Gift of God

"Sex is a gift from God, but undermined by pornography." Chastity should not be confused with abstinence. Christianity does not condemn sexuality. If it is not "polluted" by vice, falling in love is a pure feeling. Pope Francis stated this at the general audience on January 17th, focusing his reflection on the theme of lust: according to the Pontiff it devastates relationships, makes them toxic, "it is everyday news".

Bergoglio begins: «Lust is a sort of “voracity” towards another person, that is, the poisoned bond that human beings maintain among themselves, especially in the sphere of sexuality». Francis points out: «Be careful: in Christianity there is no condemnation of the sexual instinct. A book of the Bible, the Song of Songs, is a wonderful love poem between two engaged couples. However, this very beautiful dimension of our humanity, the sexual dimension, the dimension of love, is not free from dangers." Francis invites us to look at the "human experience of falling in love. Why this mystery happens, and why it is such a shocking experience in people's lives, none of us know. A person falls in love with another, falling in love comes." It is one of the most surprising realities of existence. A good part of the songs you hear on the radio are about this: loves that illuminate, loves that are always sought after and never achieved, loves full of joy, or that torment to the point of tears."

"A person in love becomes generous, enjoys giving gifts, writes letters and poems. She stops thinking about herself to be completely projected towards others, this is beautiful."
However, this "garden" where wonders multiply is not safe from evil. It is disfigured by the demon of lust." Because «it devastates relationships between people. How many relationships that started in the best way have then changed into toxic relationships, ones of possession of the other, devoid of respect and a sense of limits? These are loves in which chastity has been lacking: a virtue that should not be confused with sexual abstinence - chastity is more than sexual abstinence - but rather must be connected with the will to never possess the other. Loving means respecting the other, seeking their happiness, cultivating empathy for their feelings, placing ourselves in the knowledge of a body, a psychology and a soul that are not ours, and which must be contemplated for the beauty of which they are carriers."

And then, "sexual pleasure, which is a gift from God, is undermined by pornography: satisfaction without a relationship that can generate forms of addiction".

 

Domenico Agasso
NP February 2024