Fired up to spread the message of the beauty of chastity

By Josh Low

Founded to share the good news of the Theology of the Body (TOB) and the virtue of chastity with everyone, Fire Up Ministries was established in 2017 by husband-and-wife team, Simon and Madeleine Carrington.

Following his seventh visit to the Archdiocese of Hobart to lead a TOB Retreat, Simon Carrington spoke to the Catholic Standard about their ministry and the vision behind it.

“Madeleine and I have both been speaking about chastity and TOB for more than a decade,” he explained.

“We discerned the Lord was calling us to full-time ministry together, and so we founded Fire Up Ministries in 2017.”

Now the parents of three children, Simon said the passion for their ministry first began when they both came to delve deeper into Pope St John Paul II’s teachings.

“We wanted to experience the deepest kind of love possible. We wanted the ache in our hearts for love to be quenched, and we both searched for different ways to satisfy it unsuccessfully. 

“However, we both discovered the meaning of true sexual freedom, and began to live out the virtue of chastity in a way that made us happy and free.

“It was from this lived experience of real joy that led us both to want to share it with as many others as possible,” he said.

“I remember being in my early twenties thinking to myself, ‘If more people knew what I know now, they would not be suffering as much as they are.’

“This thought propelled me to give myself totally to this cause.”

Giving presentations and courses at schools, parishes, retreats and conferences all over Australia, the duo also co-host the Fire Up Podcast and offer coaching sessions – particularly in helping people to break free from pornography.

Their ministry, Simon explained, covers so much more than the do’s and don’ts of sex.

“It is first and foremost a bold, biblical vision of what it means to be a human person. Secondarily to this, it unpacks how we are called to live – as a male or female – in a way that will make us truly happy and free,” he said.

“Our sexuality, when understood correctly, allows us to truly love and be loved.

“However, when we misunderstand or misuse our sexuality, it has the ability to cause the deepest wounds and pain.

“Because of this, we tend to discuss themes such as singleness, relationships, chastity in dating, pornography, marital intimacy, manhood and womanhood, and much more.”

He added that he believes with all his heart that young people need to hear the message of chastity, and from experience, that they actually want to.

“It is such a uniquely difficult time for our teenagers to be growing up in the world.

“The truth is, everyone, is searching for love and meaning, and this is why our young people are struggling so much – they want love, meaning, and happiness but don’t know how to find it. 

“Every time I speak at a school or youth retreat it is always such a blessing to see how this message impacts hearts and minds. It is the answer to their deepest longing,” he said.

Simon said his hope for Fire Up Ministries is that it will only exist for as long as the Lord wants it to for the fulfillment of his purposes for His Church.

“I am not the boss of the ministry, I am the chief servant of Jesus Christ within His ministry. My hope is that I will listen to Him and serve others through this ministry in the way the Lord is calling me to.

“I hope people take away keys that allow them to understand themselves, their bodies and their sexuality in a way that leads them to life-giving love,” he concluded.