Of course I had never heard a prayer like that and neither had they so when they asked me what it meant I told them, "Boys you gotta know there are a lot of men running around in this world with the body of a man but they never grew the heart of a man. You boys are meant to be an example by the way you let your hearts change before your body changes. The world needs more men who are strong in faith. Muscle means nothing if your spirit is weak...
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3 comments:
Hey MJP,
I can see the importance of giving your sons the opportunity to understand their development as Christian young men. When I was growing up my Dad sat me down and gave me the talk when I was 11 years old. But I don't think that the one talk should have been enough. There were times along the way that we should have talked about dealing with the anxeities and frustrations. Your sons should know that attraction to young women is something to praise God for but to also include God when they begin to encounter temptations. When I was growing up, I allowed the opinions of my friends to speak for what I perceived regarding male sexuality. As a result, I did not always have a healthy concept in my perception of women. Many of my relationships were only sexual. I saw very few women as friends.
I grew up in the Catholic Church but stopped practicing my faith because of the guilt associated with my perceptions of sex. Part of the reason that I could return to the Church was because the writings of St. Augustine. They became the example that inspired me to make a real conversion. I saw the true liberation in Jesus by bringing all of my fears and doubts to him in confession. When Augustine made made his conversion it came about after he read Romans 13:11-14, "It is now the time to awake from sleep...let us throw off the deeds of darkness...and put on the armor of light." Both Paul and John in his gospel and in his letters put truth in the same place as light, where nothing can be hidden. We must be this honest about ourselves and who we are in relation to Christ.
This way when we are hit with temptation we begin to see the importance of not hiding our temptaions but bringing all our fears, anxieties, and sexual temptaions to Jesus. We need to see that, as human beings, sexuality has its place with God. We participate in His plan for creation as married couples but there is also a fecundity in His plan for our salvation when we teach others to be in right relationship with one another.
In Christ's Peace,
So Cal Padre
I don't see the facts of life as something you sit and learn in a short or long conversation. If that were the case, there would be a lot fewer people getting married because they listened to their parents. My father never had a "facts of life" talk with me before my parents divorced when I was ten. I'm learning about life as I go. I think the most important thing I can do for my son (in my opinion) is to share my lessons (without shouting or imposing - which is hard to do) at opportune times that present a learning experience for him. I also need to be available to him. There is an absolute truth in that we have to be present, not absent to teach our sons positive and mearningul things about life. As I write this my son walked into my office to tell me a funny thing he saw on tv. I had to pull away from the computer, turn around lean back and listen. Its hard to do and I don't always do it well, but I try to stay mindful and try.
That's all for now!
Excellent prayer.
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