Blogger Priest

Faith & Values in the News

3 Responses

1. 

   E, on October 3, 2013 at 11:49 am said:

   Thanks Father Joe

   As far as lust is concerned, Men have it much worse than women.
   And it’s genetics that make men like this.
   How can many men be faulted for having intense thoughts of beautiful women when their DNA is hardwired to make them like this.
   A man can be minding his own business when a stunning woman walks by in the most skimpy clothing. Just look at the mans heads as it turns and follows her walk down the street.
   Various scientific studies done in the US and Europe found that the average man has thoughts of nude women and sex about once a minute to 90 seconds.That’s about 1440 times a day.
   The same studies revealed that the average woman had thoughts of sex 6 times per day or less. Of course some men and women have more or less but that is the average.
   My point is, it’s seems so unfair for men that their levels of arousal and lust are so much greater than women, when in fact their very genetics and DNA are to blame for this.

   FATHER JOE: Men and women suffer concupiscence with a difference in kind and in degree. I would still fault original sin. God promises both justice and mercy but life is frequently not fair. That is just how it is.
2. 

   E, on October 2, 2013 at 10:36 pm said:

   Hello again, didn’t Pope John Paul II also say that if a man looked at his wife with lust he was also sinning.

   FATHER JOE: What Pope John Paul II said was that lust, even in marriage, is a sin. His theology of the body promotes natural passion, which should not be confused with lust. Spouses can be romantic and passionate. But such affirms the dignity of the beloved as a person or subject. Lust devalues the person and treats bodies as interchangeable. Lust regards the beloved as an object or as a piece of meat.

   So I guess any man that is going about his daily business and happens to notice beautiful women would be sinning if they thought these women were attractive.

   FATHER JOE: No, remember your basic catechism. There is no sin in noticing the beauty and charm of another. Even beauty pageants are not inherently wrong. Sin enters the picture if one should fantasize and/or plot about sexual seduction. The issue of immodesty might also complicate matters. Feelings, sexual ones included, are not immediately sinful. The problem would be if we deliberately sought arousal or misused the imagination.
3. 

   E, on October 2, 2013 at 10:22 pm said:

   Hi Father Joe, I was reading a debate on the internet about pornography and men. The question was, “Is it considered cheating if married men view pornography or photos of naked women.” Please let me know your opinion, thank you.

   FATHER JOE: Pornography constitutes a type of virtual adultery. It is a sin. Jesus says in Matthew 5:27-28: “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you, everyone who looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart.”