Sunday, May 15, 2011

Purity of Body and Mind

I received an anonymous comment from someone who is struggling with issues of purity of body and mind.   I did not think it was appropriate to publish the comment but at the same time I do not want to ignore someone who is clearly struggling and in search of help.

 I am not in a position to offer professional guidance or spiritual direction.  What I can offer are ways I have found that helped me combat attacks on my morality.  First and foremost, you should go to confession weekly and make a thorough and honest confession.  Let the priest know that you are doing your best to overcome these issues.  Realize that you need God's help and call upon your Holy Mother in Heaven to assist you.   A common mistake we make is to think we cannot approach the Blessed Virgin Mary if we are not spotless.  She was the only spotless human being to walk the earth, so why would Jesus have bothered giving her to us as our mother if only the undefiled could approach her?  As Father Corapi likes to say, your mama wears combat boots.  She can handle what you bring her, so long as your bring it to her with true contrition for your sins and the desire to overcome them.

If  you cannot pray the entire chaplet to St. Michael every day, at least pray that through his intercession and that of the Heavenly Choir of Dominations, God may give you the grace necessary to have dominion over your senses and to correct your depraved passions.  I would pray this prayer many times a day, whenever you have a quiet moment.  Follow the plea for intercession with an Our Father and three Hail Marys, the same as if you were praying the entire chaplet.

Pray  the Rosary every day, without fail.  If you can't pray it in one sitting, break up the decades, but don't miss a day.  Don't beat yourself up if you do, but try to make this a permanent habit.

If you use crude language, stop immediately.  Do not refer to anything having to do with the human body, particularly anatomy, in crude slang.  This is a portal that invites depravity.  If you cannot refer to a body part by its appropriate medical name, don't refer to it at all.  When people hear you talk this way, it's an invitation to them to believe you are game for anything.  And understand this - there is never any reason for you to discuss someone else's anatomy.  Do you what you need to do to avoid being in that situation.

If traveling in certain circles leads you to sin, say goodbye to these so-called friends.

Do not look at anything, and I mean anything, that leads you to impure thoughts or impulses.  This might mean not turning on your television set for awhile.  It may mean not frequenting certain places where you encounter men or women dressed in such a way that you are tempted by impure thoughts.  It's impossible for any of us to walk down the street with blinders on, but just because someone has dressed for attention (or hasn't dressed much in order to garner attention) doesn't mean you are obligated to look.

You may not be able to overcome these en masse.  You might need to break things up at first and when you have successfully combated one problem, you can move on to the next.  But again - realize that without God's help, you get nowhere.

My friend, know that I will pray for you as will my faithful readers.

9 comments:

  1. Thank you for posting this. All excellent suggestions. One more - wearing a miraculous medal around one's neck really seems to provide great graces. And I will pray for anyone who is struggling with this.

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  2. This is really good and sound advice! It was written with love and without judgement! I'll keep your friend in my prayers!

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  3. The regular praying of the rosary, in my experience, clears up so much of one's moral dilemmas. Personally, it does this without fuss or noise, you just one day notice that certain temptations/habits are gone. However, as you mention, it must be kept up. I certainly see an immediate lax in life in general if I stop my rosary. it happens so quickly, it is quite alarming, yet also reassures me as to the power of the prayer.

    Thank God for this wonderful grace, we have been given, in this prayer. Disciplining oneself, is our part of the deal. I have found suffering a great encourager for discipline. I tend to learn the hard way, for some reason.......

    I will pray for the person concerned tonight.

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  4. I have to add, as a convert, that
    moral life is a process and it has
    taken me half a decade to stop being
    a living demon and orient myself to
    Christ or any moral life at all.

    I agree with all your suggestions,
    however I have an issue with going
    to confession with the same stuff
    over and over again.

    His Holy Spirit will tell us when.

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  5. Actually, Pete, a person who commits a mortal sin is compelled to get to confession as soon as possible, whether they think the Holy Spirit has prompted them to do so or not. Those who feel otherwise should not present themselves for Holy Communion. In a previous post, I wrote that confession is like chemotherapy for those who struggle with the same sins. One might be tempted not to go figuring they have not yet been "cured" of the sinfulness that has cast them from a state of grace, but they do not know the benefit that comes from frequent reception of the sacrament. The particular person for whom this post was written is struggling greatly. I wouldn't wait for the Holy Spirit to tell me when to leave a burning building. Living in a perpetual state of mortal sin is essentially the same thing from my perspective. It's not a chance I personally would take or advise.

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  6. The best to your friend. It is darn near impossible to keep purity of mind in this day and age, as you mention with TV and movies and even slutty celebrities in the newspapers. You definitely give sound advice.

    Just a question that occurred to me in your reply above. Where do they get the distinction between mortal and venal sins? It's not explicitedly in the bible as far as I know. Intuitively I agree with it; it makes sense. But as far as I know the protestants don't have such a distinction.

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  7. Hi Manny, thanks for commenting. I will give you the off-the-top-of-my-head answer. The Protestants don't have sacramental confession to start with and have an entirely different view of sin and salvation than we Catholics do. They also do not receive the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Christ in Holy Communion. Some sins are offenses against God, but they do not cause us to be separated from Him as the more disordered and grievous ones do. Take a look at what the Baltimore Cathechism has to say about the subject at this link and let me know what you think:

    http://www.ourladyswarriors.org/faith/bc3-06.htm

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  8. Oh I don't really care about the protestants. The point I meant to make with that line was that it's not universally Christian, and so it must not be explicitedly in the bible. I checked that site and I've seen that same catorgorizing of sin. I'm really curious as to how and where the Catholic church derived the split.

    I think I found it. Seems like it's based on a passage from 1 John 5:16-17. Makes sense.

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  9. Tbanks for your perspective,
    I am sorry I was not clear in
    my comments about, " the same
    stuff". I was referring to
    venial sins....yes they do
    build up and I have been to
    Confession 5 times since
    Confirmation.

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Comments which reflect true Christian charity are always welcome. Comments which attack the Pope, the Church, priests or other bloggers will go in the dustbin, especially if they are anonymous. Thank you and God Bless you!