Jun 2 Mon
Is chastity necessary?
Today's world needs the witness of souls dedicated entirely to the service of Jesus Christ.
By practicing the virtue of purity with loving care, we become the sweet fragrance of Christ, which attracts other souls towards our Lord. “The fragrance of Christ is also that of our clean life, of our chastity, the chastity of each one in their state, I repeat - of our holy purity, which is a joyful affirmation."
On the other hand, without holy purity -purity filled with love- you can't persevere in the apostolate. Doing apostolate means becoming a channel through which the grace of God can flow, and the channel must be kept clean if the water it carries is to stay pure.
Practicing the virtue of holy purity is a matter of love. “Our chastity is a joyful 'yes': a triumph, which gives us a marvelous parenthood, far superior to that of the flesh." Therefore, our first concern should be to keep our hearts full of love: love for God, and love for all souls for love of God. “The heart is made to love. Therefore, if we don't give our heart to God, to our Blessed Lady, our Mother, and all souls..., then it will take revenge by attaching itself to something filthy."
We must guard our heart and purify it constantly, not allowing it any affections that have not passed through the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the most Sweet Heart of Mary.
Ways to live holy purity: “Take very special care of chastity and also of the other virtues which accompany it: modesty and refinement. They are, as it were, the safeguard of chastity. Don't take lightly those norms of conduct which help so much to keep us worthy in the sight of God: keeping a watchful guard over our senses and our heart; ... the courage to be a "coward" - to flee from the occasions of sin; going to the sacraments frequently, particularly the sacrament of Confession; complete sincerity in our own spiritual direction; sorrow, contrition and reparation after our falls. And all this imbued with a tender devotion to our Lady so that she may obtain for us from God the gift of a clean and holy life."
“If, alas, one falls, one must get up at once. With God's help, which will never be lacking if the proper means are used, one must seek to arrive at repentance as quickly as possible, to be humbly sincere, and to make amends so that the momentary failure is transformed into a great victory for Jesus Christ."
“You should also get into the habit of taking the battle to areas that are far removed from the main walls of the fortress. We cannot go about doing balancing acts on the very frontiers of evil. We must reject even the tiniest failure to love God, and we must strive to develop a regular and fruitful Christian apostolate, which will have holy purity both as a necessary foundation and also as one of its most characteristic fruits.”
“We ought as well to fill all our time with intense and responsible work, in which we seek God's presence, because we must never forget that we have been bought at a great price and that we are temples of the Holy Spirit."
“What other advice do I have for you? Develop a close relationship with our Lord in the Eucharist, a childlike recourse to the Blessed Virgin, humility, temperance, mortification of the senses, and penance."
Illustration: Our Lady of the Good Counsel.