Theology of the Body

The Church & Sex

Now, there’s a title, eh? Did that get your attention? Just as it should, the Church and sex dwell in the deepest part of our being. God desires that we live in harmony, joy, and fulfillment. Our participation in the Church and fully living as sexual beings can give us these things. If that claim sounds outrageous or simply foreign, then you may want to learn about what has become to be called, the Theology of the Body.

The Theology of the Body, was a catechetical program pro- claimed by Pope John Paul II during his first 129 Wednesday audiences between 1979 and 1984. Believe it or not, by the time he completed this catechetical program, he had written and spoken about two-thirds of all that had been said about sex and marriage to date.

Parents & Teens

This Sunday (Jan. 16), at 6:00 PM in the Kelly Youth Center, I will be offer- ing a two hour workshop on the Theology of the Body for adults. All adults are invited, but most importantly, I want to urge the parents of our teens to attend, because the following week we will begin a five week series of youth nights covering the Theology of the Body.

Parents need to understand what the Church teaches and what we, as a youth program, will be doing for their teens. This program for teens will not be offered every year, so that makes it all the more important to also involve your teens. It is the ideal time to learn and ask questions that will equip parents for the questions that are so often difficult to understand and answer.

What Will Be Discussed?

The workshops focus on the teachings of Pope John Paul II and include discussions about current issues surrounding marriage, contraception, topics that OBGYN’s don’t discuss, and even how what Pope Benedict XVI calls a “dictatorship of relativism” effects our ability to make moral choices today.

The five week youth component will begin on January 23rd and continue into late February. Each night will begin at 6:30 PM and conclude at 8:30 PM. The teens will meet, as usual, in the Kelly Youth Center. A Parental Consent/Youth Conduct Agreement is necessary for a teen to be present due to the mature nature of the topics. These forms are available at our office and on our web site. If your teen has never attended any of our youth nights, no problem. This is the perfect time to connect if only for these five youth nights.

Come and extend your understanding of our Catholic faith.

Blessings,

Fr. William Holtzinger

Pastor

Respect Life October

Dear Parishioners,

The month of October is Respect Life month. As such we are called to draw our attention and prayer to the issues that attack the dignity of life and pray for an increase in the respect for life at all stages. These include abortion, assisted suicide, capital punishment, human cloning, contraception, embryo/fetal stem cell research, euthanasia, sex trafficking, war, poverty, immigration, suicide, and end-of-life issues.

Today, we are a beacon of light striving for the transformation of our culture of death to become a culture of life. I am very proud of our Church. For all of our struggles with personalities, our teachings uphold the high standard of care with a special preference for the poor. We have ordered some prayer cards with the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe on them. She is not only the patron of the Americas, but also the patroness of the unborn. Why is she the patroness of the unborn? Well, if one looks carefully at the image, it becomes clear that she is pregnant. In horrible circumstances, she still chose to bear the weight of potential shame and ridicule for the sake of the life of her child, Jesus. No other image carries this significance. Because of her fiat, we have salvation.

I urge you to educate yourself on these issues. They are many for sure. But don’t let their number scare you. Take one at a time and reflect on how you may be called to ministry in any of these areas. In order to learn more, go to the U.S. Bishop’s website’s Pro-Life Activities page where you can view, download, and print various materials covering many of the issues: http://www.usccb.org/profile/programs/rlp/2010/ All of the materials are also available in Spanish.

May God protect our weak and vulnerable and help us to be- come agents for changing the landscape of our culture that is so bent on death. May we all be willing to stand for the dignity of life and put into practice the teachings of our amazing Church.

Blessings,

Fr. William Holtzinger

Pastor