Chastity

“Love is … the fundamental and innate vocation of every human being.”

– St. John Paul II, Familiaris Consortio

Every human person is created to make a gift of themselves in love. Our bodies were given to us to communicate love, and our bodies speak a language. In sexual intimacy, our bodies say, “I give myself to you alone, completely and faithfully for the rest of my life.” If we engage in sexual activity without intending to be faithful or without giving ourselves fully (including our fertility), we are lying with our bodies.

We are called, instead, to authentic love. Chastity is recognizing my dignity and the dignity of others. It is treating others as persons to be loved and not as objects to be used for my pleasure. Every person is called to live the beauty and integrity of chastity. 

In a series of Wednesday audiences, Pope St. John Paul II offered the Church and the world a vision of the human as body as soul, and reclaiming human sexuality as a gift for the sake of love. Rather than being reduced, suppressed or objectified, he encouraged us to receive our sexuality as a gift, to be lived in freedom and responsibility. Through the Theology of the Body, we can receive and embrace God’s invitation for authentic love for the good of the human person.

• Learn more about the beauty of God’s plan for love: The Chastity Project 
• Looking to go deeper? Consider courses offered by the Theology of the Body Institute.

Each year, the Archdiocese hosts dynamic young adult missionaries to speak to schools and youth groups about God’s vision for life and love. Check back for our schedule for the 2025-26 schoolyear!

• Generation Life: Generation Life is a dynamic movement of young people committed to building a culture of life by educating other young people on the pro-life and chastity messages. We believe that by spreading the message of chastity, we can end abortion at its root cause.
• The Culture Project: The Culture Project is an initiative of young people set out to restore culture through the experience of virtue. We proclaim the dignity of the human person and the richness of living sexual integrity, inviting our culture to become fully alive.