social intercourse on human sexuality

So we are at this crossroads, culturally speaking.

Human sexuality is difficult to talk about.

So we can ignore the discussion, make the discussion taboo, or get down and dirty with it, right?

We should not take the discussion of human sexuality lightly.   We have a responsibility, here.

If we are to talk about human sexuality "appropriately" is that not prudish?  To talk in veiled terms, isn't that puritanical?

Aren't we past that?

And on the other hand, shouldn't we be able to talk about sexuality in an open and honest way?  Shouldn't we let it all hang out?  Surely that's healthier than pretending it doesn't exist.

I say, the two are not mutually exclusive.  We can and should speak to our children, and to a culture, really, about sexuality openly and even vehemently.  We just need the right words.  Effective tools.

We should be able to speak about chastity or intimacy and physical union without attaching it to guilt and shame, without it being thought of as "bad" or "disgusting."

By teaching ourselves to speak about sexuality appropriately, we actually increase our ability to address difficult topics.  I suspect much of the reason that past generations had difficulty talking about sexuality was simply because the only words they knew were base or crass.

We do NOT need to "meet the culture where they are at."  That is a myth.  The usual response to sanctifying the language of sexuality is appreciation.  Suddenly people are put at ease because someone hands them a word or phrase they do not know and so the mind is able to get past the discomfort of getting words out.

Where do we turn to learn the new language?  Best place I ever found was the Catechism of the Catholic Church.  WHA!?  The CHURCH?  Prudishness at its best!

Nope.  Popes in the past and present have dealt with human sexuality in an amazing and beautiful way.  The Catechism speaks plainly and poignantly about physical relationships.  So incredible.

It is almost like physical union was part of God's PLAN!

Pope John Paul II writing, although pithy, provide a great resource for the use of language.   Another excellent resource is the book Parents, Children and the Facts of Life by Father Henry Sattler.  The best resource I've ever found, though, is the Catechism of the Catholic Church.  Don't worry.  You don't need to read the whole thing!  But some of the best vocabulary building exercises available are on the sections on marriage and sexuality.

Crack that catechism open, my friends.

So.  Up next...the birds and the bees.  Talking to our kids...humour and the Heavy Questions.