More Than Desire
Opening Prayer
Lord,
You created the human person in Your image,
male and female.
Help me understand the meaning of my body
and live with integrity and dignity.
Amen.
Part One
What Sexuality Is
Sexuality is not an accessory to the person.
It is not merely physical activity.
It is not only emotion.
It is not just desire.
Sexuality is part of being human.
The Church teaches that the human person is:
Body and soul united.
Because the body is part of the person,
sexuality expresses the whole person.
It involves:
Love.
Self-gift.
Vulnerability.
Commitment.
It is powerful because it touches identity, relationship, and life itself.
If the body has meaning,
then sexuality has meaning.
It cannot be reduced to impulse or experimentation.
Pause and Reflect
Do I think of sexuality as purely physical?
Do I recognise its connection to dignity and commitment?
Part Two
Love and Use
There is a difference between:
Loving a person
and
Using a person.
Love seeks the good of the other.
Use seeks personal satisfaction.
Modern culture often separates sexuality from commitment.
It presents desire as self-justifying.
But if the human person has inherent dignity,
then reducing someone to an object for pleasure
contradicts that dignity.
The Church teaches that sexual intimacy
belongs within marriage.
Not because desire is bad.
But because sexual union speaks a language:
Total self-giving.
Faithfulness.
Openness to life.
If the commitment is not total,
the action contradicts its meaning.
Consider
If sexuality expresses total self-gift,
can it truthfully exist without commitment?
Does separating intimacy from permanence
protect or harm dignity?
Part Three
Chastity
Chastity is often misunderstood.
It does not mean repression.
It does not mean denying sexuality.
It means integrating sexuality within the whole person.
Chastity is self-mastery.
It protects love from becoming selfish.
It guards the heart from fragmentation.
Every person — single or married — is called to chastity.
Self-control is not weakness.
It is strength.
The person ruled by impulse is not free.
The person who can govern desire is stronger.
The Church’s teaching is not anti-body.
It is pro-dignity.
Reflect Honestly
Do I see self-control as restriction
or as maturity?
Have I absorbed cultural messages about sexuality
without questioning them?
Part Four
Identity and Truth
Today, many messages suggest:
Identity is self-defined.
Desire determines truth.
The body can be separated from identity.
But if the human person is body and soul united,
then the body is not meaningless.
It reveals something real.
Feelings are powerful,
but they are not the final authority.
The Church teaches that truth about the body
is not created by preference.
Living according to truth
may require sacrifice.
But sacrifice does not diminish dignity.
It protects it.
Sexual ethics is not about control.
It is about protecting love,
preserving dignity,
and aligning freedom with reality.
Quiet Reflection
Sit quietly.
Ask yourself:
Do I treat my body with reverence?
Do I see others as persons to be honoured
or objects to be evaluated?
Remain in silence.
This Week
Choose one:
• Reflect on how culture speaks about sexuality.
• Examine whether your understanding of love includes sacrifice.
• Read Genesis 2 slowly.
• Pray simply: “Lord, guard my heart and strengthen my integrity.”
Closing Prayer
Lord,
You created the human person with dignity.
Guard me from confusion.
Strengthen my self-control.
Help me live with purity,
respect, and truth.
Amen.
St. Mary's, St. John Bosco and St. Edward's 