“He who will be a man, and will not be a child, must -- he cannot help himself -- become a little man, that is, a dwarf. He will, however, need no consolation, for he is sure to think himself a very large creature indeed.”
Acts have consequences, and some of these consequences are natural. To put it differently, whatever we do has results, and some of them result from what we are.
Our perception of meaning in the human person is manifold, for the entire fabric of our nature, extending through all its dimensions, chants to us of inbuilt purposes. Sexuality is no exception. Our bodies sing of the complementarity of the male and the female, and our spirits sing along in polyphony.
Natural law inescapably concerns human nature. Not only do the heavens proclaim the glory of God; so do our own minds and bodies. We are fearfully and wonderfully made, creatures of pattern, design, and inbuilt meaning.
Mondays are reserved for letters from students and other young people – some scholars, some not -- and I say again, since people keep asking me, that the letters are all real.
Question:
Thomas Aquinas remarks that devotion is spurred mainly by considering God's goodness. Directly, such consideration causes joy because the remembrance of God is so delightful, but it also causes sorrow because we do not yet enjoy God fully.
In short, no. It hopes for self-government; it does not require it.
By giving this answer I’m siding with the classical tradition against some of the early modern revisionists.
My post "What Conscience Isn't" has been widely reprinted under the title "Is Conscience an Illusion?" To read it, click here.