MEN BEHAVING CHASTELY

"Is it even possible to write a book for men on how to live chastely?" This discussion was held after Dawn Eden spoke at the diocesan seminaries here in Cleveland. Dawn admitted that a large portion of her audience tends to be men who are genuinely interested in living chaste lives. And so the question is inevitably, "Why isn't there something like this out there for men?" Well, of course there is not the least of which is Christopher West's "Winning the Battle for Sexual Purity." I highly recommend this resource. But while believing that it is helpful, even greatly so, and that it is coming from a man who struggled, gained control, and written to men to help follow him (in much the same way that Dawn Eden's book "The Thrill of the Chaste" was written for women) perhaps it is not the most effective of means.

Maybe the reason that Dawn's talk draws so much male attention is that besides a strong, older, male role model that can take you down a peg if necessary (read: DAD, older brother, father figure who is present and morally fit) the other strong influence for men is women who demand to be treated with respect, integrity, and who desire to love chastely until marriage. No, men are not beasts who are always on the prowl and will take it whenever and wherever it is offered, and it is not woman's fault if a man should end up being unchaste with her, BUT I do think - IN VERY GENERAL TERMS - that men will rise to the level that is expected of them. And, if in general women think that they must be unchaste with a man in order to be loved, then men will in general oblige the experiment.

A challenge to some women out there: Write! Perhaps what we need is for you to write a book or an article to men about protecting the integrity, chastity, and virtue of the woman he says he loves: treating with honor, respect, and deference the one who may not only be his life partner, but whom he chooses to be the mother of his children.

THE FIRST DRAUGHT OF ADAM'S ALE

Greetings and welcome to Adam's Ale. A big thank you and a first toast of Adam's Ale goes out to Dawn Eden and Brett (aka Saint Kansas) who helped and encouraged me to stop just thinking about opening a blog and actually do it.

If you are unfamiliar with Dawn, she is an incredibly spiritual and kind person and the author of The Thrill of the Chaste and Saint Kansas is an awesomely talented musician who did the instrumentals and vocal on her video Chastity Rome-Chick Blues.

This past week we met up in Ohio to bring the bring the hope and joy of her message to the good people of the great Diocese of Cleveland. A toast of Adam's Ale to the brave souls who turned out despite the sub-zero winds blowing off of Lake Erie. It shows how seriously you take your faith that while most of north east Ohio was shut down and shivering Clevelanders huddled around fire places and heating ducts you turned out to be challenged and supported in your faith. This bodes well for the future of Catholic life here!

A quick note about Adam's Ale. Having every other name rejected as having been taken already I resorted to perusing Latin dictionaries and indexes of books looking for something interesting. Adam's Ale, as it turns out, is water: the only drink available in the Garden of Eden. Throughout Scripture water is the source of purification and sanctification and perhaps through this blog I can share some of that joy of living through Adam's Ale with anyone who cares to pop by. (I also like the reference to Eden since Dawn helped this Luddite figure out how to put this together.) A prayer is going out tonight to you, whoever you may be, that will be joining me in the future.