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- Human persons are made in God’s image.
- Each person is a special order, created individually.
- Our bodies are outward expressions of who we are.
- We give and receive love through our bodies.
- We can never use persons.
These five points were made in Pope John Paul II’s Theology of the Body
and serve as the focal point of many of the programs and resources at Northwest
Family Services. From the Project Genesis curriculum to our Lifesaver
retreats, NWFS offers effective and fun programs covering the topics of chastity
and respect for life.
Why Chastity?
Chastity is not about what one “can’t do.” Rather, chastity
means being fully aware of the awesomeness of the human body and of God’s
plan for our sexuality. Chastity means respecting this great gift of physical
intimacy, and it means sharing that gift only within the loving and life-giving
context of marriage. Living out the virtue of chastity can be difficult, but it
is within everyone’s reach, regardless of past circumstances. Now, more
than ever, with our society so saturated with sex images, we need to tell our
youth about this great way to live a healthy life: physically, emotionally, and
spiritually.
What about Respect for Life?
The virtue and practice of chastity arise naturally out of a more general respect
for all life. These issues are linked to each other in the realm of morality,
and in the teachings of the Church. Encouraging youth to respect all human persons,
and the gift of life from conception to natural death, is a great way to then
introduce respect for the gift of human sexuality.
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