‘Love or Lust’ events for Amoris Laetitia Family Year

Chastity is often viewed as a restrictive ‘belt’ the Catholic Church tells young people to put on to say no to sex before marriage. This is a terrible misrepresentation of this beautiful virtue which is achievable by our young people.

In this Year of St Joseph, and Amoris Laetitia (AL) Family Year, a chastity event is most appropriate for promotion of the ideals Pope Francis calls us to.

BOMA-TT has partnered with Chastity Project (USA) to realise their ‘Missionaries of Chastity Proposal’. This proposal is essentially to raise up more young people to talk about and be witnesses of the virtue of chastity.

In the ‘Love or Lust?’ Creative Competition, we invite young people 16 to 24 years of age to express the virtue of chastity and its benefits through any of these three categories: Song/Spoken-Word/Poetry, Art, Dance. They have the chance to win one of three prizes with the first prize of $1000 in each category. These submissions would be due on August 1, 2021.

On September 11, the ‘Love or Lust?’ seminar will include an address by Archbishop Jason Gordon and a featured talk with questions and answers from Jason Evert, a bestselling author of more than 15 books who has brought the message of chastity to more than one million people on six continents.

This event would realise the ‘Amoris Laetitia Family’, objective 4: “Make young people aware of the importance of formation in the truth of love and the gift of self with initiatives dedicated to them.”

This event and its follow-up would also bring to life path 9 of ‘Walking with families’ – “Involve youth ministry with initiatives to reflect and discuss issues such as the family, marriage, chastity, openness to life, the use of social media, poverty, respect for creation” (see AL 40).

It is necessary to be able to arouse enthusiasm and to value the ability of young people to commit themselves fully in the face of great ideals and the challenges they entail. Special attention should be given this year to children so that they are made aware of the Amoris Laetitia Family Year and the initiatives proposed.

Year of St Joseph

St Joseph is called the most chaste. “His love was properly ordered, his affections purified. Unlike St Joseph, we tend to struggle, and oftentimes fail, with matters of the heart. Our culture certainly does not hold the virtue of chastity in high esteem. Therefore, it can seem incredible to us that a man like Joseph was able to rise to the lofty challenge presented to him: to be the ‘chaste guardian of the Virgin’ (and of all virgins) and the foster-father of the Son of God. Such a task requires both remarkable human virtue and unexcelled amounts of God’s grace. St Joseph had both.” (www.yearofstjoseph.org/devotions)

St Joseph is the best. Our Lady, as seen in various apparitions, is beautiful. Joseph had to be the best of men to continually respect the virginity of Mary. Her promise to our Lord to remain a virgin must have been quite a trial for this man.

Although, he must have known that this was what God wanted of him. Hence, he listened to God’s will and not his own regarding not fathering children with Mary.

Trini men, we implore you to take note of Joseph’s sacrificial love for Mary and his obedience to our Lord. Learn the Billings Ovulation Method.

Using Natural Family Planning is in keeping with the sacrificial love Joseph showed for Mary. The Method leaves God in control.

As a couple, you both have the responsibility to wait and not have a baby or to try to achieve a pregnancy with a mindset that we are called to be open to life. God is the author of life and even if that life was not planned for, every child is a gift from God. Happy Father’s Day in advance.

Contact BOMA-TT: 384-1659,

email: billingstt@gmail.com,

website: www.billingstt.com