Love OR Lust ?
CREATIVE COMPETITION ENTRIES: ART CATEGORY
FIRST PLACE WINNER
Francisco Cooper
At The Turning Point
This is a depiction of a young woman – portrayed at the centre bottom – who is turning from a life of impurity to a life of chastity.
Symbolism for Lust
Empty wine bottle & broken glass on the floor
Demon hiding behind the curtain; depressed young woman
Symbolism for Love
Family – Husband, Wife & Baby
Holy Bible & Rosary Chaplet in her hand.
Dove on the windowsill (symbol of the Holy Spirit); repentant woman
SECOND PLACE WINNER
Shuquana Edwards
As I got older, love has been a stubborn child nagging and taking away my peace of mind. The connection and affection shared among two people never felt like it existed in my life. It posed as a visiting type relationship where I only witnessed this love between two people scarcely, from time to time. My pessimistic mind often got the better of me as I conjectured my life, allowing myself to believe that love is out of sight. My imagination often had to step in place from time to time. To allow my mind to take a break from its ongoing exercise of contradicting every insight of how love can be defined. In our mundane lives, society tends to relate love and lust. Clashing them as distant cousins when they’re neighbors with no relation in their lives. My imagination never failed to take responsibility over my lackadaisical mind. Love and lust are playing tug of war where love is on the losing team at the beginning of the line and Lust further down on the other side.
My piece is showing love, the love that I pictured and defined in my imagination at night. The love that I wished I witnessed frequently in real life. What I imagined in my mind is love that never runs out. Two people who promised to love each other every second every hour. Their bodies never defined their love, for it meant far more to them. Allowing themselves to grow as one unit without the interference of the revolutionary addiction of lust spreading globally. Society never fazed them, for they were the protagonists of their lives. Their love made them oblivious holding potent in their minds. Their love is worthwhile for it’s showed communication, compassion, chastity and more affection than an entanglement of lust can even wish to provide. Their love was one of a kind.
PEOPLE'S CHOICE AWARD WINNER
Jonnelle Raphael
Coloured Pencil on Paper (5.5 x 8.5 in)
This piece entitled, “The Cycle of Life”, portrays an extended family of grandparents, parents and children at the beach during the sunset. The grandparents look on to see the beautiful family they created and watched their children create.
This piece encompasses the idea of continuity. It represents the never ending cycle of love as it is passes through each generation repeatedly; two people fall in love, create a family, watch their children fall in love and create their own family and so on. It’s a cycle that is so fulfilling and enriching. Hence the use of vibrant orange and pink tones in the piece to capture that richness. An analogous colour scheme with low to medium contrast was used to create visual harmony to give a sense of togetherness, but also the encapture the love present within the family.
Chastity
Clare Leid
This hand embroidered piece is intended to represent the theme of ‘Chastity’. This work was largely inspired by Pope Saint John Paul ii and the quote, ‘only the chaste man and the chaste woman are capable of true love’. As well as Saint John Marie Vianney and the Blessed Virgin Mary, under her title of the Immaculate Conception.
The virtue of Chastity enables couples to love one another in accord with their common dignity, therefore enabling them to love each other purely and truly. Saint John Marie Vianney describes chastity as a rose, which the Holy Spirit reposes in. ‘The Holy Spirit reposes in a chaste soul as in a bed of roses’, this is why there are flowers at the top of the piece, to represent the roses of chastity that the ‘Three Divine Persons descend from Heaven to inhale its fragrance’.
The Immaculate Heart of Mary is at the centre to represent her who most perfectly embodied the virtue of chastity, and we as her children may implore her to obtain the virtue of chastity for us. The great doctor of the church St. John of the Cross says that many temptations against chastity have been overcome solely by devotion to the immaculate Virgin. Therefore, the Immaculate Heart is the centre of the piece so that everyone who strives for the virtue of chastity may look to her for help and for an example to follow after.
Doubts of the Deed
Alesha Caldeira
This piece shows the doubts one may have going into their first time with a partner they have not been in a committed relationship where communication on both parties would be needed.
CREATIVE COMPETITION ENTRIES: SONG/SPOKEN -WORD/POETRY CATEGORY
FIRST PLACE WINNER
Zanaba Acosta
A form of self-love, if I must say. The time when perseverance comes in play.
With this I keep my honour, my virtue, confidence, and pride.
Self-will empowered enough to with still the desires with which anyone is tried.
Some say being that way is “hold back” it isn’t “fun”.
“Why must I wait for marriage when sex can so easily be done?”
But tell me, is that how you want to feel? Used? Just another tool disposed of after no longer being new!
Will you feel happy walking the streets hearing your name? Being uttered out of guys mouths with no shame?
“She was by me last night.” “I had her in that position.” “She’s and easy girl to get.” “No guards up this one.”
Sometimes even expectations aren’t met. Fantasies built in your head don’t always be what you get.
Nothing hurtful actually, just the truth. Ladies and gentlemen, please think before you do.
Never be complacent, that is your body, your temple, your hearts home. The only one with complete control is you.
I won’t kid myself or lie and say this journey so far has been easy for me.
Emotions often stirred; feelings occasionally caught. But the person who helped me the most through it all was God.
When in doubt, I, you can most definitely lean, call, grasp upon the father.
A person who will spiritually, religiously truthfully guide you down the right part thereafter.
HIV, HPV, Herpes, AIDS. Unplanned pregnancies, undesired abortions. Ruined names.
Chastity once again, helps avoiding such things. Keep yourself, save yourself for marriage not a lifetime of pain.
SECOND PLACE WINNER
Rachel Chan
Vows of Chastity
(Intro)
I hold the prize and its right before my eyes its God and our love that we needa compromise it the love not the lust and the process to trust you see this is a must cause we need this for us.
(Verse 1)
This is a virtue it cannot hurt you it really takes 2 to get the work through control your passion get it in action mental subtraction don’t need no distractions resist temptation keep your salvation increase levitation keep the love going earn it while its growing let it be glowing hey hey.
(Verse2)
Keeping that self-respect when you walk in Christ you know that there are no regrets you know that he is just waiting up there to bless so let us keep our love thing a little modest just so we could past this test I mean perseverance is all for the best just so that the enemy cannot get a hold of me cuz I know that right now God is really moulding me. (Uh) protecting me from what i cannot see its just my purity I’m living morally this ain’t insanity this is for you and me open your eyes and see this is the plan for me.
(Chorus)(×2)
Vows of chastity keep on working cause you got that tenacity see our goal is bigger than the capacity we gotta maintain our sanctity (C’mon)
(Verse3)
Working with fidelity it is a necessity strong in stability tell me are you feeling me reaping all the benefits push aside the opposites putting up the limits when it comes to being celibate. I’m living freely in this faithfully giving it totally progressing fruitfully we got that integrity being clean mentally let’s kick out the enemy lets go lets go putting this into the seeds that we sow we have time to grow and just so you know our blessing gonna overflow like
(Verse 1)
Pause: hold on, I ain’t finish yet.
(Chorus)(×2)
(Verse1)
PEOPLE'S CHOICE AWARD WINNER
Trivon Bobb
Hormones engulf the body and mind via surges,
Is it love to naturally look at someone and be attracted?
Or is it lust that you are attracted by their image as your
mind reacted.
Love, a word so simple and so complex,
It’s so much more than flowers, dates and animalistic sex,
It’s a blend of feelings, emotions and a fire of affection,
The ability to see someone entirely and open warm arms
with no judgement or neglection.
To be driven by them, their personality, their passion or
simply their smile,
You would do so much for so little, to see their face you’d
even walk a mile,
Not only what you say but the way you act,
The ability to touch someone’s heart so deeply you’d see a
lifestyle impact.
Contrary, to the flip-side of this coin,
People experience sensations burning deep from within
their loin,
Enticing and seducing minds by selling false hopes and
dreams,
Saying they love them truly but in reality not one word is
what it seems,
Lust, seeing a person and undressing them with your eyes,
Leading yourself to be addictive and nothing but an
illusion in disguise.
Simply starts by sending one simple explicit text,
Leading to unclothed words, pictures and that question,
What’s next?
From then and there the choice you make determines your
aura,
One to be pivotal and firm or to become a mindless
explorer.
A road leading to be compelling and addictive, a slave to
sex and lust,
Or one that is dignified, right and genuinely just,
Through all the thick and thin, luckily there is a key,
One hard to maintain and keep a hold of in today’s twisted
society.
One that many cannot comprehend as it is overwhelms
their mental capacity,
One single virtue, entitled Chastity,
Abstinence, a discipline so crucial and meaningful,
For the construction and formation of something so
flavored and beautiful,
Imagine a relationship built of compassion and pure love,
surely a win,
And as a plus you’d be living right by God since no
fornication means no sin.
Remember love is deep and consummation sacred,
Don’t let undeserving hearts compromise your dignity
disrobing you naked,
Real eyes recognize real lies, so open your eyes to see
what is true,
And protect yourself, protect your heart by practice of this
virtue.
Always be observant and be extremely cautious,
Identify and feel the difference between love and what is
really lust,
Remember a solid relationship is not built on only heated
romance,
So make the right choice to build something beautiful and
not lose the chance.
Aaleyah Caldeira
Honestly, they hadn’t needed to.
All they had done was said, and like pied piper rats they were misled.
would hold you down, chock the sound of yes out of you,
leave you to drown. The daughter responds that she
hadn’t thought that far. Couldn’t consider that water may scar.
up-hoist the conversion to her son. Surprisingly
the segment of blame does not come. She simply hums,
“Just don’t get them pregnant,” How can both children
hold the same view yet only one child is untrue.
created is a pandora’s box of paradox. It must self-destruct if
even the foundations are made of rot.It is unbearable that adults
are not careful enough to not leave instructions unclear. Children
and teens can only adhere when knowledge is acknowledged.
Deanna Wahchee
To be chaste doesn’t mean unwatched.
What do you do if they stop and stare?
And they’re only concerned on what you wear?
Or what you don’t wear,
Rather to speak.
And the blossom of a love affair
That could be over in a week.
What would you do when it’s over?
And you realize you’re now sober.
Not sober from rum and whine,
But well aware that you crossed a line.
A line that you feel shouldn’t have been crossed
You had your fun but at what cost?
Now if there was a way to feel loved.
Instead of feeling like you were shoved.
Abstinence focuses on what you can’t incorporate in your life.
And to save yourself for your husband or wife
But chastity means so much more,
To look into yourself and explore.
Explore love, freedom, respect and peace
So bountiful blessing may increase.
Explore a romance that you won’t regret,
And have your feelings spared from a threat.
Threat of feeling like you were used,
By self-inflicted mental abuse.
The feel of shame of one’s disappointment,
Only to have a shortened enjoyment.
Sure, sex may great but what’s the rush?
For a brief moment when you blush?
Chastity allows you to see who you are,
Instead of leading home or being lead from a bar.
Chastity shows why you love and breaks all confusion,
Instead of you forming your own illusion.
Chastity shows how you are worth the wait,
Until you find a suitable and selfless mate.
Tell me, is it Love or Lust?
Are they somebody that you can trust?
Do you think you’re ready to be impure?
Just because you think your mature?
Mature and ready to take on a huge responsibility
To commit an act meant for fertility?
And what’ll happen when the intimacies gone?
And you feel like they’re ready to be withdrawn.
Celibacy ensures you of who is true
And that the love can always be renewed.
Chastity includes working together for cooperation,
And someone who gives you the right motivation.
Feeling loved and the need to feel adored,
Shouldn’t compromise your relationship with the Lord.
God gave us this body that works without mind,
Let self-respect prevail and find another way to unwind.
He made our intelligence so far and beyond,
So, let’s not limit ourselves to a mate with no bond.
Play a game, Word Search if you may,
Anything that won’t lead you astray.
Preserving oneself is a major goal,
It promotes upliftment for the body and soul.
Cleansing your psyche for the greater hype,
In the name of chastity, no tears you shall wipe.
We’re all accountable for the things we do,
The things that we don’t we’re accountable too.
To yourself you can be true,
Chastity should be about you, you, and you.
Trisha Mae Fernandez
Everybody knows the word “LOVE”
Others would say: for you, everything I can do,
I can climb the mountain top as you make my heartbeat
pound,
Like butterflies in my stomach fluttering,
You’re the cause of my euphoria and used to bring me an insomnia.
But who knows the true meaning of Love?
Others say Love symbolizes lust
and Lust symbolizes love but Love
doesn’t always happen from love,
and Lust won’t forever last.
However, we should know the right virtue that applies to
sexuality.
A sign of true love without giving up your body as early.
Through chastity, refers to the capacity to have reverence
for the gift of sexuality.
This involves being morally clean in thoughts, words, and
actions.
While sexual intimacy is ordained of God for love
expression and children’s creation
It consists of Faith, Responsibility, Joy, Femininity, and
Masculinity
The question is,
How love and lust differ from each other?
Love gives while
Lust takes.
Love is unconditional while
Lust is conditional.
Love brings relaxation while
Lust brings tension.
Love is a decision while
Lust is like an infatuation.
Love brings sacrifice while
Lust brings violence.
Love surrender while
Lust craves for desire.
Love sets you free while
Lust imprisons you, an interdictory.
Love discusses feeling in reality while
Lust discusses feelings in a fantasy.
Love is like a drug, no rehab can fix it,
It will take a whole lot of medication before we’re able to
move on.
It’s not a sin at all to fall in love but,
Make sure your action is a reflection of love.
Thus, Chastity is necessary. It signifies spiritual energy
capable of defending love from perils of aggressiveness
and self-greedy.
It includes apprenticeship in self-mastery.
Which is a training in human liberty and witness God’s
fidelity because chastity is a joyous affirmation to free
from slavery.
So man and a woman needs a continuous illumination of
Holy Spirit,
To live chastely and increase human’s dignity enables
them to love unselfishly.
How does chastity benefit us?
Well first of all it decreased chances of psychological
damage from expressing intimacy without commitment,
second, free from STD, HIV, and AIDS third, avoid early
pregnancy and miscarriage.
Chastity is an ultimate perfection of human spirit as true
love came from Jesus Christ
As written in the bible:
For God so loved the World, he gave his only begotten son
that whosoever believeth in him shall not perish but have
an eternal life.
Hence, Parents should teach chastity,
Thereby creating framework of educating young
adolescent for self-realization and implies temperance,
prudence, and fortitude formation.
If parents will not teach children about chastity
They’re failing in their first duty likewise,
They will be guilty as they tolerate their children to grow
up with immorality.
To avoid lust, have a strong connection with God to resist.
Don’t let your physical pleasure and sexual gratification be
the centre of your relationship.
Try meditation to develop an inner peace,
And feel an ease.
Think about twice and wisely,
“As we shouldn’t rush, don’t let your dignity, reputation,
and image turn into an ash”.
I am not holy
Totally devoted
Yet I strive to be.
For His blessing
For Him to one day bless this covenant of man
and wife I pray,
I do not doom this before it has begun.
God’s sealing of our love
A promise to keep, a love overlooking lust and
seeing the soul.
The soul.
The struggles of the fleshto feed the soul.
Feeding our souls. Denying our flesh.
Purity is beyond me, beyond,
My flesh. A gift from a heavenly God.
A battle I fight daily
A battle I cannot win without His grace.
The peace that flows within my soul
And self control, beyond me.
This is all beyond me. I cannot see it but I know it
I know that there is a purpose
I refuse to accept and settle, if he loved me…
He would wait
I wait on love and it sounds naive to those who
understand not,
but I know that what I don’t
Know, plays a role in my peace.
My inner peace. Chastity
More than waiting, beyond sex, beyond flesh and
lust but bonds through our Spirit and
Souls come one. Our souls will be one but not
now.
For now we wait
until the time comes we wait on matrimony.
No need to rush, no need to force what I do not
want
What I do not NEED.
To wait, is to love both you and I
As we wait
We love.
Because love is patient
Patience, a fruit of the Spirit
GOD’S SPIRIT
A power higher than your and my worldly
desires.
A Spirit that leads and guides and shows things
beyond carnal eyes and minds.
Patience .
So before we indulge in ourselves we must give
this up as a love offering to Him,
who has given it as a gift to us.
A sacrifice for peace and a covenant so holy.
Holy.
Holy is perfect in man’s eyes but totally devoted
in God’s.
Selfless
One step, two step, three step stray
Straying away from the plan
Need to get my mind back in and
Focus
Focus on the truth behind the message and the
strength in consciousness.
Aware of my gift a pure Lilly
Careful to not paint in red ink
Defiling the temple
Because once it is lost, it cannot be restored.
But merry, mercy overlooking the past and
towards the future.
Further than we can see cleansing with clean
blood.
Hope, there is hope in change because of true
love. God’s true love
To wait, to love
-Sabry Stewart/17
2021
Jimesha Miguel
Love or Lust?
A conversation with no words leaving our lips.
A feeling of warmth arose from my feet to my head,
standing there still and sturdy as planted bricks.
The moment you smiled, I blushed,
slowly looking back down on the ground
glancing and thinking “who are you?”, “oh my!” and “wow!”
Risking seeing you only once was not an option.
So, we are keeping into contact now.
Holding on to this connection, we share.
The tendencies that drove our minds wrong.
The wonders of you I admire.
That makes me feel as if I’m on cloud nine,
but I won’t continue to be a liar,
because you are not thine
there is someone else who has my heart
but on the other hand, you have my mind.
Someone I truly adore.
The person who seeped my shine.
I can’t help who my heart yearns for.
At least y’all are both mine.
Have I told you, of the happiness you bring?
But oh my! that person and I!
We went through sun and rain
our souls are combined.
But us, our minds are entwined.
And I’m unable to do anything about it,
because this is how I am designed.
Experiencing with you and sharing with the other.
Persistence in grace and delicate as a flower
loving, and being carried away by the lustful power.
A power invested in myself
A power that is underestimated.
Taking my time with slow and steady contemplating
Which one should I choose to have,
this situation that I created.
I know some time I will have to pick one
With hopes that y’all will adjust.
But for now,
still can’t decide between Love Or you, my Lust.