Understanding Human Desires

What does it mean when one person is attracted to another person? Is that a good thing or a bad thing? What should that person do? We are accustomed to thinking about these questions in relatively simple moral terms: what is or isn’t a sin; when is it ok to act on an attraction and when it is not; if someone commits a sin, to what degree is that person culpable; and so on. This way of thinking can be helpful, especially for the young, since it simplifies matters to a set of clearly defined rules. But as adults, we know that things are often more complicated than that. The rules alone don’t help as much when we find ourselves trying to negotiate a real relationship with a real person.

Beginning Thursday June 8th, St. Joseph’s Adult Faith Formation will host Chris O’Neill, Director of the Archdiocese of New Orleans Office of Marriage and Family Life, for a frank and in-depth discussion of the meaning and significance of human desire. Combining the Church’s teachings with current psychological research, we will explore the dynamics of the relationship between men and women, the differences in their desires, the need for greater mutual understanding between men and women, and the proper integration of sexual desire that our faith calls us to. Have you wanted to know:

What do men and women want from each other? What are they looking for? · How can I better understand and connect with the opposite sex? · How can I foster a healthy and upright relationship with sex? What does genuine sexual integrity look like? · What is going on in adolescent children and how can I better help my kids navigate the emergence of sexual desire in a healthy way? · How to tell the difference between ordinary healthy desire and lust? · What to do when these desires go “off the rails” and how to get help? We will discuss mature matters in a frank and open manner and as such may not be a suitable environment for children. Adults 18+ are invited.

(Refreshments will be served? Child Care? Anything else?)