One of the impossibilities in this world is trying to separate love from young people who are like identical twins. Wherever the young people are, love is amongst them. This is a naturally ingrained biological and psychological fact.
Truth be told, we all yearn for love, either to love or to be loved, regardless of our age or any other status we may have. Amazingly, with young people, it is unique because they tend to quickly get attracted to a person of the opposite sex within a concise period of interaction.
Although love comes naturally, it is very important to be cautious in matters of love so that you may not confuse infatuation [lust] with love. Moreover, we must be vigilant not to fall into the traps of the people with impure intentions in our love lives. Defend your sexuality with courage!
What, then, do the sacred scriptures tell us about love? The holy bible, in its entirety, is a love story, a story of the love of God for His children. Since God loved us so much, He couldn’t let us get lost due to sins, but out of His unfathomable divine love and mercy took up our humanity. Thus, He became man and lived among us as truly God and truly man except in sins.
Accordingly, Jesus, out of obedience to His Father, loved us to the end, up to the point of death on the cross. In fact, your crucifix [a cross with a crucified Jesus] is a symbol of divine love for you. Jesus left to us a commandment of love: love for God and love for neighbor. Love one another as I have loved you; He told us so.
When you love, do you really love with pure intentions in your mind and heart, or do you just love superficially with a selfish kind of ‘love’? True love is not selfish; it is kind, patient, and pure. Above all, love and serve with a disinterested intention. When you genuinely love, you naturally and diligently serve others, a form of worshiping and praising God.
Going back to our catechism clearly teaches us that among the three theological virtues (faith, hope, and love), only love is eternal. So, love is on earth as well as in heaven. It is worth noting that love does not end when your life here on earth has ended. Love transcends earthly life; love is eternal.
Therefore, when you feel romantically attracted to a fellow youth member of the opposite sex, it is neither a mistake nor a sin. That is a natural biological fact. However, you must have the right intention and then guard your thoughts so as not to fall into the temptations of committing casual sexual sins.
Impure thoughts lead to impure actions. So, when you entertain sexually related thoughts, you will put yourself into a position of fornicating. Strive to live a chaste life, a life that is characterized by a pure body, and soul-this pleases God so much. Jealously guard your purity!
In that case, always remember that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Truth who indwells you since you were administered those initiation sacraments of Baptism and Confirmation. And you get renewed, healed, and strengthened by the sacraments of Confession and Eucharist. Do not give up on yourself whenever you find yourself sinning; seek God’s mercy and commit yourself to living a holy life; The saints made it, and you will also make it.
Finally, I ask you to always love responsibly and with pure intentions. That way, you will be preparing yourself for either a holy marriage life or a holy religious life, whichever you choose. These two callings supplement each other for the building up of the Church.
With this in mind, you will have a well-formed and ordered conscience that wills and enables you to express your authentic love to your marriage partner or to those you will serve through your religious life, respectively. Pure love edifies and heals the body and the soul. Love truly and responsibly.
St. Pope John Paul II, Our Patron Saint, Pray for us so that We may be made Worthy of the Promises of Our Lord of Jesus Christ, in Time and in Eternity. Amen!
