{"id":19758,"date":"2018-05-27T00:00:05","date_gmt":"2018-05-27T06:00:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.markmallett.com\/blog\/?p=19758"},"modified":"2019-12-12T14:29:30","modified_gmt":"2019-12-12T20:29:30","slug":"human-sexuality-and-freedom-part-v","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.markmallett.com\/blog\/human-sexuality-and-freedom-part-v\/","title":{"rendered":"Human Sexuality and Freedom &#8211;  Part V","gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"text"}]},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"center\" style=\"display: block; float: none; margin: 5px auto;\" src=\"https:\/\/www.markmallett.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/freedom-1_Fotor.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"590\" height=\"640\" data-position=\"1\" \/><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><b>TRUE <\/b>freedom is living each moment in the fullest reality of who you are.<\/p>\n<p><i>And who are you? <\/i> That is the aching, over-arching question that mostly eludes this present generation in a world where the elderly have misplaced the answer, the Church has fumbled it, and the media has ignored it. But here it is:<\/p>\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p><i>You are made in the image of God.<\/i><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>It is this reality which draws all other realities, including the very existence of the universe, of beauty, of love, and even the Church, into focus: everything God has done from \u201cthe beginning\u201d is to help mankind to rediscover this ultimate reality: we are immortal souls capable of receiving, through grace, the divine.<\/p>\n<p>But without this clearly enunciated answer today, obscured as it is by what Pope Benedict calls an <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"left alignleft\" style=\"margin: 2px 5px 2px 5px;\" src=\"https:\/\/www.markmallett.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/Full-Body.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"216\" height=\"325\" data-position=\"0\" \/>\u201canthropological revolution,\u201d <span class=\"footnote_referrer\"><a role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\" onclick=\"footnote_moveToReference_19758_1('footnote_plugin_reference_19758_1_1');\" onkeypress=\"footnote_moveToReference_19758_1('footnote_plugin_reference_19758_1_1');\" ><sup id=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_19758_1_1\" class=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_text\">[1]<\/sup><\/a><span id=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_19758_1_1\" class=\"footnote_tooltip\">cf.<a href=\"https:\/\/www.markmallett.com\/blog\/the-heart-of-the-new-revolution\/\"> <em>The Heart of the New Revolution<\/em><\/a><\/span><\/span><script type=\"text\/javascript\"> jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_19758_1_1').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_19758_1_1', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top right', relative: true, offset: [10, 10], });<\/script>\u00a0we see the fruits of this painful vacuum: the elimination of the differences between the sexes, the redefinition of gender, the dissolution of fatherhood and\u00a0motherhood, the mutilation of our bodies through surgery, enhancements, tattoos, and jewelry, and now\u2014in logical sequence and conclusion\u2014the utter loss of the value of life itself. Hence, abortion, assisted-suicide, euthanasia, and mass sterilizations have become \u201cvalues&#8221; in contemporary society. Because really, if God is love, and we are made in His image, then ultimately we are speaking of a crisis of authentic love today.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 10pt;\"><b>Whoever wants to eliminate love is preparing to eliminate man as such.<\/b> \u2014POPE BENEDICT XVI, Encyclical Letter, <i>Deus Caritas Est (God is Love)<\/i>, n. 28b<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>St. John Paul II described this crisis as essentially a \u201cconspiracy against life\u201d that has been \u201cunleashed\u201d. <span class=\"footnote_referrer\"><a role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\" onclick=\"footnote_moveToReference_19758_1('footnote_plugin_reference_19758_1_2');\" onkeypress=\"footnote_moveToReference_19758_1('footnote_plugin_reference_19758_1_2');\" ><sup id=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_19758_1_2\" class=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_text\">[2]<\/sup><\/a><span id=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_19758_1_2\" class=\"footnote_tooltip\">cf. <i>Evangelium Vitae, \u201cThe Gospel of Life\u201d<\/i>, n. 12<\/span><\/span><script type=\"text\/javascript\"> jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_19758_1_2').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_19758_1_2', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top right', relative: true, offset: [10, 10], });<\/script> And thus, it is no surprise to see that our human sexuality, \u201cmale and female\u201d, which is an immediate reflection of the \u201cimage of God\u201d, is central to this crisis. You have in Australia, for example, the Human Rights Commission moving to defend some twenty-three \u201cgender\u201d definitions\u2014and counting.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 10pt;\"><b>In the beginning there was male and female. Soon there was homosexuality. Later there were lesbians, and much later gays, bisexuals, transgenders and queers\u2026 To date (by the time you read this, the\u2026 family of sexualities may have increased and multiplied) these are: transgender, trans, transsexual, intersex, androgynous, agender, cross dresser, drag king, drag queen, gender-fluid, genderqueer, intergender, neutrois, pansexual, pan-gendered, third gender, third sex, sistergirl and brotherboy\u2026<\/b> \u2014from \u201cPope Benedict XVI Exposes the Profound Falsehood of the Philosophy of the Gender Identity Movement\u201d, December 29th, 2012, http:\/\/www.catholiconline.com\/<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"right alignright\" style=\"margin-right: 2px; margin-left: 2px;\" src=\"https:\/\/www.markmallett.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/shattered_glass.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"230\" height=\"173\" data-position=\"2\" \/>As of this writing, Facebook now offers users some <em>fifty-six <\/em>gender options to choose from. <span class=\"footnote_referrer\"><a role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\" onclick=\"footnote_moveToReference_19758_1('footnote_plugin_reference_19758_1_3');\" onkeypress=\"footnote_moveToReference_19758_1('footnote_plugin_reference_19758_1_3');\" ><sup id=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_19758_1_3\" class=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_text\">[3]<\/sup><\/a><span id=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_19758_1_3\" class=\"footnote_tooltip\">cf. <a href=\"http:\/\/www.slate.com\/blogs\/lexicon_valley\/2014\/02\/21\/gender_facebook_now_has_56_categories_to_choose_from_including_cisgender.html\">slate.com<\/a><\/span><\/span><script type=\"text\/javascript\"> jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_19758_1_3').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_19758_1_3', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top right', relative: true, offset: [10, 10], });<\/script>\u00a0In essence, the single nature of body and soul of the human person is being shattered, literally, into pieces. And it is precisely because we have lost sight of our origin.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 10pt;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'trebuchet ms', geneva, sans-serif; color: #000080;\"><b>The soul, the \u201cseed of eternity we bear in ourselves, irreducible to the merely material,\u201d can have its origin only in God.<\/b><\/span> \u2014<i>Catechism of the Catholic Church, <\/i>n. 33<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>The crisis in human sexuality that we have arrived at today is essentially a <i>crisis of faith<\/i>.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 10pt;\"><b>&#8230;it becomes clear that when God is denied, human dignity also disappears.<\/b> \u2014POPE BENEDICT XVI, December 21st, 2012<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>THE BATTLE OF THE AGES<\/p>\n<p>The root of the threshold that we have arrived at today, what John Paul II called \u201cthe final confrontation between the\u00a0Church and the anti-church, the Gospel and the anti-gospel,&#8221; <span class=\"footnote_referrer\"><a role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\" onclick=\"footnote_moveToReference_19758_1('footnote_plugin_reference_19758_1_4');\" onkeypress=\"footnote_moveToReference_19758_1('footnote_plugin_reference_19758_1_4');\" ><sup id=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_19758_1_4\" class=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_text\">[4]<\/sup><\/a><span id=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_19758_1_4\" class=\"footnote_tooltip\">Cardinal Karol Wojtyla (JOHN PAUL II ), at the Eucharistic Congress, Philadelphia, PA; August 13, 1976<\/span><\/span><script type=\"text\/javascript\"> jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_19758_1_4').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_19758_1_4', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top right', relative: true, offset: [10, 10], });<\/script> is essentially a <i>lie, <\/i>a lie that gave birth to that historic period we call &#8220;the Enlightenment.\u201d And the lie came in the form of a sophistry called <em>D<\/em><i>eism\u00a0<\/i>that goes something like this:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 10pt;\"><b>God was the Supreme Being who designed the universe and then left it to its own laws.<\/b> \u2014Fr. Frank Chacon and Jim Burnham, <i>Beginning Apologetics<\/i> 4, p. 12<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>This lie set into motion a chain of \u201cisms\u201d that would redefine mankind\u2019s worldview\u2014<i>materialism, \u00a0<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"left alignleft\" style=\"margin: 2px 5px 2px 5px;\" src=\"https:\/\/www.markmallett.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/faith-and-reason.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"237\" height=\"186\" data-position=\"0\" \/>rationalism, Darwinism, <\/i><i>utilitarianism, scientism, Marxism, communism, atheism, <\/i>etc.<i>\u2014<\/i>a world that would, over the course of the next four centuries, slowly push God out and place man at the center of the universe through science, psychology, and ultimately technology. <span class=\"footnote_referrer\"><a role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\" onclick=\"footnote_moveToReference_19758_1('footnote_plugin_reference_19758_1_5');\" onkeypress=\"footnote_moveToReference_19758_1('footnote_plugin_reference_19758_1_5');\" ><sup id=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_19758_1_5\" class=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_text\">[5]<\/sup><\/a><span id=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_19758_1_5\" class=\"footnote_tooltip\">cf. <em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.markmallett.com\/blog\/a-woman-and-a-dragon\/\">A Woman and a Dragon<\/a><\/em><\/span><\/span><script type=\"text\/javascript\"> jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_19758_1_5').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_19758_1_5', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top right', relative: true, offset: [10, 10], });<\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 10pt;\"><b>The Enlightenment was a comprehensive, well-organized, and brilliantly led movement to eliminate Christianity from modern society. It began with Deism as its religious creed, but eventually rejected all transcendent notions of God. It finally became a religion of \u201chuman progress\u201d and the \u201cGoddess of Reason.\u201d<\/b> \u2014Fr. Frank Chacon and Jim Burnham, <em>Beginning Apologetics<\/em> Volume 4: How to Answer Atheists and New Agers, p.16<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Indeed, today we have reached the pinnacle of the Enlightenment, and this is to literally <i>re-create man in his own image<\/i> by divorcing his biological sex from gender, and merging his flesh with\u00a0micro-technology. We are further into this experiment than many people realize.<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"left alignright\" style=\"margin-right: 2px; margin-left: 2px;\" src=\"https:\/\/www.markmallett.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/the_androgynous_look_Fotor.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"244\" height=\"185\" data-position=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 10pt;\"><b>The New Age which is dawning will be peopled by perfect, androgynous beings who are totally in command of the cosmic laws of nature. In this scenario, Christianity has to be eliminated and give way to a global religion and a new world order.<\/b> \u2014<i>Jesus Christ, The Bearer of the Water of Life<\/i>, n. 4, Pontifical Councils for Culture and Inter-religious Dialogue<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>THE IMAGE OF THE BEAST<\/p>\n<p>If the courts today are making it possible for implementation of this anthropological revolution of man, it is only because the court of \u201cpublic opinion\u201d has already paved the way. And by this, I mean the slow and deliberate desensitization of the population through the <i>media<\/i>. Pope Pius XI foresaw the dangers that technology could bring, particularly the emergence of images projected through <i>artificial light.<\/i><\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 10pt;\"><b>Now all may easily discern that the more wonderful the increase of the technique of the cinema, the more dangerous it has become to the hindrance of morals, to religion, and to social intercourse itself\u2026 as affecting not only individual citizens, but the whole community of mankind.<\/b> \u2014POPE PIUS XI, Encyclical Letter <i>Vigilant Cura<\/i>, n. 7, 8; June 29, 1936<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>St. Paul wrote that &#8220;Satan masquerades as an angel of light.\u201d <span class=\"footnote_referrer\"><a role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\" onclick=\"footnote_moveToReference_19758_1('footnote_plugin_reference_19758_1_6');\" onkeypress=\"footnote_moveToReference_19758_1('footnote_plugin_reference_19758_1_6');\" ><sup id=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_19758_1_6\" class=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_text\">[6]<\/sup><\/a><span id=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_19758_1_6\" class=\"footnote_tooltip\">cf. 2 Cor 11:14<\/span><\/span><script type=\"text\/javascript\"> jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_19758_1_6').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_19758_1_6', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top right', relative: true, offset: [10, 10], });<\/script> Indeed, the fallen angel\u2019s very name was Lucifer, which means \u201clight-bearer.\u201d There is a connection between Satan\u2019s theological origins and the development and prevalence, at this hour in the world, of technology that uses <em>artificial light, <\/em>which\u00a0is becoming\u00a0more and more necessary to function in society. Every smart phone, every iPad, every computer, etc. involves the use of this light.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" style=\"margin-top: 5px; margin-right: 5px; margin-bottom: 5px; max-height: none; max-width: 100%;\" src=\"https:\/\/www.markmallett.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/Artificial-light-makes-us-depressed_Fotor.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"426\" height=\"261\" data-position=\"3\" \/><\/p>\n<p>In journalism schools throughout North America, the theories of communications philosopher, Marshall McLuhan, were widely taught\u2014\u201cthe medium is the message\u201d\u2014being one of his more famous statements. But perhaps more widely unknown was the fact that McLuhan was a devout Catholic whose faith shaped his philosophies. McLuhan, in fact, had strong concerns over the direction of technology\u2014and this before the age of the computer. He died one year before the first personal computer emerged in 1981.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 10pt;\"><b>When electricity allows for the simultaneity of all information for every human being, it is Lucifer\u2019s moment. He is the greatest electrical engineer. Technically speaking, the age in which we live is certainly favourable to an Antichrist.<\/b> \u2014Marshall McLuhan, <i>Medium and the Light, <\/i>n. 209<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>What does this have to do with human sexuality? Well, what has been more undermined, more denigrated, more influenced by the media<i> than our sexuality?<\/i> A distorted view of sex is now woven, in one way or another, through nearly every commercial, every program, every music video, every film. The media has become a powerful propaganda machine to increasingly disintegrate the dignity and truth of our human sexuality and promote a counterfeit. <span class=\"footnote_referrer\"><a role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\" onclick=\"footnote_moveToReference_19758_1('footnote_plugin_reference_19758_1_7');\" onkeypress=\"footnote_moveToReference_19758_1('footnote_plugin_reference_19758_1_7');\" ><sup id=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_19758_1_7\" class=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_text\">[7]<\/sup><\/a><span id=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_19758_1_7\" class=\"footnote_tooltip\">cf. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.markmallett.com\/blog\/the-coming-counterfeit\/\"><em>The Coming Counterfeit<\/em><\/span><\/span><script type=\"text\/javascript\"> jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_19758_1_7').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_19758_1_7', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top right', relative: true, offset: [10, 10], });<\/script>\u00a0<\/a>Pop singer and teenage idol, Miley Cyrus, is but one of the many &#8220;poster-childs&#8221;\u00a0of this machine:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 10pt;\"><b>I am literally open to every single thing that is consenting and doesn\u2019t involve an animal and everyone is of age. Everything that\u2019s legal, I\u2019m down with. Yo, I\u2019m down with any adult &#8211; anyone over the age of 18 who is down to love me. I don\u2019t relate to being boy or girl, and I don\u2019t have to have my partner relate to boy or girl.<\/b> \u2014Miley Cyrus, June 10th, 2015; theguardian.com<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>And of course, Miley has the images to go with her philosophy, which is really the by-line of this era: as long as it\u2019s not illegal, <i>just do it<\/i>. The problem with that worldview is twofold: not everything that is harmful is illegal; second, the courts are now redefining that which has been considered unlawful and contrary to the natural law for millenia, as now being lawful. Hiding behind it all, projecting <i>his image upon man invisibly<\/i> as it were through \u201clight\u201d, is the Prince of <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"right\" style=\"float: right; margin: 5px;\" src=\"https:\/\/www.markmallett.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/computer_screen.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"261\" height=\"174\" data-position=\"2\" \/>this world, \u201cthe greatest electrical engineer.&#8221;<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 10pt;\"><b>There is no need to be afraid to call the first agent of evil by his name: the Evil One. The strategy which he used and continues to use is that of not revealing himself, so that the evil implanted by him from the beginning may receive its development from man himself, from systems and from relationships between individuals, from classes and nations\u2014so as also to become ever more a \u201cstructural\u201d sin, ever less identifiable as \u201cpersonal\u201d sin. In other words, so that man may feel in a certain sense \u201cfreed\u201d from sin but at the same time be ever more deeply immersed in it.<\/b> \u2014<\/span><span style=\"font-size: 10pt;\">POPE JOHN PAUL II, Apostolic Letter, <i>Dilecti Amici<\/i>, To The Youth of the World, n. 15<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>That is, mankind is becoming rapidly enslaved by and to the image of the beast, and few are those who recognize it because we have\u00a0convinced ourselves that <em>we<\/em> are the \u201cenlightened\u201d, when in fact our reason has become utterly darkened. Significantly, twice in Scripture, St. Paul relates that this darkening of human reason ultimately manifests itself in <i>sexual impurity.<\/i><\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 10pt; font-family: 'courier new', courier, monospace;\">&#8230;darkened in understanding, alienated from the life of God because of their ignorance, because of their hardness of heart, they have become callous and have <a href=\"https:\/\/www.markmallett.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/total-eclipse-of-the-sun.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft  wp-image-19761\" style=\"margin: 2px 5px 2px 5px;\" src=\"https:\/\/www.markmallett.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/total-eclipse-of-the-sun.jpg\" alt=\"total-eclipse-of-the-sun\" width=\"192\" height=\"192\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.markmallett.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/total-eclipse-of-the-sun.jpg 757w, https:\/\/www.markmallett.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/total-eclipse-of-the-sun-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.markmallett.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/total-eclipse-of-the-sun-300x300.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 192px) 100vw, 192px\" \/><\/a>handed themselves over to licentiousness for the practice of every kind of impurity to excess\u2026 (Eph 4:18-19)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>And again to the Romans, he wrote:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: 'courier new', courier, monospace; font-size: 10pt;\">&#8230;they became vain in their reasoning, and their senseless minds were darkened. While claiming to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God <i>for the likeness of an image of mortal man<\/i>\u2026 Therefore, God handed them over to impurity through the lusts of their hearts for the mutual degradation of their bodies. (Rom 1:21-24)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Why does \u201cvain reasoning\u201d necessarily lead to impurity and ultimately the loss of human freedom? Because our sexuality is directly tied to God in whose image we are made.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: 'courier new', courier, monospace; font-size: 10pt;\">&#8230;in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. (Gen 1:27)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>The fruit of agnosticism and atheism is ultimately the loss of our sexual identity because one\u00a0no longer believes that we are created by God \u201cin his image,&#8221; and this in turn leads to the destruction of all that flows from our sexuality, namely marriage and the family.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 10pt;\"><strong>In the fight for the family, the very notion of being \u2013 of what being human really means \u2013 is being called into question\u2026 The question of the family \u2026 is the question of what it means to be a man, and what it is necessary to do to be true men\u2026 <\/strong>\u00a0\u2014POPE BENEDICT XVI, December 21st, 2012<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>JOURNEYING<\/p>\n<p>Brothers and sisters, what we are speaking of, here, at the end of this age, is akin to watching a train-wreck in slow-motion. We can have one of two responses: stand on the hillside and watch <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"left\" style=\"float: left; margin: 5px;\" src=\"https:\/\/www.markmallett.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/train_wreck_Fotor.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"272\" height=\"185\" data-position=\"0\" \/>it unfold, or run down to the tracks and begin to help the wounded.\u00a0Maybe there was a time when it was enough to simply stand on the hillside and shout to the passengers of the dangers ahead. But we live in a different time today. There is so much noise, so much speed to the train, that the voice of truth is difficult to hear. What is needed is our <i>direct <\/i>engagement with others.<\/p>\n<p>Gender confusion is only one of the rail-cars in this train. There are the cars of pornographic addictions, <span class=\"footnote_referrer\"><a role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\" onclick=\"footnote_moveToReference_19758_1('footnote_plugin_reference_19758_1_8');\" onkeypress=\"footnote_moveToReference_19758_1('footnote_plugin_reference_19758_1_8');\" ><sup id=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_19758_1_8\" class=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_text\">[8]<\/sup><\/a><span id=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_19758_1_8\" class=\"footnote_tooltip\">cf. <em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.markmallett.com\/blog\/the-hunted\/\">The Hunted<\/a><\/em><\/span><\/span><script type=\"text\/javascript\"> jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_19758_1_8').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_19758_1_8', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top right', relative: true, offset: [10, 10], });<\/script>\u00a0sexually transmitted diseases, mutilation, infidelity, and sexual abuse. How do we, as <i>bearers of the light of Christ<\/i>, help others who are suffering in our times?<\/p>\n<p>The light of Christ is like a flame with two dimensions. The flame brings both light and warmth. The light is <i>truth. <\/i>The warmth is <i>charity. <\/i>Together, charity in truth can attract others to us, to our message, and set their hearts aflame.<\/p>\n<p>A reader wrote me recently about her\u00a0son with same-sex attraction. She suddenly found out that the Church, which she loves, is not as ready to journey with her as she thought:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 10pt;\"><b>Where we have been very weak as Church is in the area of <i>accompaniment<\/i>, the ability to accompany and to be maternally present to the gay population. We say we are compassionate. We say that they must be treated with love and understanding. Where is the <i>concrete<\/i> expression of that?<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>To be certain, Pope Francis feels this is sorely lacking as well. In one\u00a0interview, he said:\u00a0<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"right alignright\" style=\"margin-right: 2px; margin-left: 2px;\" src=\"https:\/\/www.markmallett.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/Francisflame_Fotor.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"209\" height=\"255\" data-position=\"2\" \/><\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 10pt;\"><b>I see clearly that the thing the Church needs most today is the ability to heal wounds and to warm the hearts of the faithful; it needs nearness, <i>proximity<\/i>.<\/b> \u2014POPE FRANCIS, interview with AmericaMagazine.com, September 30th, 2013<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>The Holy Father elaborated what he meant by \u201cproximity\u201d in his Apostolic Exhortation, <em><a href=\"http:\/\/w2.vatican.va\/content\/francesco\/en\/apost_exhortations\/documents\/papa-francesco_esortazione-ap_20131124_evangelii-gaudium.html\">Evangelii Gaudium<\/a><\/em><i>, <\/i>which is really a blueprint for evangelization in the post-modern world. The idea that the Church can simply sit behind closed gates and make pronouncements is antithetical to the spirit of the Gospel.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 10pt;\"><b>An evangelizing community gets involved by word and deed in people\u2019s daily lives; it bridges distances, it is willing to abase itself if necessary, and it embraces human life, touching the suffering flesh of Christ in others. Evangelizers thus take on the \u201csmell of the sheep\u201d and the sheep are willing to hear their voice. <\/b>\u2014POPE FRANCIS, <em><a href=\"http:\/\/w2.vatican.va\/content\/francesco\/en\/apost_exhortations\/documents\/papa-francesco_esortazione-ap_20131124_evangelii-gaudium.html\">Evangelii Gaudium<\/a><\/em>, n. 24<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>We are being called, like Jesus, to journey with others, to \u201cdine with tax collectors and sinners.\u201d This in no way implies that the truth is to be discarded or distorted so as to appear more \u201ctolerant.&#8221; Rather, without the warmth of charity, the truth risks becoming a sterile light that repels more than it draws souls to our <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"left alignleft\" style=\"margin: 2px 5px 2px 5px;\" src=\"https:\/\/www.markmallett.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/trainwreck2_Fotor.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"229\" height=\"338\" data-position=\"0\" \/>message. And thus, Pope Francis is calling the Church to become bold, courageous, and to fearlessly journey with others:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 10pt;\"><b>Even if the life of a person has been a disaster, even if it is destroyed by vices, drugs or anything else\u2014God is in this person\u2019s life. You can, you must try to seek God in every human life. Although the life of a person is a land full of thor<\/b><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 10pt;\"><b>ns and weeds, there is always a space in which the good seed can grow. You have to trust God.<\/b> \u2014POPE FRANCIS, America Magazine, September, 2013<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>As I wrote in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.markmallett.com\/blog\/human-sexuality-and-freedom-part-iii\/\">Part III<\/a>, we have to look beyond the sins of our brothers and sisters (beyond the speck in their eye), and recognize His image in them in order to help them find Christ&#8217;s mercy so they can take the next step, which is <em>repentance<\/em>\u2014the beginning of letting God restore\u00a0that image. God is present in every person\u2019s life, not only by His paternal care for their wellbeing, but also because He is the author and source of life. In that sense, every human being alive \u201chas God\u201d as his or her \u201clife-breath.&#8221; But this is to be differentiated from also having grace.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 10pt;\"><b>God is ever in the soul, giving it, and through his presence conserving within it, its natural being, yet he does not always communicate supernatural being to it. For this is communicated only by love and grace, which not all souls possess; and all those that possess it have it not in the same degree\u2026<\/b> \u2014St. John of the Cross, <i>Ascent of Mount Carmel, <\/i>Book 2, Chapter 5<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>God communicates himself mostly to those, says St. John, who progress farthest in love, namely, those whose <em>will<\/em> is closest in conformity with the will of God. <i>That is the essence of journeying with others: <\/i>to help them enter into the harmony and order of creation that the Creator has designed in their natures that is both soul and body, spirit and sexuality. And this means a giving of ourselves that demands patience, mercy, and sometimes great suffering, if not martyrdom.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>TRUTH AND LOVE, TO THE END<\/p>\n<p>And here, we must acknowledge that as Christians, we are truly facing &#8220;the final confrontation.\u201d <span class=\"footnote_referrer\"><a role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\" onclick=\"footnote_moveToReference_19758_1('footnote_plugin_reference_19758_1_9');\" onkeypress=\"footnote_moveToReference_19758_1('footnote_plugin_reference_19758_1_9');\" ><sup id=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_19758_1_9\" class=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_text\">[9]<\/sup><\/a><span id=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_19758_1_9\" class=\"footnote_tooltip\">cf. <em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.markmallett.com\/blog\/understanding-the-final-confrontation\/\">Understanding the Final Confrontation<\/a>; <\/em>cf. also the book, <em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.markmallett.com\/blog\/the-final-confrontation-the-book\/\">The Final Confrontation<\/a><\/em><\/span><\/span><script type=\"text\/javascript\"> jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_19758_1_9').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_19758_1_9', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top right', relative: true, offset: [10, 10], });<\/script> Because <a href=\"https:\/\/www.markmallett.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/scriptureonpersecution.png\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft  wp-image-19769\" style=\"margin: 2px 5px 2px 5px;\" src=\"https:\/\/www.markmallett.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/scriptureonpersecution.png\" alt=\"scriptureonpersecution\" width=\"265\" height=\"155\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.markmallett.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/scriptureonpersecution.png 600w, https:\/\/www.markmallett.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/scriptureonpersecution-300x175.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 265px) 100vw, 265px\" \/><\/a>practically every day now, the courts are advancing an anti-gospel that is rapidly ebbing away at religious freedom. That, and it is putting &#8220;the very future of the world at stake.&#8221; <span class=\"footnote_referrer\"><a role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\" onclick=\"footnote_moveToReference_19758_1('footnote_plugin_reference_19758_1_10');\" onkeypress=\"footnote_moveToReference_19758_1('footnote_plugin_reference_19758_1_10');\" ><sup id=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_19758_1_10\" class=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_text\">[10]<\/sup><\/a><span id=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_19758_1_10\" class=\"footnote_tooltip\">POPE BENEDICT XVI, Address to the Roman Curia, December 20th, 2010<\/span><\/span><script type=\"text\/javascript\"> jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_19758_1_10').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_19758_1_10', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top right', relative: true, offset: [10, 10], });<\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 10pt;\"><strong>Consequently, policies which undermine the family threaten human dignity and the future of humanity itself.<\/strong>\u00a0\u2014POPE BENEDICT XVI, Address to the Diplomatic Corps, January 19th, 2012; Reuters<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>In Ontario, Canada last week, a bill was passed similar to one in California that makes it illegal to counsel anyone under the age of 18 with unwanted homosexual or transgendered feelings. <span class=\"footnote_referrer\"><a role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\" onclick=\"footnote_moveToReference_19758_1('footnote_plugin_reference_19758_1_11');\" onkeypress=\"footnote_moveToReference_19758_1('footnote_plugin_reference_19758_1_11');\" ><sup id=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_19758_1_11\" class=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_text\">[11]<\/sup><\/a><span id=\"footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_19758_1_11\" class=\"footnote_tooltip\">cf. &#8220;\u2018Tyrannical\u2019: Ontario bans therapy for teens with unwanted gay attractions&#8221;, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.lifesitenews.com\/news\/tyrannical-ontario-bans-therapy-for-teens-with-unwanted-gay-attractions\">LifeSiteNews.com<\/a>; June 5th, 2015<\/span><\/span><script type=\"text\/javascript\"> jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_19758_1_11').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_19758_1_11', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top right', relative: true, offset: [10, 10], });<\/script>\u00a0It is not only an infringement on freedom of speech and religion, but perhaps most shockingly, the destruction of the rights of those seeking counsel. I mean, here we have the courts passing laws to acknowledge dozens of \u201cgender identities\u201d and then, on the other hand, banning anyone from seeking help who wants to \u201cchange\u201d their gender. Yes, as Pope Benedict said, we have entered into an \u201ceclipse of reason.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Nonetheless, we cannot let the schizophrenia of either the courts or our politicians to deter us from speaking the truth in love.<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright\" style=\"margin: 1px 2px 1px 2px;\" src=\"https:\/\/www.markmallett.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/freedom2_Fotor.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"231\" height=\"377\" data-position=\"2\" \/><\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 10pt; font-family: 'courier new', courier, monospace;\">We must obey God rather than men. (Acts 5:29)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Christians must prepare themselves for persecution, if not martyrdom. Already, Christians all over the Western World are losing jobs, businesses, and personal rights for upholding the natural moral law. The persecution is no longer coming: <i>it is here<\/i>.<\/p>\n<p>But so is the enslavement of mankind in ways that are just beginning to manifest in all their tragic facets. And thus, more than ever, we need to be prophets of the intrinsic connection between human sexuality <em>and<\/em> freedom<i>.<\/i><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 10pt;\">RELATED READING<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><em><strong><span style=\"font-size: 10pt;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.markmallett.com\/blog\/human-sexuality-and-freedom-part-i\/\">Human Sexuality and Freedom &#8211; Part I<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><em><strong><span style=\"font-size: 10pt;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.markmallett.com\/blog\/human-sexuality-and-freedom-part-ii\/\">Human Sexuality and Freedom &#8211; Part II<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><em><strong><span style=\"font-size: 10pt;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.markmallett.com\/blog\/human-sexuality-and-freedom-part-iii\/\">Human Sexuality and Freedom &#8211; Part III<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><em><strong><span style=\"font-size: 10pt;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.markmallett.com\/blog\/human-sexuality-and-freedom-part-iv\/\">Human Sexuality and Freedom &#8211; Part IV<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/store.markmallett.com\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"  wp-image-19811 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/www.markmallett.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/3DforMark.jpg\" alt=\"3DforMark\" width=\"262\" height=\"331\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.markmallett.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/3DforMark.jpg 378w, https:\/\/www.markmallett.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/3DforMark-237x300.jpg 237w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 262px) 100vw, 262px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';\"><strong>THESE<\/strong>\u00a0are not normal times. Ask the average passerby if \u201csomething strange\u201d is going on in the world, and the answer will almost always be \u201cyes.\u201d But what?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';\">There will be a thousand answers, many of them conflicting, several speculating, often adding more confusion to the growing fear and despair beginning to grip a planet reeling from economic collapse, terrorism, and the upheaval of nature. Could there be a clear answer?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';\">Mark Mallett unfolds a stunning picture of our times built not upon flimsy arguments or questionable prophecies, but the solid words of the Church Fathers, modern Popes, and approved apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The end result is unequivocal: we are facing\u00a0<em>The Final Confrontation<\/em>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong><a href=\"http:\/\/store.markmallett.com\">Order now at Mark&#8217;s Store<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div class=\"speaker-mute footnotes_reference_container\"> <div class=\"footnote_container_prepare\"><p><span role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\" class=\"footnote_reference_container_label pointer\" onclick=\"footnote_expand_collapse_reference_container_19758_1();\"><h5>Footnotes<\/h5><\/span><span role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\" class=\"footnote_reference_container_collapse_button\" style=\"display: none;\" onclick=\"footnote_expand_collapse_reference_container_19758_1();\">[<a id=\"footnote_reference_container_collapse_button_19758_1\">+<\/a>]<\/span><\/p><\/div> <div id=\"footnote_references_container_19758_1\" style=\"\"><table class=\"footnotes_table footnote-reference-container\"><caption class=\"accessibility\"><h5>Footnotes<\/h5><\/caption> <tbody> \r\n\r\n<tr class=\"footnotes_plugin_reference_row\"> <th scope=\"row\" id=\"footnote_plugin_reference_19758_1_1\" class=\"footnote_plugin_index pointer\" onclick=\"footnote_moveToAnchor_19758_1('footnote_plugin_tooltip_19758_1_1');\"><a role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\" class=\"footnote_plugin_link\" ><span class=\"footnote_index_arrow\">&#8593;<\/span>1<\/a><\/th> <td class=\"footnote_plugin_text\">cf.<a href=\"https:\/\/www.markmallett.com\/blog\/the-heart-of-the-new-revolution\/\"> <em>The Heart of the New Revolution<\/em><\/a><\/td><\/tr>\r\n\r\n<tr class=\"footnotes_plugin_reference_row\"> <th scope=\"row\" id=\"footnote_plugin_reference_19758_1_2\" class=\"footnote_plugin_index pointer\" onclick=\"footnote_moveToAnchor_19758_1('footnote_plugin_tooltip_19758_1_2');\"><a role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\" class=\"footnote_plugin_link\" ><span class=\"footnote_index_arrow\">&#8593;<\/span>2<\/a><\/th> <td class=\"footnote_plugin_text\">cf. <i>Evangelium Vitae, \u201cThe Gospel of Life\u201d<\/i>, n. 12<\/td><\/tr>\r\n\r\n<tr class=\"footnotes_plugin_reference_row\"> <th scope=\"row\" id=\"footnote_plugin_reference_19758_1_3\" class=\"footnote_plugin_index pointer\" onclick=\"footnote_moveToAnchor_19758_1('footnote_plugin_tooltip_19758_1_3');\"><a role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\" class=\"footnote_plugin_link\" ><span class=\"footnote_index_arrow\">&#8593;<\/span>3<\/a><\/th> <td class=\"footnote_plugin_text\">cf. <a href=\"http:\/\/www.slate.com\/blogs\/lexicon_valley\/2014\/02\/21\/gender_facebook_now_has_56_categories_to_choose_from_including_cisgender.html\">slate.com<\/a><\/td><\/tr>\r\n\r\n<tr class=\"footnotes_plugin_reference_row\"> <th scope=\"row\" id=\"footnote_plugin_reference_19758_1_4\" class=\"footnote_plugin_index pointer\" onclick=\"footnote_moveToAnchor_19758_1('footnote_plugin_tooltip_19758_1_4');\"><a role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\" class=\"footnote_plugin_link\" ><span class=\"footnote_index_arrow\">&#8593;<\/span>4<\/a><\/th> <td class=\"footnote_plugin_text\">Cardinal Karol Wojtyla (JOHN PAUL II ), at the Eucharistic Congress, Philadelphia, PA; August 13, 1976<\/td><\/tr>\r\n\r\n<tr class=\"footnotes_plugin_reference_row\"> <th scope=\"row\" id=\"footnote_plugin_reference_19758_1_5\" class=\"footnote_plugin_index pointer\" onclick=\"footnote_moveToAnchor_19758_1('footnote_plugin_tooltip_19758_1_5');\"><a role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\" class=\"footnote_plugin_link\" ><span class=\"footnote_index_arrow\">&#8593;<\/span>5<\/a><\/th> <td class=\"footnote_plugin_text\">cf. <em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.markmallett.com\/blog\/a-woman-and-a-dragon\/\">A Woman and a Dragon<\/a><\/em><\/td><\/tr>\r\n\r\n<tr class=\"footnotes_plugin_reference_row\"> <th scope=\"row\" id=\"footnote_plugin_reference_19758_1_6\" class=\"footnote_plugin_index pointer\" onclick=\"footnote_moveToAnchor_19758_1('footnote_plugin_tooltip_19758_1_6');\"><a role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\" class=\"footnote_plugin_link\" ><span class=\"footnote_index_arrow\">&#8593;<\/span>6<\/a><\/th> <td class=\"footnote_plugin_text\">cf. 2 Cor 11:14<\/td><\/tr>\r\n\r\n<tr class=\"footnotes_plugin_reference_row\"> <th scope=\"row\" id=\"footnote_plugin_reference_19758_1_7\" class=\"footnote_plugin_index pointer\" onclick=\"footnote_moveToAnchor_19758_1('footnote_plugin_tooltip_19758_1_7');\"><a role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\" class=\"footnote_plugin_link\" ><span class=\"footnote_index_arrow\">&#8593;<\/span>7<\/a><\/th> <td class=\"footnote_plugin_text\">cf. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.markmallett.com\/blog\/the-coming-counterfeit\/\"><em>The Coming Counterfeit<\/em><\/td><\/tr>\r\n\r\n<tr class=\"footnotes_plugin_reference_row\"> <th scope=\"row\" id=\"footnote_plugin_reference_19758_1_8\" class=\"footnote_plugin_index pointer\" onclick=\"footnote_moveToAnchor_19758_1('footnote_plugin_tooltip_19758_1_8');\"><a role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\" class=\"footnote_plugin_link\" ><span class=\"footnote_index_arrow\">&#8593;<\/span>8<\/a><\/th> <td class=\"footnote_plugin_text\">cf. <em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.markmallett.com\/blog\/the-hunted\/\">The Hunted<\/a><\/em><\/td><\/tr>\r\n\r\n<tr class=\"footnotes_plugin_reference_row\"> <th scope=\"row\" id=\"footnote_plugin_reference_19758_1_9\" class=\"footnote_plugin_index pointer\" onclick=\"footnote_moveToAnchor_19758_1('footnote_plugin_tooltip_19758_1_9');\"><a role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\" class=\"footnote_plugin_link\" ><span class=\"footnote_index_arrow\">&#8593;<\/span>9<\/a><\/th> <td class=\"footnote_plugin_text\">cf. <em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.markmallett.com\/blog\/understanding-the-final-confrontation\/\">Understanding the Final Confrontation<\/a>; <\/em>cf. also the book, <em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.markmallett.com\/blog\/the-final-confrontation-the-book\/\">The Final Confrontation<\/a><\/em><\/td><\/tr>\r\n\r\n<tr class=\"footnotes_plugin_reference_row\"> <th scope=\"row\" id=\"footnote_plugin_reference_19758_1_10\" class=\"footnote_plugin_index pointer\" onclick=\"footnote_moveToAnchor_19758_1('footnote_plugin_tooltip_19758_1_10');\"><a role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\" class=\"footnote_plugin_link\" ><span class=\"footnote_index_arrow\">&#8593;<\/span>10<\/a><\/th> <td class=\"footnote_plugin_text\">POPE BENEDICT XVI, Address to the Roman Curia, December 20th, 2010<\/td><\/tr>\r\n\r\n<tr class=\"footnotes_plugin_reference_row\"> <th scope=\"row\" id=\"footnote_plugin_reference_19758_1_11\" class=\"footnote_plugin_index pointer\" onclick=\"footnote_moveToAnchor_19758_1('footnote_plugin_tooltip_19758_1_11');\"><a role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\" class=\"footnote_plugin_link\" ><span class=\"footnote_index_arrow\">&#8593;<\/span>11<\/a><\/th> <td class=\"footnote_plugin_text\">cf. &#8220;\u2018Tyrannical\u2019: Ontario bans therapy for teens with unwanted gay attractions&#8221;, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.lifesitenews.com\/news\/tyrannical-ontario-bans-therapy-for-teens-with-unwanted-gay-attractions\">LifeSiteNews.com<\/a>; June 5th, 2015<\/td><\/tr>\r\n\r\n <\/tbody> <\/table> <\/div><\/div><script type=\"text\/javascript\"> function footnote_expand_reference_container_19758_1() { jQuery('#footnote_references_container_19758_1').show(); jQuery('#footnote_reference_container_collapse_button_19758_1').text('\u2212'); } function footnote_collapse_reference_container_19758_1() { jQuery('#footnote_references_container_19758_1').hide(); jQuery('#footnote_reference_container_collapse_button_19758_1').text('+'); } function footnote_expand_collapse_reference_container_19758_1() { if (jQuery('#footnote_references_container_19758_1').is(':hidden')) { footnote_expand_reference_container_19758_1(); } else { footnote_collapse_reference_container_19758_1(); } } function footnote_moveToReference_19758_1(p_str_TargetID) { footnote_expand_reference_container_19758_1(); var l_obj_Target = jQuery('#' + p_str_TargetID); if (l_obj_Target.length) { jQuery( 'html, body' ).delay( 0 ); jQuery('html, body').animate({ scrollTop: l_obj_Target.offset().top - window.innerHeight * 0.2 }, 380); } } function footnote_moveToAnchor_19758_1(p_str_TargetID) { footnote_expand_reference_container_19758_1(); var l_obj_Target = jQuery('#' + p_str_TargetID); if (l_obj_Target.length) { jQuery( 'html, body' ).delay( 0 ); jQuery('html, body').animate({ scrollTop: l_obj_Target.offset().top - window.innerHeight * 0.2 }, 380); } }<\/script>","protected":false,"gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"html"}]},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&nbsp; TRUE freedom is living each moment in the fullest reality of who you are. And who are you? That is the aching, over-arching question that mostly eludes this present generation in a world where the elderly have misplaced the answer, the Church has fumbled it, and the media has ignored it. But here it [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false,"gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"html"}]},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,41,1243],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-19758","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-daily-journal","category-faith-and-morals","category-human-sexuality-and-freedom"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Human Sexuality and Freedom - Part V - The Now Word<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.markmallett.com\/blog\/human-sexuality-and-freedom-part-v\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Human Sexuality and Freedom - Part V - The Now Word\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"&nbsp; TRUE freedom is living each moment in the fullest reality of who you are. And who are you? That is the aching, over-arching question that mostly eludes this present generation in a world where the elderly have misplaced the answer, the Church has fumbled it, and the media has ignored it. 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