This here thing is a PowerPoint for the WMOF Catechesis for February 6 th, 2015

“The Creation, God Introducing Adam and Eve” by Jean Fouquet “Adam, meet Eve. Eve, meet Adam. O, and Adam: this is why when you were alone you didn’t even know who or what you were.”

The tangible, earthly, corporeal world is more than inert matter or modeling clay for the human will. Creation is sacred. It has sacramental meaning. It reflects God’s glory. We’re not just stuff!

--Examine the natural, material universe. What can we learn about the Creator from creation? Rocks like dolomite? Trees like the oak? Animals like the naked mole rat?

--St. Augustine defined a Sacrament as “A visible sign of an invisible reality.” --Creation makes God’s power, intelligence and love visible. --The universe is sacramental!

Creation reflects God’s glory. --Including our bodies. --Human sexuality has the power to pro-create.

--L.K.F. (little known fact): Human sexuality is the 3 rd major way we are made in the Image of God. It makes us relational, like the Trinity. [We’re OK with God being infinitely above our intelligence and freedom. God is also infinitely more relational because GOD IS LOVE.]

“The body reveals the person.” Human masculinity is a message from God. – “I love you.” Human femininity is a message from God. – “I am loved. I am the beloved. I love you back by freely accepting your love. This is what YES looks like.” NOTE: between us and God, who loves whom first? What does human sexuality tell us about our human role in relation to God?

“The body… is an intimate part of our identity and our eternal destiny. The two sexes literally enflesh God’s design for human interdependence, community, and openness to new life. We cannot debase or abuse the body without inflicting a cost on the spirit.”

The sexuality of each person determines not just who they love, but how they love. Human sexuality makes two ways of loving possible: marriage and celibacy. – BOTH are ways to love God’s plan into action.

The virtue of living out our sexuality as God intends and loving as we ought is called chastity. Reducing human sexuality to pleasure is violence, a violence called lust. – Yes, this includes the pleasure connected to emotions! Love is not a feeling---sometimes love feels nada!

Marriage Some are called to express their sexuality in marriage: --the complementarity of sexes come together --in a covenant relationship --modeling the life-giving relationship between Christ and the Church.

Christ and the Church are married! “Hey, dear. Remember where we fell in love?”

Good Friday is their anniversary. “Yeah. In a hopeless place.”

Marriage In marriage, a man and a woman each make a total gift of themselves to their spouse. –TOTAL GIFT OF SELF, TOTAL ACCEPTANCE OF THE OTHER!!! This type of love [TOTAL] is open to new life, and therefore open to live as mother and father.

Since… (1) TOTAL means TOTAL (2) the UNION of husband and wife is inseparable from the PROCREATION and education of children …marriage is inherently public, not private.

Marriage builds up society in many natural ways. Marriage also builds up society in a divine way, by revealing God’s self- emptying, creative love.