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The Teaching of the Prophetic Encyclical Humanae Vitae (Part XIII)

By Adolfo J. Castañeda / December 22, 2021 /

Previous articles in this series: Part I: Introduction to Humanae Vitae Part II: The Predictions of Humanae Vitae Part III: The First Prophecy Part IV: The Second Prophecy Part V: The Third Prophecy Part VI: The Fourth Prophecy Part VII: Modernity’s Challenges to Humanae Vitae Part VIII: The Church’s Right to Teach on Birth Control Part IX: The Church’s Teaching Authority Part X: Principles of Humanae Vitae Part XI:…

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Using the Theology of the Body to Teach Chastity to Your Teenage Children

By Adolfo J. Castañeda / March 16, 2022 /
statue of pope saint john paul ii

Our world is saturated and infatuated with sex. We see scantily-clad women on billboards and on TV advertisements. We see ads on TV for birth control pills, for IUDs, and for the little blue pill for men. We hear about sex in song lyrics, in jokes on TV, and in the news. It’s no wonder…

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Using the Theology of the Body To Teach Chastity to Young Adult Children

By Adolfo J. Castañeda / April 29, 2022 /
parent and young adult talking with coffee

“The Theology of the Body (TOB) is pretty hard to understand for a lay person. How can I use it to have a conversation about human sexuality and chastity with my son or daughter who is already a young adult?” It is evident that the parent-child relationship takes a turn when the son or daughter…

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Adultery and the Theology of the Body

By Adolfo J. Castañeda / May 27, 2022 /
The Woman Taken in Adultery by Guercino

The purpose of this article is to show the importance of the theology of the body (TOB) of St. John Paul II in explaining the meaning of adultery and, by implication, the true meaning of marriage. To accomplish this purpose we are going to develop the following subtopics: The failure of the concept of sex…

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The Five Goods of the Conjugal Act

By Adolfo J. Castañeda / June 24, 2022 /

The Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches us that the conjugal act has four goods: “The goods of conjugal love, which for those who are baptized is sanctified by the sacrament of Matrimony, are unity, fidelity, indissolubility, and an openness to the procreation of life” (no. 495). However, if we consider the sign…

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The Theology of the Body and the Spiritual Life

By Adolfo J. Castañeda / July 29, 2022 /

In this article we are going to approach the topic of the important role the body plays in our spiritual life. To accomplish this goal, we will treat the following topics: The sacramental life as a foundation for the role of the body in the life of prayer The liturgy of the Church as a…

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May Catholics Donate Organs?

By Adolfo J. Castañeda / September 16, 2022 /
kidney transplant

Caleb Beaver died when he was 16 years old on Christmas Day 2011. His death was caused by a congenital malformation in his circulatory system that was never diagnosed. His parents were devastated. They decided to donate his heart, kidneys, lungs, liver, and pancreas. Several months later, Caleb’s parents met the person who had received…

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Why Is Premarital Sex a Sin?

By Adolfo J. Castañeda and Marisa Cantu / September 28, 2023 /
sad woman sitting in her bedroom

We live in a hedonistic society. Hedonism is the idea that pleasure, and especially physical pleasure, is the primary goal of life, instead of love of God and love of neighbor. One of the most common ways in which pleasure is pursued is sexual pleasure. Having sex outside of marriage has become so common that…

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Is Adultery a Mortal Sin?

By Adolfo J. Castañeda and Marisa Cantu / January 3, 2024 /
catholic wedding

We have other articles dealing with the motives, threats, and devastating consequences of adultery. In this article, we would like to answer the question: why is adultery a grave sin? This way of approaching the issue is a doctrinal approach. We will answer the question drawing from the teachings of the Bible and the teachings…

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Does God Forgive Homosexuality?

By Adolfo J. Castañeda / December 9, 2022 /
Sodom and Gomorrah by John Martin

The title of our article needs an important clarification, which we shall develop further below. “Homosexuality” denotes a sexual attraction towards members of the same sex. As such it is not a sin. Only homosexual acts are gravely sinful. But God does forgive those acts, provided the sinner is truly repentant. In fact, the Catechism…

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