Same-sex attraction is not an easy topic to talk discuss but it’s an important one in our society today. Joel Stepanek tackled this topic at one of our afternoon workshops.
Same Sex Attraction: A Matter of People
Joel started by acknowledging how challenging the topic of same-sex attraction is to talk about. But the heart of this discussion is not a matter of philosophy or politics. When we talk about same-sex attraction, we are talking about people. We must always approach this through the lens of people.
Wisdom is to despise the perishable things of this world and to aspire to what is eternal. – St. Francis de Sales
Bishop Edward Rice, bishop of the Diocese of Springfield – Cape Girardeau, reflected on this quote from St. Francis de Sales at Mass this morning. He challenged the 4,200+ teens to truly be wise by seeking the eternal things and not becoming caught up in the things of this world.
While he acknowledged that things of this earth are good and necessary, Bishop Rice said that our identities can become wrapped up in the latest trends and what other people think. It is then that the things of the earth become an obstacle to the ultimate purpose of our lives: Heaven. The things of this world are to help us reach eternity.
We all long for peace. Yet we often times look for peace in the wrong places and in the wrong ways. We think that we can quench our thirsts in other people and other things. Fr. Chris Martin called us to recognize the ways in which we forget that God really is the one who brings us peace and can quench our thirst. He encouraged us to identify these ways that we have fallen short of loving God, our family and friends, and ourselves and to ask for forgiveness in the Sacrament of Reconciliation.
