
My prayer to the Father, through Mary the Mother of God and St. John of the Cross, who so inspired JPII, is that the Rise of the TOB Blog will be a reliable, up to date, and light-hearted center for learning and discussion. More importantly, my prayer is that His Mercy changes the lives of all who seek it.

So, one chapter is ending, but a new one begins. Thanks to to all family, friends, readers, and bloggers who have supported me to date. This is an exciting time for the Rise!

What I'm thankful for...

2007-11-22T11:19:00.000-05:00

The Sexual Revolution blindsided the Western World in the 1960's and early 1970's. The Puritanism and repression of the past would no longer be tolerated. The change was probably inevitable, and with good intention. The consequences were not foreseen by most however.

Today we live in an over-sexualized world. I can no longer watch a football game with my Dad without being bombarded by commercials advertising pills for erectile dysfunction. I can't check my email without stumbling across a few e-solicitations to chat with the "one I've been longing for". I cannot browse the magazine rack of a bookstore without being drawn to covers of half-naked women in men's magazines, pointing to the more "in your face" pornography displayed just above it.

Everything is sex without consequences. But the truth is now out there and I am thankful for it.

I'm thankful that in 1968, Pope Paul VI penned his encyclical Humanae Vitae, defending human life and upholding the Catholic teaching against the use of contraception. Despite all other Christian churches changing their stance, the Pope knew that contraception would have a radical effect on the world. To separate the sexual experience from procreation was to undo the order of God.

I'm thankful that Pope John Paul II delivered a series of lectures from 1979 to 1984, cumulatively titled the Theology of the Body, which put together 2000 years of Church teaching, Holy Tradition, and perhaps the best biblical scholarship in the history of the Good Book - all on the true meaning of the human body as intended by God. The human body is good so Good that it should not be repressed, but must not be exploited. It is the antidote to the sexual revolution. And what could have been our graduation from puritanism.

I'm thankful that today, many bishops, priests, religious, and lay faithful have caught on. We aren't many, but we are growing. There is an army of believers, who will not cease fighting the lies of the culture. We are ready for a new change. We are ready to overturn the culture of death. And we will not stop until abortion, rape, sexual abuse, pornography, and all other sins of the flesh are wiped clean from this world.

Most of all, I'm thankful for a Merciful Lord. Jesus has met us where we are at. He has given us exactly what we need in the Church's teaching on love and responsibility. The power is in our hands (folded hands that is).

Let's change the world. Viva la "NEW sexual" revolucion!

Meant for More

2007-11-21T12:00:00.001-05:00

Trailer can be viewed here. I really want to see this flick.

What is Love... and Love... and Love... and Love?

2007-11-03T11:04:00.000-05:00

I love my mom...

I love my friends...

I love my fiance...

I love brownie sundaes with whipped cream and hot fudge?

All of the above is true, at least for me. I've made each of these statements at certain times in my life (and no I won't disclose which one more than the others!).

LOVE - Same word in each statement, but meaning something totally different each time.

Quick Greek Lesson:

Storge - Affection, familial love
Philia - Friendship love
Eros - Physical love, object love
Agape - Unconditional love

The Greeks have FOUR different words for love. I'm not saying we need to add any more confusion to the English language (or maybe I am) but the fact that we can say "I love my wife" and "I love pizza" in the same sentence and not raise any eyebrows is a problem. The L word is completely misused today, most especially among young people.

So how about that brownie sundae? What kind of love does that fit under?

Well, no one is related to a brownie sundae, so it's not family love. There may be some pretty lonely people in this world, but even lonely people have better friends than something that melts if not consumed within ten minutes of buying it - not philia. Can you "agape" a brownie sundae? Sure, but I suggest you seriously consider counseling if you're willing to take a bullet for your dessert (even if it comes from Applebee's). That leaves one possibility - Eros. Yes, the same way of loving that is meant to go hand in hand with agape, is used to describe my feelings toward brownie sundaes.

In Deus Caritas Est, the first encyclical of Pope Benedict XVI, the Pope brilliantly explains the intended relationship of Eros (which seeks to receive) and Agape (which seeks to give). We can see why eros would be the love of objects such as favorite games, sports teams, and food. In saying we love those things, we're expecting to get something from them. This is not a bad thing. What is bad is when we apply this to the human person, and neglect agape. What is bad is when people think that love is something they should "feel" and something that should make them happy.

Too many people out there are looking for love in order to GET, not give. And what our Holy Father would say, much more eloquently and with much deeper implications than I can convey right now, is that it is only when you love unconditionally (as Christ did on the cross) that you get anything in return. It starts with making someone else happy. Happiness comes with bringing joy to others. This is when the eros becomes a physical expression of the agape.

Jesus happily died on the cross for us. Despite His pain and suffering, He was never bitter about what He did. He understood the relationship and he knows that real love is in laying down your life for the one you love - the Church, His Bride.

Bella Doing Just Swell-a

2007-10-30T12:33:00.000-05:00

Bella Sees Strong Sales on Opening Weekend, 2nd Highest Per Theater

Some highlights from the article:

"Bella... opened solidly with $1.3 million over the weekend in a limited release in just 31 cities. Though other movies achieved higher gross sales, they needed significantly more theaters to do so."

"[Saw IV] had the highest per theater average of any in the top ten with $10,087 per theater over 3,183 theaters across the nation. Bella firmly established itself in second place with $7,784 on average at each of the 167 theaters where it opened this weekend."
"Bella opens in another 12 cities on November 9, including Albuquerque, Des Moines, Duango, Colorado, El Paso, Green Bay, Honolulu, Madison, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, Oklahoma City, Pittsburgh and Tucson."
"The sales figures could prompt its distributor to move to a larger release in the coming weeks."

The New View on Sex

2007-10-24T16:17:00.000-05:00

The New View on Sex

Another great blog from two chastity educators reaching out to the world to offer a fresh perspective on sexuality. No puritanism, no overindulgence, just the truth about life and the human body. They've got some great posts that are both informative and generate some good discussion. Make your way over there and check it out. Oh, and I'm so getting a banner like theirs for Rise of the TOB!!

Bella is Beautiful!

2007-10-23T13:29:00.000-05:00

Bella Website
Theaters Showing Bella

A few weeks go I had the privilege of seeing a screening of the the Toronto Film Festival's People's Choice Award winning film, Bella. Although it has been well promoted for a very under-the-radar, independent type of film, I was still very unclear as to the type of movie it was. I can say now that I am happy I knew little about it, and I don't intend to spoil the plot here for anyone else.

What I will say is this... GO SEE IT! Storm the theaters this weekend - it opens this Friday, October 26 - and let the movie industry folks know that these are the types of movies people want to see.

It's simple, heartfelt, and down-to-earth. The acting is good and the characters are easy to love. It's not like most American movies, in fact it's quite different. I believe the difference is that its much more real that anything Hollywood has been spewing lately.

I'm a big movie fan. I like action, I like comedy, I like sci-fi. I'm critical of suspect acting and cheesiness. I like explosions and special effects, but I like it with a dose of meaning and a sound message. While Bella isn't the type of movie to warrant CGI or expert stunt men, it is a movie I fell in love with for its gripping story and brave theme. There's nothing corny about it. It's just a great all-around flick.

So, drag your friends out. Treat your parents or your kids. Take your significant other. It's a movie that all should see to remind us what we can do with the power of media.

The New Sexual Revolution

2007-10-09T12:06:00.000-05:00

The New Sexual Revolution Blog

Seriously, go check out this blog. I am so excited that I came upon it! Total TOB geek out in progress! Anyways, this blog's run by a group of young men and women on fire, spreading the Gospel of Life, and giving tips for how to live it. Considered it added to the blogroll.

A Look at the Theology of the Body

2007-09-30T11:39:00.001-05:00

You can't have too many introductions to TOB, here's a nice little summary

40 Days

2007-09-26T09:15:00.000-05:00

The Living Flame Of Love

2007-09-22T00:23:00.000-05:00

The Living Flame Of Love

Songs of the soul in the intimate communication of loving union with God.

1. O living flame of love
that tenderly wounds my soul
in its deepest center! Since
now you are not oppressive,
now consummate! if it be your will:
tear through the veil of this sweet encounter!
2. O sweet cautery,
O delightful wound!
O gentle hand! O delicate touch
that tastes of eternal life
and pays every debt!
In killing you changed death to life.
3. O lamps of fire!
in whose splendors
the deep caverns of feeling,
once obscure and blind,
now give forth, so rarely, so exquisitely,
both warmth and light to their Beloved.
4. How gently and lovingly
you wake in my heart,
where in secret you dwell alone;
and in your sweet breathing,
filled with good and glory,
how tenderly you swell my heart with love.
by St. John of the Cross

The Champ is Here!

2007-09-18T17:45:00.000-05:00

One of the greatest time-killing websites is Googlefight which allows users to enter their favorite searches so that they may "duke it out" for search engine supremacy. Some of the classic matches - "McDonald's vs. Burger King," "Ali vs. Tyson," and "George W. Bush vs. Bin Laden".

So I put my champ, Natural Family Planning, to the test against the formidable foe, Contraception.

According to Googlefight, pills and latex just don't stand a chance against uncompromised one-flesh union and cooperation with God! Indeed it was a close bout but NFP just lasts longer.

Here are the results. N-F-P, Buma Ye!

Desensitization Gets a New Name

2007-09-17T11:10:00.000-05:00

There is a very disturbing article about the recent news that nude photos of Vanessa Hudgens, star of Disney's "High School Musical," have surfaced on the internet. The perspective of this article should really not come as any surprise and yet it has left me quite stunned. Here are some of the "low"lights of the article...

Two decades after a nude photo scandal helped cost a Miss America her title, Americans may be adopting a more ho-hum attitude toward people who bare it all for the cameras.

This is not a huge shock. After all, movies and TV haven been relentlessly pushing the envelope for years now and will only continue to do so. More skin has become acceptable. Playboy Magazine is actually considered to be a classy publication. Top actresses, who have no need to bare anything, are willingly taking it off for the sake of "art".

"I do think that general attitudes about nudity are becoming more relaxed, but these changes take time, which is why there's still mixed responses," said Paul Levinson, communication and media professor at Fordham University. "We as a society are finally growing up and it's a healthy thing," he said.

Growing up? Hardly. More like dumbing down. Healthy? What's so healthy about an 18 year old sharing her most precious of gifts with the whole world? What's so healthy about the young boys and girls who looked up to Miss Hudgens potentially having their innocence compromised by her? What's so healthy about a society that finds little value in the human body outside of exploitation and exhibitionism?

Robert Thompson, professor of media and popular culture at Syracuse University, agreed attitudes about nudity had "lightened up," but said there was still a huge disconnect between how people feel and what people say. "While filling in a survey, people will always check off with one hand that there's too much sex and violence in the media, while using the other hand to search for that kind of material," he said.

I agree with this assessment. However, instead of blaming people for hypocrisy, why don't we look deeper and see what this tells us. If people are marking down that there is too much sex and violence in the media in the midst of the desensitization taking place, that's an indication that deep down we know there is something wrong. Despite our passivity when it comes to nudity on film, tv, and on the web, when we are earnestly approached with the question of "is it too much", our hearts are speaking "yes!"

"There's no doubt about it. The Web for the last 10 years, has made more nudity available," Levinson said. "I predict in the next few years, the FCC will be put in its proper place and nudity will be the norm," he said.

Quite possibly the most disturbing part of all. I never thought I'd see the day when people would champion internet pornography. I predict that if nudity becomes the norm rape, sexual abuse, STDs, and the continued oppression of women will also become the norm.

"I'm not sure if people are becoming more casual, but in the case of Vanessa (Hudgens), she comes with a lot of brand equity and this was her first strike. If she was a constant train wreck, her fans may not be as forgiving," he said.

Oh sure, let's wait until her life spirals completely out of control before we do something about it. Everyone deserves a do-over. We can forgive and forget, but it's times like these when we really need to sit back and ask ourselves what all of this means. Why have we gotten to the point where people argue that it is "healthy" for an 18 year old to pose nude in front of a camera?

We're regressing. Our society has made enormous strides in science and medicine and technology, and yet has compromised it all by lowering ourselves physically, morally, and emotionally to mere animals. We're like conditioned apes who just happen to know calculus and quantum physics, but at the same time don't have a problem with flinging our own dung. This is not a grown up world. It's a world of children in adult bodies, with no self-control, no values to live by, and no guts to stand up to that which we know is wrong.

Sorry if I came off a little harsh today. This article really got to me! Check it out here.

40 Days for Life

2007-09-16T09:43:00.000-05:00

From September 26th-November 4th the nation comes together to storm the Heavens with prayer for those who cannot speak for themselves. 40 days of prayer, fasting, and peaceful vigil outside of abortion facilities (Planned Parenthood in Hempstead if you live on Long Island).

Prayer is always powerful, but when a nation comes together with the same prayer at the same time, good things happen. Miraculous things happen.

Abortion is at the heart of what Pope John Paul II called the "culture of death" - a societal acceptance and participation in those actions which lower the value of human life. It's been there throughout history waiting to seize our world. Perhaps it first came with slavery and capital punishment, when certain people were deemed not worthy of life. The poor have always been mistreated as if the amount of money in your bank account determines the significance of your existence. Abortion made it okay to take the life of a child before that child even gets to experience life outside of the womb.

Why has our culture accepted this things from time to time? Because it was easier for those in power when slavery was legal. It was easier to put criminals to death than find a jail cell to put them in and keep them alive. It's easier to ignore and belittle the less fortunate than work to get off of our high horse and find ways to better their quality of life. It's easier to murder our unwanted babies than to accept our responsibility and raise them or give them up for adoption.

It only gets worse. Euthanasia, cloning, in-vitro fertilization, stem-cell research, and who knows what else evil has up its sleeve. It comes in the guise of a great help to society. It comes proclaiming to be a savior to mankind's woes. It comes to make life "better". But evil can always be identified when death is its means of achieving its goals.

So let's start with these 40 days. Don't just do what your schedule permits. Do a little more than what your schedule permits. We never quite know just what our prayers are capable of. Maybe, just maybe, this is when the tide begins to turn on the culture of death.

For more info visit 40daysforlife.com and 40daysforlife.com/longisland for my neighbors.

Top Ten List

2007-09-11T17:20:00.000-05:00

Dawn Eden has written a terrific article for Inside Catholic called "10 1/2 Reasons to be Chaste".

Here's her ten-point-five with some comments from me...

10. Find Joy in Unexpected Places

Oh, it happens! After all, dating (or courtship) is supposed to be the time where you find out how compatible you are. You discover that you like the same movies or enjoy playing the same sports. You laugh together, share stories, and build the ultimate friendship. When you get married, that love that you've been building comes to the ultimate climax in the bedroom, and continues to sustain you until death, as do all those other joys from the dating period. If we skip the dating period and go straight for the climax, your missing out on lots of happiness.

9. Experience True Freedom

There's nothing free about not being able to say no to sex. Your not free if you cannot control yourself.

8. Fornication Is a Mortal Sin

And don't you forget it! Jesus said it, his followers said it, the Church still says it to this day. Countless other religions also agree, Christianity is not alone here. Sex is reserved for marriage.

7. Annoy Relatives

I'd like to add friends as well. Chastity bothers the heck out of people either because they wish they had it or because they don't want you to have it. Which is kind of the same thing. But it can also be a great teaching moment. Be a living witness to truth!

6. Be the Kind of Person You Would Want to Marry

I'm yet to meet someone who dreams of marrying someone who has been around the block. It starts with us though. If we want to marry someone who has saved themselves for marriage, we also have to save ourselves (or recommit ourselves). Guys, when you date, think of your future bride. Ladies, think of your future groom. Those images can really help when remaining chaste and seeking a significant other.

5. No Foams, No Jellies, No Pills, No Shots, No Sponges, No Latex, No HIV, No STDs, No 'Honey, It's Just a Cold Sore'

As Dawn put it... 'nuff said

4. Build True Intimacy, Not Forced or Premature Intimacy

Good things come to those who wait. There's nothing intimate about flinging your clothes off with a stranger or even a friend who has nothing binding him/her to you. True intimacy takes time. It takes getting to know someone.

3. Deepen Your Relationship with God

Like all sacrifice, it leads us closer to Him who created us and created our sexuality. Like fasting, and prayer, our minds are locked into God while we anticipate and we are strengthened by it.

2. Dramatically Increase Your Odds of Having a Lasting Marriage

The statistics are clear. Chaste couples stay together much more often than couples who were engaged in premarital sex.

1 1/2. Fornication is Still a Mortal Sin

Indeed

1. Learn How to Love Others the Way God Loves You

By dying on the cross. Except that His cross was much more difficult than ours. When we can resist our own urges, we can actually see the needs of others. By taming our desires, we make way to love like Christ, unconditionally.

Props to Dawn for a great article.

Rise of the TOB: BANNED!

2007-09-07T10:18:00.000-05:00

Phariseeism

Clericalism

Traditionalism

Extreme Medievalism

Funny Languages

Offensive

The Rise of the TOB blog is guilty of all of these charges according to The Spirit of Vatican 2 "Catholic" Faith Community Blog! This uber-cool, totally hip, all inclusive new church apparently does not have room in their communion of characters for John Paul II and his crazy teachings about God's plan for human sexuality.

Seriously, this parody blog is one of my favorites. Thank the Lord this is only a joke! Check it out.

Oh, and their wrong about the funny languages.

Pax Christi :P

Stop Killing Babies

2007-09-06T10:05:00.001-05:00

Now that we found love...

2007-08-04T11:11:00.000-05:00

Heavy D's (and The Boyz') hit song "Now That We Found Love" is a guilty pleasure of mine, along with a host of other cheesy rap songs from the late 80's and early 90's. I have a strange affinity for music that most people would rather forget about or will admit they like, just not enough to spend 99 cents to download it on iTunes.

At any rate, I don't have that kind of restraint in my make up.

So, while rocking out to the profound lyrics :P and hard hitting, dance-y beats of Mr. D (and The Boyz), I realized... he's onto something.

Now that we've found love, what are we gonna do with it?

We live in a world of Hollywood-endings and internet "soul mate" seeking . Blech! What a joke. Love is not a feeling. It's not magic. It doesn't sweep us off our feet and it certainly doesn't "have us at hello".

Emotion is a part of it for sure. And maybe there does exist that tingly feeling in our bellies when we see that special someone. Perhaps we could even feel light headed at the thought of being cared for by one who we care about. But this is not the whole of it.

Love is work. It's a choice. It's a "statement of will" (Thanks C.S.). And as Heavy D (and The Boyz) points out, when you find it, you gotta do something with it. Love is a verb. There is action involved. And it means doing something about it even when you find loving someone to be extremely difficult!

Indeed, when you find yourself very much wanting the best for your significant other, you've got a decision to make. Do I love her? Can I go on loving her? How important is her well being to me? Do I care enough for her to compromise my own fantasies and desires?

Our culture would like us to think our lives are not perfect until we find that special someone. What a lie. In fact, when we do find that someone, we realize how imperfect we are. And to the Christian, it is willfully choosing to work through that imperfection that brings us to the perfection of eternal life.

So what are you gonna do with love?

I'm not sure Heavy (and the Boyz... of course) can be considered a modern day CS Lewis, but on some level he knew there was another step to take after he "found love". I wonder which direction he went in.

On Christian Marriage

2007-07-11T08:54:00.000-05:00

I'm in the midst of reading Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis. It is possibly the most quotable book I have ever read, outside of Theology of the Body of course! Really though, Lewis' spot on observations are so valid in today's world. He was absolutely monitoring the trends of his era, but in a very prophetic way he seems to discuss issues that have snowballed out of control in modern day. His candidness is so admirable, and yet you can not come away without loving this man. Unlike many present day defenders of the faith, Lewis is so genuine and packages Christ's teaching so perfectly that you feel like you're receiving a gift from your favorite uncle with each line you read. What makes it really special is that Lewis was an atheist. He's been on both sides of the fence and was so inspired by Christianity that he made it a huge part of his life's work, writing.

I always feel a long introduction is merited when I speak of Lewis but I never fail to come up short with things to say about him. At any rate, here's a couple quotables about marriage from the man himself...

If the old fairy-tale ending "They lived happily ever after" is taken to mean "They felt for the next fifty years exactly as they felt the day before they were married," then it says what probably never was nor ever could be true, and would be highly undesirable if it were. Who could bear to live in that excitement for even five years?

Sadly, this is what many couples think going into marriage. They want to hold on to that initial feeling of being in love. They expect it to last forever like in the movies. Then suddenly they wake up one morning and realize that their "soulmate" is just another human being filled with flaws and prone to major error at any moment. The happy couple doesn't see eye to eye on everything and it's a shock. And love is lost. At least this is how they feel, and this why many will either leave for something (or someone) they think will be better.

That's a poor definition of love though. For it is through these awkward instances when we realize that there is no such thing as a perfect match, at least in our standards (God obviously has a perfect will that often seems far from perfect to us), that can teach us what love truly is. A decision, a choice. A pledge to lead another to holiness at whatever the cost, through bad times and good, through sickness and in health, etc.

Love as distinct from "being in love" is not merely a feeling. It is a deep unity, maintained by (in Christian marriages) the grace which both partners ask, and receive, from God. They can have this love for each other even at those moments when they do not like each other; as you love yourself even when you do not like yourself.

Imagine that. Sometimes you won't even like your spouse. It's a hard thing for young couples to swallow. But this is no storybook, no romantic comedy. This is life. Real love comes from sacrificing for the benefit of another human being. Not from butterflies in the stomach.

I'd rather watch "Death to Smoochy"

2007-06-27T10:06:00.000-05:00

Robin Williams in a collar... cannot possibly be a good thing.

That was the first thought I had when I heard about Mr. Williams' upcoming comedy License to Wed.

Despite the fact that he's playing a Protestant Minister, it was inevitable that the movie would inspire some serious Catholic bashing. As Shelray of Cosmos~Liturgy~Sex points out, Williams himself has fired the first shot...

In refernce to his character...

"In the big picture that’s why he’s a Protestant and has been married and has
some perspective on sexuality. Because it must be very difficult being a priest
and having to talk about sex — kind of like Quasimodo is a chiropractor. I guess
it works."

Well that's certainly a Jr. High view of sexuality if I've ever heard one. If Williams had a clue, he would know that sexuality is much more than just sex. It defines us and guides us to love. It leads us to God. It emerges out of our person as either male or female and dictates our purpose in life.

A celibate man does not neglect his sexuality, he embraces it. By refraining from the intimate union of woman and man, the priest is actually living out his sexuality, recognizing that he is destined for God. His sexuality is a major part of his decision to answer the call to priesthood, and not because he must decide "to have sex, or not to have sex." He must decide to respond to God's call to love, discovered in his body, by mirroring His Love in union with a wife, or by witnessing to the eternal Love of God as a priest.

At least this is what the Church says, but they've only been around for 2,000 years. Maybe they should heed Robin's advice...

"It might be something you look at for the Catholic Church to think about –
maybe losing the whole celibacy thing. It’s a difficult thing when you realize
that first of all you have to give up sex and then they say, “Okay. We’re going
to put you in a small box and every week people are going to come and go “Bless
me father for I have sinned.” “What have you done my son?” “Last night I was
with two Philippine twins and it was slip and slide.” “Oh really? Keep going.”
And then they’re going to take you from that and then put you next to pubescent
children. It’s like getting out of Jenny Craig and saying “Where you gonna
work?” “Haagen Dazs.” "

No kidding it's difficult. That's what makes the celibate vocation so important. If it was easy than there would be no point in it. In a world where sex is thrown in our faces everywhere we go, THANK GOD that we have men (and women - God Bless our religious sisters) that live lives that literally point to us towards something greater. They are saying "Yes, I believe in God and His Eternal Kingdom. And it is so good, that I would give up the wonderful joy of marriage and sexual intercourse just to prove to people how good it is." That witness is crucial in today's world.

Of course Williams doesn't think that way though. He's too busy imagining Phillipine Twins. His words.

Co-habby together?

2007-06-12T13:34:00.000-05:00

Some very good conversation happening over at the Curt Jester's Blog about cohabitation... here.

It's a shame that so many magazines call themselves Catholic and yet print such garbage.

Cohabitation has become common place in today's culture. The Church continues to recognize the danger of a couple living together (and assumedly having sex) prior to marriage in the midst of this. And so, many people get turned off by the Church's "old fashioned" teaching. Unfortunately the response by many Catholics is to give in to society's pressure and find excuses and loopholes to justify what deep down we all know is wrong.

Let's be real, if you're living together you're having sex. There's probably 1 in every 100 cohabitating couples that isn't. And a couple might have all the best intentions in the world, but they cannot hide from the fact that if they are engaging in sexual intercourse before marriage, they are not giving of themselves fully. You cannot give yourself to someone freely, totally, faithfuly, and fruitfully if you can also leave the relationship at any time with no recourse. It's that simple.

Still, I'll play along. Say a couple is not having sex but living together, maybe for financial reasons (although most co-habitators I've met just wanted to get away from their folks). Even if they remain chaste, they're setting themselves up for a difficult time. This idea of a "trial period" in order to see if you can live with the person is ridiculous. PEOPLE ARE NOT OBJECTS TO TRY-OUT! News flash... there will never be a person you can live with in perfect harmony. The only person you are capable of living with in absolute harmony is Christ. As long as we are human beings flawed by original sin, we will always butt heads, step on toes, and rattle cages. If you think you're going to find someone to marry you who won't do all three, you're sadly mistaken.

A healthy couple knows that each is not perfect. They know there will be times when their spouse does something that just ticks them off. And they know that we all have our strange little quirks that are normal to us and yet so foreign to others. Yet the healthy couple marches down the aisle having made the decision to love this person from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and health, until death do us part. Despite all the crazy things that come up, all the surprises, and all the "oh, you do it that way" moments.

We need to stop making excuses and call a spade a spade. I have many friends who are cohabitating. I love them each very much and pray that they are an exception to the statitics that spell doom for couples living together prior to marriage. After all, God is certainly powerful enough to work through our own errors.

Nobody is trying to condemn here. But we need to stop trying to make sins okay in order to accomodate good people. Instead, we need to love the sinner and hate the sin.

Love the cohabitator, hate the cohabitation.

Originally... there was solitude!

2007-05-26T16:36:00.000-05:00

Lions, Elephants, Dinosaurs, Goats, and... Dragons?

Hey, I loved Pete's Dragon just as much as the next child of the 80s raised on the Wonderful World of Disney, but I'm not sure the Dragon belongs in the Animal Kingdom. There is certainly one obvious omission from the silhouetted creatures on this logo, the human being.

Most people would not even blink at the fact that man was not selected to be pictured on this logo and thus considered a representative of animalia. There are some out there, however, who claim that indeed man is no more than a mere animal. According to them we are simply a more advanced creature, but a creature none the less, and certainly not any more important than any of the beasts of earth, water and sky (I was so tempted to say earth, wind and fire and leave it at that).

IN THE BEGINNING IT WAS NOT SO...

: "So the LORD God formed out of the ground various wild animals and various birds of the air, and he brought them to the man to see what he would call them; whatever the man called each of them would be its name. The man gave names to all the cattle, all the birds of the air, and all the wild animals; but none proved to be the suitable partner for the man." Genesis 2:19-20

It is in this event that Adam realizes quite how different he is from the animal kingdom. The Lord allows Adam to name the creatures, a feat that could only be accomplished by a human being, setting him apart. Now clearly there are plenty of similarities between the human being and the animal world, yet not one of the animals "proved to be the suitable partner for the man." Whatever similarities there were, they were not greater than the differences and so Adam felt alone.

Initially it is the physical differences that strike him. There is someting peculiar about who he is, an essence that only he has. And it ain't just about having opposable thumbs. It's about his purpose, his meaning. It's about a need for a relationship with the God whose likeness he was made in. This was original solitude. Man standing alone, having dominion over all the creatures of the world.

Mankind is one of a kind. It is written into our bodies. The things we are capable of doing, the things we are drawn to, are all a sign that we were made for something bigger. All our intricacies and complexities speak volumes. And there is nothing on the planet that compares.

Proud 2 B Catholic

2007-05-19T23:52:00.000-05:00

Hey, what a pleasure it was to meet so many cool people, young and old, at the P2BC Youth Fest. Big things are happening in the Diocese of Rockville Centre, and I'm blessed to be a part of it.

If this is your first time at "Rise of the TOB" - WELCOME!!

I promise I will update it more than I have. I cannot promise it will be every day, but it will be often.

When I'm recovered from the long day today I will add a more proper welcome post and state more of my intention with this blog.

Please, feel free to comment or drop me a line. Let's spread the Theology of the Body together!

Pax -
Nolan

Created & Redeemed

2007-04-24T22:38:00.000-05:00

I realize that not posting for almost 2 months is not exactly the best way to kick start a new blog. At any rate, things have been insanely busy for me with wedding plans, youth ministry, 2 classes, and, up until the end of March, finishing up work for the Theology of the Body Institute - Head and Heart Immersion Course (which everyone needs to take... now). That being said, I'm going to make a rough transistion to this past Saturday's Created and Redeemed Seminar presented by renowned TOB speaker, and teacher of Head & Heart, Christopher West, at Cure of Ars Parish in Merrick, NY.

For two years in a row Christopher has made the trip from PA to Long Island to give his unique and inspiring presentation of JPII's masterpiece. I sure hope it isn't the last. Having attended this same seminar once before and been blessed to attend the 5-day course, I can honestly say it was just as informing and moving as the first time. Christopher has dedicated his life's work to spreading this message and it shows. With the utmost humility, he shares his personal life story as well as the profound theological truth of Church teaching. Add in a few pop culture references, and you have one of the most rewarding speaking engagements available to all of the faithful in the Church today. There simply isn't a better resource for beginning the TOB journey than to attend one of Christopher's seminars.

I was pleasantly surprised that Christopher remembered me from January's course. I told him about the blog and my upcoming TOB for Teens talk (w/ Elizabeth Andrew) at the Proud2BCatholic Youth Fest in Huntington, NY. After catching up he was kind enough to take a picture with Elizabeth and I, instantly adding credibility to this very developmental blog!

You want me to do what with what?

2007-03-05T13:23:00.003-05:00

Just a thought I had while working on a journal entry for the Theology of the Body Institute...

When I was in High School I always found myself puzzled in health class when it came time for the teacher to discuss "safe sex". I was much too afraid to speak up, but I could never understand how involving a piece of manufactured rubber in sexual intercourse was a good thing. How could this natural act, which our bodies are clearly designed for as is, require something I could pick up at the local gas station or seven eleven. It just didn't compute. But I didn't have an answer. Had I asked a teacher or even a friend, I probably would have been told I was being immature and needed to grow-up and be thankful for man's medical advances (a piece of rubber, brilliant). Some might have even found me to be "cute", like a pre-adolescent who still believes in Santa Claus. I can only imagine the conversation in the faculty room.

Now that I am grown-up I have my answer...

"[T]he conjugal act 'means' not only love, but also potential fruitfulness, and thus it cannot be deprived of its full and adequate meaning by means of artificial interventions. In the conjugal act, it is not licit to separate artificially the unitive meaning [2 become 1] from the procreative meaning [2 create 1], because [they both] belong to the innermost truth of the conjugal act... Thus, in such a case, when the conjugal act is deprived of its inner truth because it is deprived artificially of its procreative capacity, it also ceases to be an act of love (TOB 123:6).

I'm convinced now that it was nothing less than the voice of the Holy Spirit whispering to me back in health class. The reason it didn't make sense to me is because contraception takes authentic love out of sex. It makes us pleasure seekers, not givers. It says to the other person, "You are not good enough to receive all of me, but you are sufficient enough to be used for my enjoyment". Nobody likes to be used, but that's exactly what happens with contraception and birth control. The ability to express our love physically is exploited. Through God's grace I was able to recognize that on some level.

So, what is "real" safe sex. It is sex that is free, total, faithful, and fruitful (like the wedding vows). It is sex with someone you can trust your life with (kinda like a spouse). It is with someone who would be willing to sacrifice all they have for you (someone Christ-like). It is that which is protected by the sacrament of marriage.

Marriage - home free. That's being safe. Safe from being hurt. Safe from being used. Safe, in the arms of your lover and in God's hands.

Lent - Meant for Sacrifice

2007-02-24T17:31:00.000-05:00

Well, obviously its meant for much more than that. But the word "sacrifice" is one of the first to come time mind in discussing the season of Lent. "What is your Lenten sacrifice? What are you giving up for Lent? What are you offering up as penance?"

A few years ago a movie came out starring Josh Harnett called "40 Days and 40 Nights". I don't think I can sum it up much better than this tagline provided at imdb.com...

"One man is about to do the unthinkable. No sex. Whatsoever. For... 40 Days and 40 Nights"

I just couldn't believe that when I first heard it. What are we animals? Are we so severely scarred that it has become "unthinkable" to remain chaste?

I've only seen bits and pieces of the movie, but it's a pretty predictable plot. The heart-throb guy, who used to only think with his anatomy, falls in love with some groovy chick. He can't get into bed with her because of his Lenten "dare" and in turn learns to love her for who she really is is. Yadda yadda yadda. Again, I didn't see the movie but I guess Hollywood makes some kind of attempt at explaining true love.

So I started to think about it some more and I thought maybe there is some truth to labeling chastity "unthinkable". After all, the sexual act is meant to be our slice of heaven on earth. It's meant to lead us to God and help us discover the truth about Him and our very own existence. It should be unthinkable to be able to remove ourselves from that.

Now, I don't believe Josh Hartnett had that kind of understanding of his sexuality, but he knew there was something special about it. And sure enough it is in chastity, in sacrifice that he finds true love.

Trying to live chaste lives means always trying to live chaste lives. Not just for 40 days and 40 nights. But Lent can be a great time of renewal. A time to remember why we embrace such a bold task as saving ourselves for marriage; waiting to give our bodies within circumstances that show reverence to God.

The marital act is God's plan. It's His will for the two to unite in the flesh. He made us that way. But there is a time and place that He wants it to be fulfilled, and He wants to be a part of it. Outside of marriage, we basically tell Him "we don't want you here".

And so, as with Lent where we sacrifice for 40+ days in anticipation of the Lord's resurrection, we sacrifice until our wedding night in anticipation of the Lord's coming within our marriage. And just as God took the suffering of the Cross and made it the joy and glory of the Resurrection, He takes our suffering to remain chaste and brings to us the rewards of a free, total, faithful, and fruitful marriage. Heaven kisses earth.

Amen

#1

2007-02-22T20:20:00.000-05:00

I'll just use this first post to welcome anyone and everyone who happens to come across this here blog. So... WELCOME!

Anyways, I have really no authority to start any kind of website that seeks to be a resource for authentic Catholic teaching. I'm just a student of theology working towards a master's degree. But JPII's Theology of the Body has truly changed my life and continues to shape me and move me closer to God through the power of the Holy Spirit. And so, I feel compelled to offer what I can.

What can I say? This is the teaching the world has been starving for. This is the message about sex and sexuality that so many people are craving. We all desire that Trinitarian love, whether we realize it or not. That desire is what wakes us up in the morning and keeps us going. We all know there is something greater out there, something we were made for.

So why so many broken hearts? That desire has been distorted. Hindered. Spun out of control. It's pointing to something much less satisfying than the love of Christ and saying, "This is what you want. This will make all the pain go away". And yet it doesn't. Enter Pope John Paul II.

The Great Pope provided us with the key to unlocking some of the world's greatest mysteries. He tells us that we can reacquire the original innocence of Adam & Eve. He tells us that we can have a glimpse of the inner life of the Holy Trinity right here on earth. He tells us that our bodies are good and reveal our very faith to us.

So, Lord willing, we'll unravel pieces of this monumental, revolutionary teaching with some cold hard facts, tender hearts, and hopefully some humor along the way.

Thanks for stopping by.

Pax Christi -
Nolan