B
BarbaraTherese
Guest
Here is an article that appeared in Australian Catholic News that I found of interest…
http://by103fd.bay103.hotmail.msn.c...0000000001&a=abdb44b4db56cd744b22a71786d79a3b
Purity
June 19, 2005
In the early 1960’s, Michel Quoist wrote a book entitled, Prayers, which became immensely popular. The book combined rare depth with a language bordering on poetry. One of the prayers in the book speaks of our struggle for purity - purity of heart, of body, of intention:
I’ve given you all, but it’s hard, Lord.
It’s hard to give one’s body, it would like to give itself to others.
It’s hard to love everyone and claim no one.
It’s hard to shake a hand and not want to retain it.
It’s hard to inspire affection, only to give it to you.
It’s hard to be nothing to oneself in order to be everything to others.
It’s hard to be like others, among others, but to be other.
It’s hard always to give without trying to receive.
It’s hard to seek out others and be, oneself, unsought …
That describes perhaps our deepest struggle in life and in love. We struggle with purity, though we rarely admit it.
Today the word purity has taken on mainly negative connotations. It’s understood as a sexual concept and is mostly seen as negative. For many people it connotes fear, timidity, and a certain uptightness about sex and life. The popular culture almost ridicules purity and it’s rare that a critically-acclaimed movie, a major novel, or a renowned artist captures its essence aesthetically, celebrates its beauty, and challenges us with its importance.
That’s sad, really, because our lack of purity is, I believe, is one of the deep causes of sadness in our lives. There’s a difference, as we know, between pleasure and happiness. Bracketing purity can sometimes be the route to pleasure, but it’s never a road to happiness. Lack of purity always brings a sadness.
What is purity? First of all, it’s not primarily about sex, though because our sexual desires are so powerful we often compromise our purity in sex. And here, despite all our claims of how free and liberated we are, we still sense the value of purity, however inchoately. Indeed the idea that sex is somehow dirty never quite disappears. Deep down, we still long for purity, though mostly we don’t understand what we’re longing for. What we long for is not immunity from the earthiness of sex, but purity of heart, chastity of intention. The deep-seated idea that sex is dirty has, I suspect, more to do with millennia of bad hygiene than with the aesthetics and morality of sex… Sex isn’t bad, but our intentions can be.
Continued in next Post …
http://by103fd.bay103.hotmail.msn.c...0000000001&a=abdb44b4db56cd744b22a71786d79a3b
Purity
June 19, 2005
In the early 1960’s, Michel Quoist wrote a book entitled, Prayers, which became immensely popular. The book combined rare depth with a language bordering on poetry. One of the prayers in the book speaks of our struggle for purity - purity of heart, of body, of intention:
I’ve given you all, but it’s hard, Lord.
It’s hard to give one’s body, it would like to give itself to others.
It’s hard to love everyone and claim no one.
It’s hard to shake a hand and not want to retain it.
It’s hard to inspire affection, only to give it to you.
It’s hard to be nothing to oneself in order to be everything to others.
It’s hard to be like others, among others, but to be other.
It’s hard always to give without trying to receive.
It’s hard to seek out others and be, oneself, unsought …
That describes perhaps our deepest struggle in life and in love. We struggle with purity, though we rarely admit it.
Today the word purity has taken on mainly negative connotations. It’s understood as a sexual concept and is mostly seen as negative. For many people it connotes fear, timidity, and a certain uptightness about sex and life. The popular culture almost ridicules purity and it’s rare that a critically-acclaimed movie, a major novel, or a renowned artist captures its essence aesthetically, celebrates its beauty, and challenges us with its importance.
That’s sad, really, because our lack of purity is, I believe, is one of the deep causes of sadness in our lives. There’s a difference, as we know, between pleasure and happiness. Bracketing purity can sometimes be the route to pleasure, but it’s never a road to happiness. Lack of purity always brings a sadness.
What is purity? First of all, it’s not primarily about sex, though because our sexual desires are so powerful we often compromise our purity in sex. And here, despite all our claims of how free and liberated we are, we still sense the value of purity, however inchoately. Indeed the idea that sex is somehow dirty never quite disappears. Deep down, we still long for purity, though mostly we don’t understand what we’re longing for. What we long for is not immunity from the earthiness of sex, but purity of heart, chastity of intention. The deep-seated idea that sex is dirty has, I suspect, more to do with millennia of bad hygiene than with the aesthetics and morality of sex… Sex isn’t bad, but our intentions can be.
Continued in next Post …
