Is it possible for a person to change from a homosexual
orientation and attraction, to a heterosexual orientation? If someone has been sexually attracted to the
same sex for many years, how could it be possible for them to become attracted
to the opposite sex once again? Is that
possible at all? What if someone has
struggled with a same-sex attraction for as long as they can remember? What if they were “born with this condition”? Is it fair for the Church, and Jesus Christ
Himself, to require that marriage is reserved for one man and one woman (Gen. 2:23-25; Mt. 19) despite those who long for sexual embrace with persons of the
same sex?
In short, the answer is yes. Yes, it is possible to change from a
homosexual orientation and attraction to a heterosexual orientation – due to
the reality of what St. Paul referred to as “the redemption of the body” (Rm
8:23). Last week I attempted to
articulate Catholic teaching regarding whether or not homosexuality is a
sin. We can recall the Church does not teach that a “same-sex
attraction” is morally wrong or sinful; but that homosexual “acts” are
intrinsically disordered and morally wrong (Catechism of the Catholic Church,
#2357). In other words, to experience a
same-sex attraction is not sinful. But,
to engage in sexual conduct or action outside of marriage, anytime, is sinful. Since God created marriage to exist between
one man and one woman, then Christ elevated it to the dignity of a Sacrament, this
potentially condemns those with same-sex attraction to a life of singleness, or
coerced celibacy. “But, what if I don’t
want to be celibate?” I concluded that
blog with a brief story of some holy friends of mine who continue to struggle
with same-sex attraction but have embraced the virtue of chastity, and a life
of singleness. I can now continue this
conversation by a very serious, and unmistakably insufficient, discussion of “the
redemption of the body” (Rm. 8:23) and the redemption of our sexual
desires.
If God has the power, and the desire, to raise us from
the dead, then he can literally change us in miraculous ways. As Christians we follow Christ, and we are very
interested in His closest followers – such as St. Paul. Christ has all the divinity and the authority,
of course, but it’s really cool to see how Christ changed St. Paul. He was a persecutor of Christians and murdered
several of them. Paul encountered Christ
in a transformative vision, then changed his heart to become the greatest Christian
missionary of all time, and then to die a martyr (see Acts 9:1-20 for more of
that amazing story). What caused this
drastic change of heart? Christ has the
power to change our hearts and He seems to want this change in us.
Recently, I met an inspiring and holy man who leads a
Christian ministry to help those with same-sex attraction. He shared his story with a group of us about
his amazingly miraculous life. He
suffered from same-sex attraction (and still does from time-to-time) when he
was a young man. At the age of 20 or 21
he contracted HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, from this lifestyle. Then, in time, Christ transformed his same-sex
attractions through a series of very powerful encounters. Today, he is married to a wonderful woman and
has a son. When I asked him “what caused
the change of heart,” he explained to me that it was God’s amazing plan for man
and womanhood found in the Bible and the sacramentality of marriage. “I delved into the story and learned that men
and women are created to image God – and that a man and woman who are married
image the Divine in a communion of persons, in a unique and special way. What changed my heart,” he shared, “was the
Theology of the Body.” He then went on
to share with the group he was speaking with, not to “stop short,” of being
changed from a homosexual orientation to a heterosexual orientation if homosexuality
is your struggle. “I know that Christ is
the God who changes hearts and I didn't want to be condemned to a life of
singleness or coerced celibacy. I knew
deep in my heart I was called to something more. With God’s help my desires were purified,
reordered, transformed and redeemed.” If
you’d like to read more about Dean Greer’s amazing story please check out his
web site at: www.desertstream.org Dean is the founder of “Desert Stream
Ministries,” which is a Christian based ministry to help impart the healing
power and reality of Christ on those who are sexually broken, with special
emphasis on those who suffer from same-sex attraction.
Also, as you may or may not know, one of the ministries
in the Catholic Church regarding this process of healing through the redemption
of the body and the transformation of desires is: COURAGE.
Check out their web site at: http://couragerc.net/ COURAGE is a Catholic Apostolate that exists
to provide help, healing and support to those who suffer from same-sex
attraction, yet want what God calls them toward.
To conclude this portion of the blog, I’d like to site a
text from Christopher West in his book: At
the Heart of the Gospel. Reclaiming the
Body for the New Evangelization. Image
Books, 2012. He describes this “redemption
of the body” and the “transformation of our desires” in the following way:
“As experience attests, the battle with lust remains
fierce. For the man bound by lust, ‘Turn
away your eyes from a shapely woman,’ (Sir 9:8) retains all its wisdom. . .
But, Christ invites us ‘to a pure way of looking at others, capable of
respecting the spousal meaning of the body’ said Pope John Paul II.” (The Pope
said this statement regarding Jesus’ teaching of the Sermon on the Mount which
reads: “You have heard that it was said,
‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I
say to you, everyone who looks a at a woman with lust has already committed
adultery with her in his heart” (Mt. 5:27-31).). “This means that, although we all experience
lust, we can also experience a real transformation of our hearts through the
salvation Christ offers us… Christ did not die on a cross and rise from the
dead merely to give us coping mechanisms for sin (we already had plenty of
those without a savior). Christ died and
rose again to set us free from sin. To
the degree that a man’s heart has been transformed and vivified by the Spirit
of the Lord, he need not merely “cope” with lust by turning his eyes away from
a woman – or a man, or visa verse.
Through continual death and resurrection, our desires take on “new form.” The more we grow in mastery of ourselves, the
more we experience a proper way to see (Theology of the Body 63:6). We become empowered to look at others purely –
and not only to “look” but to see others purely, to see the true beauty of the
person revealed, not despite the body, but in and through the body.”
We will have to return to this point regarding the “redemption
of the body” time and time again so as to form a rigorous, yet divinely
inspired, pathway of transformation whether you suffer from same-sex attraction
or not. . . We are all affected by lust and the disordered desires of
lust. We are all in need of healing,
purification and the transformation of our desires.
A few words
about the sadness of 40 years of legalized abortion in our country from a
Theology of the Body perspective
What can I say to you at this time after 40 years of legalized abortion in the United States, since the
year 1973? I've personally been involved
in the Pro-Life movement since 1999 and made 10 pilgrimages to Washington D.C.
to protest, pilgrimage and pray on January 22, which is the anniversary of Roe
vs. Wade; spent countless hours of prayer in front of abortion clinics; met
numerous women and men who've suffered from abortion only to assure me it was a
grave mistake they've regretted for the rest of their life. This holocaust of abortion in our country
trumps any holocaust I've ever known:
the Rwandan Genocide of 1994 which killed one million people in three
months because of tribal unrest; the Nazi Holocaust which lasted over a period of
approximately 8-9 years killing an estimated 6-8 million people who were mostly
Jewish; even the situation of the Aztec people native to the present day
country of Mexico who performed human sacrifice to their gods – once killing
80,000 people in one day. None of these
aforementioned tragedies get close to the horror of today’s holocaust of
abortion in our country. An estimated 55
million babies have suffered legal abortions since 1973 in the United States of
America.
The entire point of the Christian message is, as I said
above, redemption. Truth, freedom,
redemption, salvation – all of these things necessarily go together. We humans, the glorious crown of God’s
creation (in addition to the angels), are just that – creatures that are created
for a divine purpose. We are not capable
of defining what is “good” and what is “evil.”
We can only choose what is “good” and what is “evil,” after we ascent,
by way of reason and faith, to the good which God has set before us in Christ.
On this 40th anniversary week of the legal holocaust
of abortion in our country, I tremble before God at how it is possible for Americans
to have decided collectively, by way of that Supreme Court decision, to choose
this type of evil . . . and then to have allowed that type of decision to remain "lawful" for the past forty years. I am very afraid that
from now until the Second Coming of Christ . . . none of us are safe in this
climate.
