There is a time for talking (or in this case writing) and a time for action. Just as the First Lady is attempting to do something about childhood obesity it is also time to do something about “sexual obesity”. This term, first coined by Dr. Mary Ann Layden of the U of PA, describes the widespread gouging on pornographic imagery and all its harmful effects. But we could also use it to describe our culture that is saturated in sex (hence sexually obese) and the illnesses it brings upon human beings. So along with myself, Sr. Colleen Braun (from the ASU Newman Center) and Dr. Monica Breaux, it’s to take some action and begin to treat this other epidemic that is also making us sick. We are beginning by gathering (with the approval of the Bishop) those who also want to take some action under the community name of
Humanly Possible. Here is a brief description:

Humanly Possible is a Roman Catholic community committed to promoting Catholic sexual ethics that are faithful to the Magisterium.  No one is required to leave another community to belong.  People who wish to learn from us, and those who share our values, even if they are not Catholic, have a place within our community, as Associates, Affiliates, Aspirants, Postulants, and Novices.  Our professed membership is limited to adults who practice Catholicism.  Profession ceremonies occur twice yearly, on October 17 and May 31. 
Our principal feast day is May 31, the solemnity of the Visitation of Mary.  Long recognized by the Church as the first miracle of Jesus Christ, the Visitation celebrates the value of human life.  The presence of our Savior Jesus, as an unborn child is acknowledged by another unborn child when Elizabeth tells Mary, “The babe within me leaped for joy!” Luke 1:44    May 1 is the feast of Saint Joseph the Worker, who is our principal patron, as reflected in our mission prayer.  Celebrations within our Humanly Possible Community occur on feast days that are related to our companions. 

PURPOSE
Introduction:   In the modern Western world sex is usually trivialized and often reduced to recreation.  Sexual immorality is an injustice to people who have been misled by false ideas and delusions about “safe” sex.  Across the globe and throughout history, tradition holds that maleness and femaleness is meaningful, and that the natural function of sexuality is a shared experience of committed marital love that is respectful of the dignity of human life.  The cultural climate overshadows this truth.
Emptiness, pain and boredom are frequently associated with sexual behaviors promoted by our culture.  When discussing sex, most people tend to repeat what the TV told them about it.  Information offered by the media rarely upholds moral values.  Often it withholds what scientific research has reported about sexual behavior.  
Our community offers accurate scientific information about sex that can be shared with other people.  We are bound by shared moral values on sexuality, open to all people regardless of age or religion.  Our mission is a response to the injustice of immorality.  Anyone who believes that sexual values protect the value of Love itself can join.  Our community witnesses, by word and chaste example, to truth, freedom, justice, and love, the four basic values of Catholic social doctrine. 
Mission: The mission is to rehabilitate chastity.  We promote a proper understanding, respect and admiration for healthy, holy sexual attitudes and behavior.  The explicit goals of the sacred bond in community are to encourage acceptance of Catholic sexual ethics and to assist in the personal sanctification of the members.
Vision: The vision is chaste living as a spiritual work of mercy against the injustice of immorality.  It is inspired by “The Rehabilitation of Chastity” in Pope John Paul II’s book, Love and Responsibility.   Chastity is not the same as abstinence.   Chastity is proper sexual attitudes and behavior, whether you are married, single, or in religious life. Faithful to Catholic sexual ethics, we can assist one another with chaste living.
Formation: Each member proceeds at their own pace, after making a public commitment to ongoing growth in the virtue of chastity, through formation of conscience and social support.  The formation program addresses the sacred value of the human person, modesty, proper sexual shame, celibate (single) and conjugal (marital) chastity, the role of resentment, the root of sexual addiction, pornography compulsion, same-sex attraction (SSA) and behavior (SSB), and strategies for chaste living in marriage and in single life…
Community membership includes lay people, clerics and consecrated persons who profess the evangelical counsels of chastity, poverty, and obedience.   Members remain financially independent.  There are no requirements of time or money – only a commitment to healthy and holy sexuality.   With practical assistance, members learn to recognize errors in thinking, errors in approach and errors in judgment.  Members must be open to correction, in need of forgiveness and always beginning again.

This is a simple idea (and most good ideas are simple). Through formation, that is prayer, education/study and fellowship we can tackle sexual obesity and the diseases of the body and soul it causes. Pray for us.

Love, Fr. John B.