Oct 6 Tue
Why should I struggle to live in purity?
God has created everything good; it is we human beings who introduce evil.
It was Adam's sin that broke this divine harmony of creation. Since then, human beings are free creatures capable of sin.
We need to be vigilant because the world, the devil, and the flesh are a band of adventurers who, taking advantage of the weakness of that savage you bear within you, want you to hand over to them, in exchange for the glittering tinsel of a pleasure, which is worth nothing, the pure gold and the pearls and the diamonds and rubies drenched in the living and redeeming blood of your God, which are the price and the treasure of your eternity.
We can't let ourselves be deceived by these adventurers, these enemies of our soul who try to entrap us into small concessions in this area, masking them as something harmless or even good. “The enemy almost always works that way with souls who are going to resist him: hypocritically, gently; with motives... of a spiritual nature!... not attracting attention... -And then, when there seems to be no remedy (there is), he comes openly... trying to bring about a Judas-like despair, with no room for repentance."
The virtue of holy purity requires a sensitive response to God's love. When we feel our feet are of clay, we need to appeal to Christ and his Blessed Mother.
Although God's grace will always assist us, we, on our part, have to fight.
“And now I ask you, how are you facing up to this battle? You know very well that a fight kept up from the very beginning is a fight already won. Get away from danger as soon as you notice the first sparks of passion, and even before.
Also, speak about it at once to the person who directs your soul. Better still, talk about it beforehand, if possible, because if you open your heart wide, you will not be defeated. One such act after another leads to the creation of a habit, an inclination, and ends up making things easy. That is why we have to struggle to make this virtue a habit, making mortification a habit so that we do not reject the Love of Loves."
To avoid falls, we need to be alert, not trusting ourselves, nor allowing the fire of the passions to take hold. “Don't be such a coward as to be ' brave '; flee!"
We must flee from occasions of sin, avoid them, even though they may seem tiny and insignificant. If we do not break off in time, it becomes much more difficult later. Half-hearted desires lead only to lukewarmness.
We have to guard our senses and apply the human and supernatural precautions that we have learned to use, without fearing to clash with our environment. And when something bothers us, we need to turn to our Lord in prayer and open our heart in spiritual coaching, knowing that to feel is one thing, to consent another. Thus, we will discover the specific obstacle at the root of every temptation and fall and apply the appropriate remedy.