FOUND ONLINE AT:
https://youthapostles.com/newsletters/2002-10.html
Contents:
Chastity and Marriage
The Magnificent Commitment of Marriage, by Pope John Paul II
Rosary Gets New Mysteries
New Website
Dear Friends,
My husband and I just celebrated our first anniversary! Woo hoo! You know what? I believed in chastity before I was married, but I believe in it even more now. The blessings from following God's plan for sexuality are even better in marriage than they were before! I want to share with you a letter that I wrote to my husband on our anniversary to thank him for waiting for me:
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My dear Timothy,
My beloved spouse and one flesh. As we celebrate our first year of Holy Matrimony, I want to thank you again, from the bottom of my heart, for waiting for me. You made a decision before you even met me to save this most precious part of yourself for your future bride, and for that I am so honored!
When I think of the challenges that you must have faced and overcome to remain chaste, especially in this culture that says being a man means being sexually active, I am so proud of you and so grateful to you for choosing a higher standard. Thank you for the hundreds of "no's" that you said to temptation, and the thousands of small and big "yes's" you said to purity. Thank you for having the courage and faith to be a real and godly man.
Thank you for training your eyes not to dwell on lustful images. When we go to the mall and you ask to walk on the opposite side of the larger than life Victoria's Secret posters, or we're watching TV and you instinctively change channels if an immodest woman is on the screen, or when we're walking and you turn your eyes down if a scantily clad chick is passing by, I know that your eyes are faithful to me and me alone. I feel so respected and treasured as your wife.
I know that because you saved yourself for me, there is no comparing with someone from the past. You have no haunting memories of mistakes to weigh you down from giving of yourself totally to me. And we now have a Holy language to communicate our love for each other that only we two share... and it often brings me to tears when I think... this is how God intended it to be!
I love you now more than ever. And I am so grateful that you loved me even before you ever met me by waiting for me.
Your adoring wife,
Michele
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My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, God is an awesome creator and a generous giver. He has such an amazing plan for relationships and covenanted, married love. I encourage you to humble yourself before Him and ask Him to show you how to have His best in your life. The journey is long and difficult, but the reward is soooo unbelievable! Don't give up! Strive for purity before you are married, so that you can experience married love in all the glory that God designed it to be!
Until next month, I remain...
Your Eucharist loving, Blessed Mother petitioning, rockin' Catholic Church obeying, Pope John Paul II devotee and fellow sinner in need of God's grace and mercy,
Michele TePas
Youth Apostles Online
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Do not be deceived by the empty words of those who ridicule chastity or your capacity for self-control. The strength of your future married love depends on the strength of your present commitment to learning true love, a chastity which includes refraining from all sexual relations outside of marriage...
Helped by God's grace in the Sacraments of Penance and the Eucharist, "be strong and of good courage" (Dt. 31:6). The Pope urges you to commit yourself to this spiritual revolution of purity of body and heart. Let Christ's redemption bear fruit in you! The contemporary world needs this kind of revolution!"
- Pope John Paul II on February 6, 1993 to Catholic youth
In his Apostolic Letter, Rosarium Virginis Mariae, Pope John Paul II has introduced five new mysteries to the rosary. These Mysteries of Light (or Luminous Mysteries) focus on the public ministry of Jesus Christ, his adult life prior to the crucifixion. The Holy Father has also announced the beginning of the Year of the Rosary. For more information, see:
http://www.catholicity.com/rosary.html
After hundreds of hours of work, the new and improved Youth Apostles Online website is finally here. Our long-term goal is to create a home for Catholic teens on the web -- a comprehensive source of Truth, amidst a sea of lies, on the issues that are most important to you. The internet will revolutionize Catholic youth ministry in the new millennium. We will be there.
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