Chapter 1

Created @November 28, 2021 1:20 PM

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Chapter 1
Where can we find answers for the meaning of life and love?

in God's original designs of our bodies and souls

our designs as male and female are the key to the secret of love

What does theology mean?

the study of God

comes from the Greeks words theos (God) and logos (word)

St. Anselm called it faith seeking understanding

What is the purpose of Pope John Paul II's TOB?

the study of God and the purpose of our existence as revealed through our bodies

Why do relationships, love and sex involve so much pain and suffering?

our society promotes selfishness

Modern culture endorses instant gratification, lust and romance which are false
understandings about love

What is the difference between love and lust?

love seeks to give, involves desiring what is good for the other person and is self-
donating

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 lust seeks to get, is selfish and self-seeking

Why does our faith involve so many rules about sex?

it must defend the inherent dignity of all human beings

our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit

How did God/Jesus love us?

self-emptying and self-sacrificing love

How are we called by God to love others?

in the way that He loves (self-sacrificing and self-emptying)

What are the 4 characteristics of authentic love?

free

total

fruitful

faithful

What is sacramentality of the body?

the ability of the body to act as a visible sign of God's invisible love and our call to
love others

Why did God create you and what is everyone's vocation?

God created us for union with Him, which is why He gave us an echo of love in our
hearts

Our call is to love one another and respect others as people made in the image and
likeness of God.

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 What are the main cause for pain and problems in human relationships?

selfishness in relationships

confusion about the meaning of love and purpose of sex

confusion about the meaning of life

What is love?

a decision to will good of another for another person

a free, total, fruitful, faithful gift of oneself to others

an act of will that consists of preferring, in a constant manner, the good of others to
the good of oneself. It is not merely a feeling. Rational decision to will good of
another.

What is lust?

a disordered and selfish desire for sexual pleasure

sexual desire which is apart from God's love

What is dignity?

the unchanging value of all persons which results from being created in the image
and likeness of God

What is despair?

a decision to give up hope or pursuit of what we desire

What is original sin?

the first sin against God

when Adam and Eve chose to follow their own plant instead of God's

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 What is concupiscence?

the tendency or inclination to sin which is present in all humans

What is sexual liberation?

escaping sexual rules so as to do whatever one wants with their sexuality

What is the Frog in the Pot Scenario?

term used to describe gradual and unnoticeable desensitization to change that is life
threatening

What is communion of persons?

the union between people who give themselves to each other in love

What is celibacy?

freely choosing to forego earthly marriage for the sake of Heaven

What is a sacrament?

an outward sign instituted by Jesus in which grace (invisible spiritual reality) is given
to us

Chapter 2
Why is it that when it comes to love, doing whatever feels right will never help us
achieve what each of us want in our hearts?

deep in our hearts, everyone wants to give and receive love

people don't know how to do this because people in our culture are confused about
the true purpose of love and sexuality

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 doing what "feels right" causes people to seek self-pleasure for themselves and
leads them away from true love

feelings are subject to change and cause people to lack discipling and commitment

Why is it that making our decisions using our feelings can cause real problems in
our relationships?

Because feelings are temporary/fleeting and can easily change depending on the
situation.

Truth is consistent and stable, which makes it more reliable.

What is required before people can love one another properly?

they must desire what is good for the other person

they need to learn what authentic love is and how to give it

What are three reasons why some teens are not able to tell the difference
between someone who loves and someone who uses?

Teens don’t realize there as many ways to deceive, to use and live selfishly as there
are ways to love and give ourselves.

Teens learn from imitating things they see from others, like their families. Many
teens do not have good examples to learn from about someone who truly loves.

The culture and media bombard us with messages about sexual permissiveness.
They also invite us to explore our sexuality, even before we we understood what
sex was.

Where does our desire for sex originate?

from God

Is it just a hormonal reaction in our bodies?

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 no, it is a deeply rooted attraction for the beauty we see in others

it is a gift from God who put us in desire for union with others

Instead of spending a whole lot of time standing on the edge of a cliff without
ever falling off, what must we do with our sexual desires if most people don’t
marry until their late twenties or early thirties?

learn to respect our desires and channel them into genuine love

Chastity

What draws a man and woman together when attraction is no longer a part of
their relationship?

true love

What is love and responsibility?

a book by Karol Wojtyla, a priest and professor at the Catholic University in Poland
(before he became Pope).

it defines and links it to the virtue of happiness ("chastity is the sure way to
happiness")

What is chastity?

a virtue which directs our sexual desires and attitudes towards the truth of love

What is a virtue?

firm habit of doing what is good

What is abstinence?

not have sex

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 What is temperance?

cardinal virtue which controls and moderates our desires for pleasure

enables us to enjoy good things in the way God intended

What is sexual repression?

when one bottles up and attempts to ignore their sexual energy

leads to unhealthy response to the sexual gift

leads to slingshot effect, where a person becomes reckless with their sexual
behaviour

What is total self-donation?

a type of giving/love hen one totally give themselves to another

What is personalistic norm?

humans deserve only the best

they deserve love and we should never treat anyone with anything less than love

PJP said “the person is a ‘good’ toward which the only proper and adequate attitude
is love.”

What is love as attraction?

recognising the good of another person; seeing their inner and outer beauty

What is love as desire?

wanting good for yourself

desiring good and happiness

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 What is love as goodwill?

willing or desiring the good of another person

What is agape love/self sacrificing love?

the love with which God loves us

willing the good of another is the closest we can come to God's love

What is utlitaraianism?

using people for one's own gain

Chapter 7
How are each of the 4 characteristic of love perverted and flipped upside down in
today's world?

1. Instead of sex being free, it is pressured after a date, forced in sexual abuse, paid
for in prositution and not given freely by a lustful person.

2. Instead of being a total gift of self, people have one night stands, and use
contraception (which withholds their fertility).

3. Instead of promoting chastity and fidelity (faithful love), the culture and media
promote pre-marital sex and promiscuity.

4. Instead of being fruitful, sex is sterilized with contraception and not open to new
life.

Is the vision of sexuality a list of rules the Church forces us to follow?

No, these demands of love (4 characteristics) are already written on our hearts and
stamped into our bodies by God

if we live out this call to love, through a sincere gift of self, we become a visible
image of Christ's love for the Church

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 What does the canopy above an altar in a church symbolize?

the canopy over a marriage bed

reminds us that on the altar during Mass, the Bridegroom (Christ) gives his Body
(the Eucharist) to His bride (the Church) so we may have eternal life.

How do a husband and wife renew their wedding vows?

vows through their one flesh union on their marriage bed - the altar of sacrifice in
their home.

This is similar to how we renew our love and our union with Christ when we say
“Amen” and receive His body (through the Eucharist).

When do we become a sacrament or sign of God's love for another person?

Eucharist

Marriage

Holy Orders or religious vows

What analogy foes God use throughout the Bible to express His love for us?

the love between a husband and wife.

God’s love in the Bible begins in Genesis with the marriage of Adam and Eve and
concludes with the Book of Revelation, which explains the marriage of the Lamb
(the union of Christ and the Church in heaven).

When the love of a bride and groom is a total gift, it makes God’s love visible in the
world

What is required before we can share God's love with others?

we first must fill up with God's love

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 this is done be receiving all that He want us to receive

allows us to have the gift to offer another (spouse or the Church) with the gift of
God's love

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