When attraction might be fatal...

How far is too far? We might easily have entitled this short article ‘The Courage to be Chaste’. Chastity is an unfashionable concept today. But all it means is the right-ordering of our sexuality. Who would not want to have a rightly-ordered sexuality?

But we can go too far precisely because of our attraction to members of the opposite sex. The first thing to remember is that sexuality is good. God created it. Don’t let anyone ever convince you that the Church has got hang-ups about sex. Sex is wonderful. But it needs to be seen in an appropriate context, otherwise it will lead to deep unhappiness and instability, even if this might not seem obvious at first.

Many people today think that sexual relationships, even with multiple partners, bring untold happiness. However, this is not the case. How many people do you know in this situation who are settled down, and at peace? Mutual attraction and desire is one thing; acting it out is quite another.