At 10:02 PM 8/6/2001 -0400, JDG wrote:
>At 09:44 AM 8/6/01 -0500 Dan Minette wrote:
> > IMHO,
> >the real foundation of the desire to restrict sex is Augustine's theology.
>
>I don't think that I buy this.
>
>I have always seen the Church's teaching on this area as being of the
>general vein that it is good for humans to regularly deny themselves all
>sorts of pleasures. For example, the Church used to call for Catholics to
>abstain from meat on Fridays (and continues to call for it on Fridays in
>Lent,) the Church proscribes two days of fasting each year (Ash Wednesday
>and Good Friday), and the Church promotes the Lenten season as a time for
>fasting and abstinence of all sorts.
>
>I must admit that I am a bit lacking in my understanding of the *why* of
>this teaching, other than a few general themes such that through fasting
>and abstinence:
>1) Catholics can show solidarity with the poor
>2) The body and soul can be "practiced" for the ability to resist the
>temptation of sin
>3) It tempers the spirit and forces the soul to concentrate on heavenly
>matters
When I asked the nuns why we couldn't eat meat on Fridays (yeah it *was*
that long ago), they told us that it was to remember Jesus' sacrifice on
the cross. As for showing solidarity with the poor, every Lent we collected
for the poor. We were supposed to give up one thing that we truly enjoyed
and put that money in the poor box. That was grammar school in the early 60's.
john
