‘The Thrill of the Chaste’

It is frustrating for Catholics who love their faith to realise what a bad public relations job the Church often makes of it.

We insiders know that “You shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free” isn’t just a clever slogan; it actually delivers.

Whatever our human crosses, our faith is about the joy and peace that comes from knowing who we are and the supernatural purpose of our lives. Yet outsiders often see the Church negatively, as grim and doctrinaire, prejudiced against human happiness.

Dawn Eden, an American convert with a special apostolate to those who have been victims of sexual abuse within the Church, is doing her best to remedy this situation, particularly in the area of human sexuality (an area where the Church’s teaching is most often distorted).

The title of her book, The Thrill of the Chaste, first published in 2007 and reissued this year for a Catholic readership, is both a clever play on the word “chaste” for “chase” and an eloquent plea for greater understanding of what it means to “find fulfilment while keeping your clothes on”. (UK readers can buy the book here.)

In her book Eden is very honest about her past life as a young single woman in the world of rock journalism and how the longing for a fulfilling relationship that would lead to marriage drove her from one doomed affair to the next.

The transience of these relationships only made her feel more insecure, more desperate to meet the right man, more prepared for rejection and thus more likely to invite it.

She came to see in the Sacrament of Confession that she had lost her innocence long before she lost her virginity. Continue reading

  • Francis Phillips in Catholic Herald
  • Please note: the image above is of Dawn Eden
Additional reading

News category: Analysis and Comment.

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