Rosemary Cappozalo is a saint. Literally. She is also one of the unsung heroes of the Culture of Life and Civilization of Love. Affectionately known as Mrs. Rosemary, she ran her dance studio for fifty years, dying from Cancer this past June during her studio’s Fiftieth Annual Recital. Mrs. Rosemary is an icon in these parts, her studio an oasis for parents who want their sons and daughters to study dance without compromising their innocence or dignity. Her three daughters and staff of teachers, all trained by the Master herself, carry on this marvelous tradition of combining the best of traditional dance with modern sounds and rhythms, and all the while celebrating the joyous purity of youth.
Mrs. Rosemary
To quote her website, “The studio’s primary focus is to offer the joy of dancing to all the students regardless of age or ability ~ to build self-esteem, grace and motivate the students every step of the way.”
Accent on grace.
I first attended a Mrs. Rosemary recital back in 1992, and never realized how much she protected her “darlings,” as she called them, until I began attending my nieces recitals at other studios with their trashy costumes and hyper-sexual choreography. Our three darlings, have grown in grace and self-esteem with Mrs. Rosemary’s daughters and staff over the past four years.
Juxtapose that with Planned Parenthood’s deceptive description of sex as “sex play” in a page aimed at teens contemplating “The Truth About Virginity Pledges”.
“Should You Pledge?
Virginity is a personal choice, and there’s nothing wrong with waiting to have vaginal intercourse — or to abstain from sex play completely — until you’re married. But if you’re thinking about pledging, here are some questions you may want to consider:
What are you pledging? Many teens agree that some level of physical involvement is important in an intimate relationship. So find out what the limitations are before you pledge. Is all sex play prohibited? Or only vaginal intercourse?”
Note the evil deception in sex being referred to as mere “play”; losing virginity, a mere “choice”.
Not mentioned are the terrible burdens carried by teens who become sexually active, especially the girls.
The burden of worrying about STD’s as well as 1/4 of all girls actually contracting an STD prior to age 19.
The burden of sequelae from STD’s such as cervical cancer, lifetime herpes infection, PID, ectopic pregnancy, and sterility.
The burden of unplanned pregnancy and abortion.
The burden of the tension between their innate desire for emotional connection and oneness on the one hand, and the ‘need’ to satisfy adolescent boys who only want the fulfillment of the unrealistic sex they’ve seen in porn movies.
The burden of pleasing a boy, of needing to look hot instead of soft and feminine.
The tension between wanting to be a child (complete with pink bedroom and stuffed animals) and the “need” to be sexually sophisticated.
The burden of rejection when the sex gets old and new prospects materialize.
The tragedy of learning to separate the natural experience of bonding effected by sex, from the sex itself, as a means of ego-protection.
Where do they learn to bear themselves with grace and self-esteem in all of that?
And we wonder why body dysmorphic syndrome and depression are epidemic. After all, it’s only ‘sex play’.
We need more adults like Mrs. Rosemary, her daughters and teachers, to call forth the awesome power of true femininity and masculinity in our daughters and sons, to show them how to celebrate their emerging womanhood and manhood with grace and dignity, with purity and nobility, to lead as they do:
By Example.
To those who say it can’t be done, Mrs. Rosemary’s legacy continues to prove otherwise.
Coming Home 
Once again, a beautiful commentary, and a beacon of sanity in a badly trashed world. If Planned Parenthood were really focused on what its name implies, no, explicitly states, it would be avidly encouraging abstinence until marriage, while recognizing that not all will take that advice. Telling young ladies to think twice about pledging to keep their virginity makes it into a sexual promotion agency, rather than a planned parenthood agency. (How many children are born to abstinent women? Oh, once, but since then…) I have a notion that real satisfaction from sexual intimacy REQUIRES a long period of commitment, because no particular night, or hardly any, is really going to be all that good anyway, so appreciating the entire person and the entire day of a partner (or, preferably, spouse) is necessary to give those few moments any real meaning.)
Seriously Gerard, where IS your devoted following when you post essays like this one? I’m not trying to be sarcastic, the silence is a marked contrast to your other posts. Where is everyone?
SJ,
I see your point. A few thoughts.
First, I honestly don’t see myself as having devoted followers. That confuses the man and the message. This blog has independently-minded readers. I try to stay out of the way and leave the reader with the message.
Second, the blog is a way for me to get thoughts, ideas from my head onto ‘paper’. It’s a kind of journal for me. This piece in particular has had a great deal of traffic. I suspect that people are more apt to contemplate some issues, and respond more to others.
Abortion is a lightning Rod and will always draw a big response. If the spiritual meditations offer people some few insights that may aid in their pro-life convictions, then that’s fine too. In the end, I believe people are responding where response is most needed.
God Bless
[…] starts by focussing on the true meaning of purity. I’ve treated this in other posts, notably Purity and Play and in, Of Bridal Veils and Little […]