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What is Courage? The goal of Courage is not to change a person’s sexual inclination or attraction, but to surrender completely their identity to Christ.” Courage is a group of men and women] who experience same-sex attraction and who are committed to helping one another to live chaste lives through prayer, fellowship, and mutual support.

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The Church is called to come out of herself and to go to the peripheries, not only geographically, but also the existential peripheries: the mystery of sin, of pain, of injustice, of ignorance and indifference to religion, of intellectual currents, and of all misery.” Pope Francis.

 

"The mission of the Church is to bring the Good News of Jesus Christ to all people and to minister to all people in His Name. In our time and culture, special challenges are faced by those Church members who carry out this mission among persons who experience same-sex attraction" USCCB.

 

 “The church is not a museum of saints but a hospital for sinners.” " Every saint has a past, and every sinner has a future.

What is accompaniment: " Pope Francis “to welcome them, to love them, to respect them but also to encourage them to live chaste lives finding holiness in the midst of the daily situations.”

How can we understand accompaniment? Prudence, Understanding, Patience, Teaching, and Docility to the Spirit” (EG, 171).

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"Christian life requires a willingness to love. And I don’t mean “love,” the theory, or “love,” the warm feeling. I mean “love,” the act of will, the act of courage. Real love is always expensive. Real love is always based in the truth about ourselves and about others. And while the truth will make us free "nobody said it would make us comfortable. The human heart is created for the truth, and the truth is meant for the human heart." Most Rev. Charles Chaput, Archbishop of Philadelphia

“Chastity means the successful integration of sexuality within the person and thus the inner unity of man in his bodily and spiritual being. (CCC 2337) Chastity is a moral virtue. It is also a gift from God, a grace, a fruit of spiritual effort. (CCC 2345)”

FIVE GOALS OF COURAGE: The Five Goals were created by the members themselves, when Courage was founded. The goals are read at the start of each meeting and each member is called to practice them in daily life. Here are the Goals in their entirety.

  1. To live chaste lives in accordance with the Roman Catholic Church’s teaching on homosexuality. ( Chastity )

  2. To dedicate our entire lives to Christ through service to others, spiritual reading, prayer, meditation, individual spiritual direction, frequent attendance at Mass, and the frequent reception of the sacraments of Reconciliation and Holy Eucharist. (Prayer and Dedication)

  3. To foster a spirit of fellowship in which we may share with one another our thoughts and experiences, and so ensure that no one will have to face the problems of homosexuality alone. (Fellowship)

  4. To be mindful of the truth that chaste friendships are not only possible but necessary in a chaste Christian life; and to encourage one another in forming and sustaining these friendships. (Support)

  5. To live lives that may serve as good examples to others. (Good Example/Role Model)

THE TWELVE STEPS OF COURAGE: the Twelve Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous that is now adapted to Same Sex Attraction (SSA). Historically, the Twelve Steps were written to assist those struggling with physical and emotional addiction to alcohol. To say that Courage draws inspiration from the Twelve Steps does not mean that we view Same-Sex Attraction as a disease or addiction, though some of the members deal with issues of sexual brokenness such as compulsive attachments to pornography or promiscuous behavior. The Twelve Steps are Honesty, Hope, Faith, Courage, Integrity, Willingness, Humility, Self-Discipline, Love for Others, Perseverance, Spiritual Awareness and Service.

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