Many young women come and tell me... I say this quite
frankly... the central theme in confession is:
— "Father, I met a boy, and he tells me he wants
us to have sex."
I state it just like that—bluntly.
And I ask:
— "Does he love you?"
She tells me:
— "Yes, he loves me!"
I say:
— "Because he told you so? That’s good
advertising.
If that’s the case, let him prove it."
She asks:
— "How will he prove it?"
— "Let me give you the trick," I tell her...
We’re full of tricks around here.
She says:
— "Tell me the trick, Father."
I say:
— "Look, the trick is tried and tested.
I, at least, have tested it for thirty-two years.
And it’s top-notch.
I mean, for the person who used it, the success rate
was one hundred percent."
She says:
— "Tell me!
I’m dying to know!"
I say:
— "It’s very simple!
Just wait. It’s that simple.
He said he loves you?" To love means doing
something for you without expecting payment.
In other words, if I love a poor person, I won’t tell
him, "Give me ten euros, too."
Why should he give anything to me?
So! Tell me, my friend, do you love me?
Yes. Good.
To love me for free—what does that mean?
To love me for free. Without getting anything from me.
If he says, "But... and you... and me... and what...", and "You
know, I’m a man and I have needs," [then] we’ve moved into the realm of
consumerism, haven't we?
To love you for free.
She tells me:
"I’m going to lose him."
"What do you need him for?" I say.
He’s a merchant. He’ll leave you once he’s used you.
Like a souvlaki. You just toss the wrapper on the
ground and that’s that, right?
And you litter the garden, too.
Am I wrong?
Well, this method—the Church’s method—is so simple!
It’s been tested by me for thirty-two years! A one
hundred percent success rate!
And all the little men run for the hills.
Because they can't handle it without consumption.
Right? So I tell her:
"You're actually dodging a bullet!"
Eh? Because he would have left you later anyway!
Mind you!
If he loves you, he’ll stay!
And then we’ll see.
Then we’ll take it a step further. We’ll talk it over.
(Fr. Konstantinos Stratigopoulos+)
John Chrysostom (Migne, Vol. 54) warns that young
people—and adolescents even more so—"if they adopt a form of love detached
from commitment, engaging in frequent sexual encounters merely for release,
acquire a chronic *erotic disability*" and will never be able to
experience *TRUE Love*.
The commodification of love and the female body—which
is sacred, for it gives life and is a temple of the Holy Spirit—destroys the
very essence of the human soul.
In the mass media, on the Internet, and in all manner
of tabloids, relationships are romanticized, yet their true meaning is not
conveyed. Spousal love and romantic passion are sacrificial—often
exhausting—yet they lead to the earthly paradise of heart-to-heart communion
and oneness, and guide the couple toward the eternity of Paradise.
