www.byzcath.org Forums General Discussions Town Hall St Valentine's Day

Dear Iconophile,

Sharon doesn't disagree with you.

And within the context you've described, there still is a "lot" that can go on that is fun, intimate and open to procreation.

On Valentine's Day, let not one Catholic couple be found idle . . .!

Let's show the secular world how it's done!!

Alex

Iconophile,

Certainly I was imprecise in my reply, but it was a reply specifically to Alex - who I think I know well enough to take on faith that the "naughtiness" he might consider exploring within his Christian marriage would be well within the lawful.


Vanilla is fine, so is fudge-ripple and tutti-frutti pecan - and everything in THIS cooler. We weren't looking in the Haz Mat cabinet this time - and sure, there's toxic stuff in there.

Hokay?


Sharon

SHOW the world? Alex, I think the Church might just frown on exhibitionism!

ROFL!

Sharon- glad you clarified; your response may have been to Alex, but it was a public one...

Dear Iconophile,

Sharon is one of the most feminine, sensitive, wonderfully sexy women I've ever met.

She combines this with modesty, piety, a prayer-rope on her wrist and some religious medals around her neck!

I couldn't keep my eyes off those medals!

Alex

Actually, Alex, the site ( www.e5men.org [e5men.org] )promotes an organization of men who fast monthly (or more often) on behalf, and for the intention of the women (wives, fiances, daughters, mothers etc) in thier lives, and for women who have no one to pray for them(widows, women religious) as well as for women who are abused or exploited by men (ie, women involved in making porn, prostitutes, battered spouses). I just thought the idea of a man offering a day long fast for the lady or ladies in his life might add more meaning to other romantic gestures that are usually built on material presents.
BUT MIND YOU THAT DOESN"T MEAN YOU SHOULDN"T BUY ROSES ALSO!!!

Hmm, well, I was HOPING someone would say, "Aw, poor Theist Gal! Let me shower you with roses and candy so you won't feel so alone!"

In the future I'll try to be more explicit when I'm throwing out whiny self-pitying bids for attention like that!

Gee Alex, I WONDERED what you were staring at.


I think you're just a sucker for sinful women in headscarves.


Now where did I leave that pound of nard?????


Sharon

One day, a few years ago, my husband and I were driving around the Wal-Mart parking lot looking for a spot. A woman crossed in front of us on her way into the store. I looked at my husband and shocked him with the comment, "SHE'S SEXY!"

She was wearing "normal" clothes - jeans and a shirt - and they weren't tight or revealing or anything. She wasn't swinging her hips or walking in a suggestive way. There was just something about HER, as a woman, that came across as sexy. You can't blame it on pheremones - we were in a closed car. I don't know what it was - just her confidence, I guess.

My husband thought she was sexy too, but he was shocked that I, another woman, would notice!

It just goes to show, that if you've got it, you've got it, and you don't need to flaunt it! So, Sharon, maybe you've got it!

Tammy

Geez, Tammy, if I could only remember where I left it....


Sharon

Sharon,

Maybe it's tangled up in those medals!

Tammy

Dear Iconophile,

Yes you are correct. Monastic elders are adamant, and parish priests generally agree, that in the Orthodox church certain things are 'out of bounds' for an Orthodox Christian, whether or not he or she is married. Infact, in confession one is taught that these are considered 'grave' sin, with canonical penance of abstention from the Eucharist attached to them.
Our church does not sanction much 'fun' in this department, although, thankfully, as not to put too much of a damper on married couples, if one has children already, 'dispensation' (oikonomia) can be given for birth control.

Alice

Alice.

Alice, I am so sad to see you saying this.

Onanism has been condemned by the entire Christian world for 1930 years. Then the Anglicans bow to secular pressure and "legalize" it. Since then, not only have all Christian bodies except the Catholic Church followed suit, (while 70+% of Catholics flout her teaching also!) but marriage and the family have been thrown on the dung heap.

Contraception is, by nature, a violation of God's divine plan, a violation of the order of creation, a violation of the revealed Word of God, a violation of the teaching of the Fathers, and a destroyer of marital intimacy. One cannot in justice receive a dispensation for contraception any more than one can receive a dispensation to kill one's grandmother.

When I went through my dark night of the soul about the current state of the Catholic Church, it was the fact that she stands ALONE in teaching the Whole Truth about sexual ethics that kept me in.

In Christ,

LatinTrad

LT- Amen. That is especially heartening coming from a newlywed!
Dear, dear Alice: I am grieved if you think that this practice of some modern Orthodox is acceptable; there can be no dispensation for sin. To be fair, it should be noted that many Roman Catholic priests grant the same "dispensation", albeit in defiance of the Church...
I will give my bride a single red rose, some chocolate, and a hand-drawn card; each of the children will get a chocolate heart at their breakfast place. It will be fun to watch our one year old- the first - make a mess of it...