THE GOOD SHIP: COURTSHIP

A priest once gave me some guidelines with dating/courting .He says that you are on a journey, a voyage to be exact. Imagine being on a fabulous ship on a cruise. The ship's name: Courtship. This boat has three levels of different descriptions and designs. You can go back and forth from one level to the next by going up or down the steps. The different levels complement each other and can overlap.

 The first level is CLEAN. Here you may date someone who is free to date, which is not presently married to someone else or may have any vows of chastity from which a person has not yet been released. Both parties' intentions should be pure. Neither party should try to get intimately involved before marriage. Many young girls think that a physical relationship secures the guy. Unfortunately, when the physical in the relationship progresses and dominates, the emotional, social, and most importantly, the spiritual aspects suffer and fail to grow. Again, purity of heart.

The second level is CATHOLIC. The person you are dating should also be a Catholic. Having the same Catholic values helps one hundred percent in embarking down the important path of marriage on the road to heaven, because you are not alone but with your mate, and plants a firm basis for the children to come. You will be able to help each other and your family reaches the same goal: being forever to love, honors, and serve God in heaven.

 The third level is COURTEOUS. A guy needs to put the girl's concerns before one's own. A girl needs to respect guy's attempts to please her and allow him to be gentlemanly with her. Good manners are a must. If a guy is only interested in just getting intimate with a girl, he certainly is not planning on guarding her heart with his life. So if and when a guy gets just what he wants, boredom and emptiness follows as well as his attitude that he does seem to not know the girl or ignores her as if she does not exist. He may also put the blame on her and states it is her fault as she should have been the main one to prevent relationships from getting too close. The marital act is the result of total commitment, and not a way to keep a guy interested.

So why not take this journey and walk on board of each of the three floors of the Courtship. IT can prove to be very rewarding and help to avoid a lot of heartache. Let's ask Our Lady and Our Lord to help us in our endeavors.