SEX AND HOLINESS

the human body is sacred.

we are made in the image of god. through baptism we are made in the image of christ. in the resurrection, we shall be like him.

to talk then of holiness, is to look at sex at a measure of the desire to please god. we never can become holy unless the sexual desires in his or her life are in harmony with the will of god. everyone who loves god knows he must live a chaste life according to his vocation. of course, we shall all finally be judged by our practice of charity.

post-modernism does not define boundaries, nor establish parameters even in things sexual. each according to his own standards, perhaps. but ultimately, truth will prevail because it is not a property of one's desires and perception. independently, it shines like a star beyond our personal beliefs.

perhaps, one day we will fully realize the message: "blessed are the pure of hearts, for they shall see god".

PRESENCE OF THE RISEN LORD IN THE EUCHARIST

the lord's promise "know that i am with you always, until the end of the world" (mt. 28:20) is fulfilled in the sacramental celebration and the mystery of the eucharist and "through the experience that is offered to us in the adoration of his real presence under the sacred species". he invites us to contemplate the "eucharist as the source of holiness and spiritual nourishment for our mission in the world".

this is our faith.

HOPE AND THE CULTURE OF DEATH

hope should never be confused with the natural attempt to achieve perfection which has been perpetrated in the name of social, political and technological progress.

contemporary theories on politics have been frequently based on the belief that freedom, human dignity and justice are shifting cultural values or man-made ideas created to meet particular needs at various points in history.

materialist assumptions lead to the belief that man's hope and meaning is found in material things - from political movements to the latest video games.

yet, all these end with death. in the face of death the riddle of human existence grows acute.

why do we hope beyond death?

we hope because there is a source: the god who has conquered death by death. he gives us life after death.

THE EVOLUTION OF DOGMA IN THE CHURCH

public revelation ended with the death of the last apostle.

thus, there are no new truths added to the deposit of faith in the church.

but what about the dogmas on the immaculate conception and assumption? are they not an addition to the dogmas we have? is there an evolution of dogma?

nothing has changed, only the evolution of the material object that can happen in three ways:

1. the clearer and more accurate of truths by the invention of precise scientific formulas
and terms
2. the explicit affirmation of an implicit truth contained in a more general truth
3. the specific and express proposal of a truth taught and believed from the beginning in
practice

the church is simply the custodian and transmitter of this deposit of faith.