06 June 2008

1 in 4 teen girls have an STD?

I must turn your attention to Matthew Archibold's (Creative Minority Report) coverage of a National Journal article that seeks to clear up some things about the recent CDC (Centers for Disease Control) finding reported in newspapers all over the country that 1 in 4 teenage girls have an STD.

This study which to me, a resident of Long Island, screamed out for abstinence education (which has not been federally funded on Long Island for 30 years) in our schools. Apparently, some on the other side of the fence took this to mean that abstinence education is not working. To which I reply - um, where is abstinence ed. being taught... because I certainly didn't receive it when I was in high school 8 years ago. Even so, I'll never understand the logic behind "have sex, so that you don't get a sexually transmitted disease". But then again, there are still teachers telling students that condoms are 99% effective when they've been proven to be 85% at most (for HIV) and 50% effective against others (Chlamydia, Gonorrhea, Genital Herpes, HPV [perhaps]) . Credit to The Medical Institute for Sexual Health.

02 June 2008

Living with the End in Mind

One part (of the many parts) of Pope John Paul II's message in the Theology of the Body, is to remind us as Jesus does in his conversation with the Saducees about the resurrection (Mark 12:19-27), that we are destined for a world beyond this one. And so, our lives here must be lived with our "next life" in God's Kingdom in mind. This isn't to say that we should walk around with a checklist of dos and don'ts that will "qualify" us for Heaven. What I am trying to say is that we need to take seriously our call to love as God loves - with everything He has, including His life. In genuinely pursuing our ability to love as He loves we are making ourselves ready for Heaven in the process, in which that ability will be most fully realized.

That being said, loving as God does means putting others first - sacrificing ourselves and taking up our own crosses. We can only get close to God when we put ourselves on Calvary with him. That means exposed, beaten, mocked, and eventually killed, as well as mentally, emotionally, and spiritually tortured. Sounds downright frightening. And yet we know how it turns out. We know the result of it... the gates of heaven are opened.

So why is it so dang hard to accept our crosses?