Pictured above: Jason Evert
Written by Harry Welsh ’14, Business Managment Major
On November 8th, UST’s campus was blessed with the opportunity to have Jason Evert come speak about chastity. Jason Evert is an internationally known, dynamic, and engaging speaker on chastity, relationships, romance, and purity. He has a master’s degree in theology, and undergraduate degrees in counseling and theology, with a minor in philosophy at Franciscan University of Steubenville. He is the author of more than ten books, including If You Really Loved Me, How to Find Your Soulmate Without Losing Your soul, and Theology of the Body for Teens, which challenge young people to be pure.
Listening to his talk, a few things stood out to me most. First, women in society are displayed in media more as objects than as human beings with dignity. Being men on a college campus, we are not only constantly surrounded by beautiful women on campus, but also by the skewed image of women that is in the media; there are temptations all around us. As a man at the talk, I think that what Jason spoke on really challenged the men on campus to examine how we are looking at and treating women.
First, was the concept that a man must die internally for the woman; he must give fully of himself and disregard many of
his desires to fully love her. By doing this, the man should always want what is best for her in every situation and to be there to protect and respect her purity. The second thing that stood out to me was finding the unique beauty in each woman. It is important to be able to look beyond the external beauties of a woman and see what truly makes her special. I have seen how the world puts too much emphasis on how a girl looks and what you can get from her rather than what makes her who she is and what you can give to her. Jason highlighted that approaching women in this way does not lead you to fall in love; it leads you to fall in lust.
After leaving Jason’s talk, here is what I have to say to men on relationships: love the women in your life for who they are, not what for they can give you, and do everything in your power to keep them from harm, protect their purity, and respect the beauty that lies within them. This is not lust; this will lead you to love.
Want more Jason Evert? check out his website http://www.chastity.com/node/442
