Pentecost (Year B)

This morning, we had a sharing on "Sex Education" before rehearsal. The Religious and Moral Education Centre published a pamphlet on "Sex Education" for teenagers and their parents. The coverage by the mass media was selective as usual. Therefore, Fr. Patrick Sun encouraged us to study it and organize sharing sessions on its topics.
I must remain humble in this topic which is not my expertise. As a father, I rely on my wife to handle these "dirty jobs". Even in school, I have to cover the examination syllabus and leave the students on their own. I am indeed not doing my job properly. The choir I am singing in consists mainly of secondary school students. A few others are young men and women already working. Naturally, I am the eldest. This group is pretty healthy in the sense that it covers a wide range of ages. They are very energetic. Working together, we wish to help all members, including myself, to grow and develop in our relationship with Jesus.
The sharing was cordial and open. Everybody felt secure to share their views, their own exposure to "sex education". These young people know about the easy access to pornographic materials on the Internet. They are aware of the danger of its ability to twist the true meaning of sexuality and love. I brought up the relevant biblical verses on the sanctity of human body in Genesis and the First Epistle to the Corinthians. When unhealthy materials are doing harm to our young people on all sides, they are badly in need of guidance which the Bible can amply supply.
In primitive times, it took a lot of energy to kill another person. The need for a morality to regulate human behaviour was not big because the consequences of an action were small. With the advance of technology, the consequences of individual actions were becoming huge. The need of a morality was increasing. Today, pressing a button can easily wipe out the population of a cosmopolitan city. But we have not yet developed a strong enough morality to restrain such brutal actions.
Similarly, in ancient times, pornography was a luxury not easily accessible to the general public. Sexual crimes were heavily punished because these crimes infringed on private property. With the advance of Internet technology, pornography is freely accessible to all, including minors. Meanwhile, the mass media have made the audience more tolerant to deviant behaviours. People no long frown on divorce, extra-marital affairs, one night stand, homosexuality, sex for money etc. Today, we have not yet developed a strong enough morality to restrain such sexual desires.
The Bible remains a treasure chest for us to dig up. I am sure each of us is able to pick up what we need. To wrap up the sharing session, I brought their attention to the nine fruits of the Holy Spirit in the Epistle to the Galatians. It was read again during mass.
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control (Galatians 5:22-23a).
In his homily, Fr. Patrick Sun focussed on the healing aspect of the Holy Spirit. The world is currently under the shadow of a financial crisis. Negative feelings are everywhere. There are people dropping corrosive liquid to the passers-by below. There is an outpatient mental patient chopping a three-year-old boy to death. There are riots in South Korea at the funeral of her ex-president who committed suicide while under corruption investigation ... The world is in need of the healing grace of the Holy Spirit.
When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth (John 16:13a)
We are wounded emotionally and spiritually. Wounded, we regress to our childhood behaviours because we feel safe and secure as a child. The adult will take care of us. However, we will not be free as an adult if we stay forever as a child. The Lord promises us that the truth will make us free (John 8:32). The Holy Spirit will guide us into the truth and empower us to become free, free from our wounds and regressive behaviours.

Dear Spirit of Truth and of Love, on Pentecost, You empowered the disciples to declare Your saving mission. Empower our young people to stand off the assaults from pornography, to break through our wounds to fight for our true freedom. Glory and honour be Yours forever and ever. Amen.