In psychoanalytic thought, libido (from the Latin: desire, lust) is the psychic and
emotional energy associated with man’s instinctual biological drives (sexual
desire). Though theoretically held in check by the ego and super-ego, in
Freudian thought libido understands
man as a sexual animal whose happiness derives from the unrestrained libido. The virtue of chastity in
Freudian logic could only end in illness and unhappiness. Such thinking became
normative in the United States in the 1960s, and it was not long before the
greatest of natural mysteries,” the marriage act, was reduced to an openly discussable fun activity.
Paul VI offered libido as one way Satan, the “malign, clever seducer” undermines
man’s sexual morality with his “sophistry.” The Devil’s strategy here, as the
Pope cautioned, is “eminently logical.” He approaches man with what amounts to
a false reason in his mind, which, if dwelled on, can influence the will by
rousing him to do something evil which seems to be good. Deceit is basic to his
strategy. By way of one example, if one is gifted with a superior intellect,
Satan will tempt to pride and sins of the mind. Thus it is not surprising that
the notion that the Church is out of touch and unbending on issues relating to
sex and marriage to this day is advanced by
intellectual Catholic theologians the likes of Frs. Curran, McCormick,
and O’Brien.
If one is worldly and hedonistic, Satan
enters with temptations of the flesh. One hears often that the “liberation” of
the human libido began in earnest in the United States in the “sexual
revolution” of the 1960s. Americans, troubled over repressive attitudes toward
human sexuality, hoped for a revolution that would free them from outdated
moral and social constraints. It resulted not in liberation but in license and
a host of societal sexual crises. Since the onset of the sexual revolution, we
have had to face an ever-increasing array of sexual problems. One has only to
think of the tremendous increase in the number of post-1960s illegitimate
births and abortions, sexually transmitted diseases, opposition to censorship
of pornography (especially on the Internet), and the resulting sexual addiction
(in some extreme instances resulting in murder). Consider too the tremendous
blows to marriage and the family done by adultery, the battle over the
homosexual lifestyle in the United States, Canada and Europe (now to the point
of the redefinition of marriage under the law); the increasing incidences of
sexual harassment, child pornography on the Internet, Internet predators, date
rape, and of course, the divorce rate.
-from The Smoke of Satan in the Temple of God
Having studied the devastating effects of the sexual revolution on the spiritual health of souls, I must draw attention to recent statements by the Archbishop of New York! His topic is timely, and I for one will pray that other shepherds will follow his lead. Oremus.
Postscript: While we are on the subject, please note that Dawn Eden has updated her classic The Thrill of the Chaste
Postscript: While we are on the subject, please note that Dawn Eden has updated her classic The Thrill of the Chaste
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