Fr. Ed Broom, OMV Oblates of the Virgin Mary

Catholic Ignatian Marian Spirituality

LORD STRENGTHEN MY POOR FAITH!!!!

 

The year of Faith terminates on the Solemnity of Christ the King, Nov.24. 2013!  The year of faith should be a year of graces and blessings for the world at large, but for all of us individually!
Maybe up to this point we have not made a concerted effort to live out to the full the graces available to us this year! Well, all professional athletes no that there are upsets, changes and even shocking results.
A cross-country runner can be behind almost the entire race. However, if he turns it on full gear at the end, and breaks the tape first, the crown of glory is still his!
As athletes of Christ, why not put it on high gear in these last few weeks that God has so generously given to us?  We will suggest five concrete
practices to bolster our faith in this “Year of faith.”        
1.   FERVENT PRAYER.   Father John Hardon S.J. made this observation!  People who lost their FAITH was almost always because they had given up on their prayer life. Starting right now let us make the proposal to pray more and to pray better. Prayer is a matter of life and death.  Hopefully the words of Saint Augustine can encourage you:  “He who prays well lives well; he, who lives well, dies well; he who dies well, all is well!”

2.   STUDY.  Common sense teaches us that nobody can love what he does not know.  How can we love Jesus and His Church, His Bride and Mystical Body, if we are ignorant?  “Porta Fidei”, the Apostolic letter of Pope Benedict XVI, explaining the meaning and how to live out the Year of faith encouraged reading. Specifically he recommended the reading of the Documents of the Second Vatican Council and of primary importance are the Dogmatic Constitutions— Dei Verbum, Sacrosanctum Concilium, Gaudium Spes, and Lumen Gentium. Also, the Catechism of the Catholic Church. Let’s start today and dive in!

3.   EUCHARIST. Pope Paul VI in his pontificate wrote a short but brilliant document entitled “Mysterium Fidei”. It is a brief but clear explanation of the Mystery of Faith which is the Most Holy Eucharist.  Many have never been taught properly what the Eucharist is; others have lost belief in the Eucharist; still others have only the vaguest idea of what Mass and the Eucharist means.   A modern saint, canonized by Pope Paul VI, SAINT CHARBEL MAKLOUF, was a contemplative Maronite monk. In the convent he asked permission of his superior to celebrate the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass at twelve noon. The reason for the noon-day Mass was that he wanted to spend the entire morning preparing for Holy Mass; then the afternoon and evening he wanted to spend in giving thanksgiving to God for his Mass and Holy Communion!   What models of encouragement are the saints!

4.   SHARE YOUR FAITH WITH OTHERS.   The last Popes have insisted constantly on the MISSION! From the moment of Baptism all are called be missionaries.   Blessed Pope John Paul II stated unequivocally that the best modern mission territory is the CITY!   Many cities like Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, Rome, Paris, Buenos Aires, and Manila have millions of inhabitants. Many of these have little faith, a confused faith, or even lost their faith.   The last few words of the book of Jonah summarize the modern big-cities. “These people do not know the difference between their right hand and their left hand.” Father Benedict Groeschel expressed it wryly:  “Many today do not know the difference between a Sacrament and a bicycle pump!”   Learn your faith, but share it with others. The faith we have is not meant to be held to ourselves and hidden under a bushel-basket. Jesus said it clearly:  “Let your light shine before others so that they may glorify your Father who is in heaven.”   The Angelic Doctor, Saint Thomas Aquinas offers us this important idea.  In the giving of material things we become poorer.  For example, if you give twenty dollars away then you are twenty dollars more poor. However, when you share your faith with somebody, then the person you share with is enriched and your faith grows at the same time! Let us learn the meaning of the words of Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta: “Give until it hurts.”   And the words of Saint Paul: “There is more joy in giving than in receiving.” Become an Apostle now—share your faith in the year of faith!

 

5.   TRIALS, TRIBULATIONS AND SUFFERING LEADING TO FAITH.   The letter of Saint James starts off with strong words on another paths God sometimes employs to elicit faith in His beloved children— through the fire of trials and tribulations and suffering.   Let us meditate on the words of the Apostle: “Consider it all joy, my brothers, when you encounter various trials, for you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. And let perseverance be perfect, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.”(James 1:2-3) The best of Teachers is God. He knows human pedagogy. He knows that we tend to laziness, sloth, complacency and the easy life. That being the case, as a loving but firm Father, He must at times kick us and shake us through trials to wake us up from our spiritual lethargy! That is why He sends us various trials of various types and in unexpected times!  If you honestly and with utmost humility look back in retrospect in your life you will most likely notice moments of trial and great pain, but also how God possibly used these painful moments to bring you closer to Him.  Remember the book of Job!  “Naked I came from my mother’s womb and naked I shall return. The Lord gives and the Lord takes away, blessed be the name of the Lord.”(Job 1:21)

 

Our Lady can strengthen our faith!
Finally as the “Year of Faith” draws closer to its conclusion let us turn to Mary. Among the many sublime titles that the Church gives to Mary is “The woman of faith.” May her prayers strengthen our faith in Jesus, the Church, the Eucharist, and our hope for eternal life. Amen
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THE GLORY OF GOD: THE FAITH AND ZEAL OF THE SAINTS!

 

 

Why is it that the saints were able to accomplish so much in relatively short time?  The response: FAITH AND LOVE FOR GOD!    The saints had a limitless faith in the love and in the power of Almighty God. But then they manifested their love for God by apostolic zeal—a thirst for the salvation of souls!
St. Francis Xavier, St. Louis de Montfort, St Francis of Assisi, St Thomas Aquinas, St Charles Borromeo, St John Neumann all had at least to things in common: they are now canonized saints praising God forever in heaven and they all died even before they reached fifty!
The extraordinary missionary feats, the incredible zeal for souls and Mary, the uncompromising evangelical poverty, the zeal for reform in the Church, the love for the Eucharist and Parochial schools— yes, so much was accomplished by one man!
Jesus said that He came to cast fire on the earth and that He is not at peace until that fire be enkindled.   The saints were men and women consumed with a burning fire to promote the honor and glory of God and an insatiable hunger to save souls.
The last words that Saint Ignatius of Loyola said to Saint Francis Xavier as he was sent off to India to be the greatest missionary only after Saint Paul were, “Go set all on fire.”  This, the saint took literally!  At the end of many of his days he could no longer lift up his arm anymore because he had baptized so many souls in that one day! This is fire!
Saint John Bosco had a deep faith and a passion for Jesus and the salvation of souls. It was this great saint that gave his life’s blood for the salvation of the young people of Turin and eventually the world at large.
A young lad felt an irresistible attraction to this saint and entered into his office. On the wall was posted some saying in Latin.  The boy inquired of
Saint John Bosco as to the meaning of the saying.   Bosco translated:  “Give me souls and take all the rest away.”    This was the motor force and motto of Saint John Bosco’s life—to save as many souls as he possibly could, with the help of God’s grace.
St Thomas Aquinas, the greatest theologian in the Catholic Church, teaches that one immortal soul is worth more than the whole created universe.  He also teaches that one soul that prepares himself well, goes to confession, sincerely repenting of his mortal sin and leaves the confessional forgiven, is greater than the creation of the whole universe. For this reason, the understanding of the value of an immortal soul, did the saints extend themselves even beyond the limits of mere natural powers!
Why did Saint John Mary Vianney fast on potatoes, sleep on the floor, scourge his poor body to the shedding of blood, sleep three hours a night, and spend from 10 to 18 hours in the confessional for close to forty long years???? Why?   The response is the same that all saints agree on— the value of the immortal soul and the honor and glory of God.
The saints also are keenly aware of the price of an immortal soul.   The Word of God teaches us that we are not redeemed through the price of gold or silver, nor the blood of lambs or goats. Rather, we have been purified, sanctified and redeemed by the Blood of the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.

 

PADRE PIO.  One of the most famous modern saints is Saint Padre Pio.  A modern saint who died in 1968 and canonized by Blessed Pope John Paul II is one of the most venerated and loved saints in the modern world.
Among the many extraordinary accomplishments of this great man of God was the willing acceptance of the stigmata.
In 1918 while praying in front of a crucifix, Padre Pio received the same mystical grace and gift that his Father Founder Saint Francis received seven hundred years earlier— the gift of the stigmata.
His hands, and feet and side were pierced in imitation of our loving Savior’s crucifixion on Good Friday.  Jesus told Padre Pio that he would carry
these wounds in his body for fifty years and then they would disappear. This prophecy indeed came true.  In 1968 shortly before Padre Pio died, after carrying these wounds of Christ for fifty years, the wounds disappeared!
Why did Padre Pio willingly accept these wounds that entailed so much suffering? Someone once asked him if the wounds hurt him?  With a bit of irony he responded: “These are not decorations!” He suffered these wounds of Christ as a victim soul to repair for the many sins of the world, but also for the conversion and for the salvation of sinners.
For this reason Saint Faustina stated: “Love for God is measured by the willingness to suffer for the loved one and for the salvation of souls. If we love God then we should love what God loves!   In all of God’s creation—read Genesis chapters one and two—the crown of creation is man and
woman! Everything God brought into existence in the natural world He made for man as a stepping stone and ladder to heaven.
Therefore, we should love what God loves— the salvation of souls! One immortal soul is worth more than the whole created universe!
The high point, apex, zenith of the spiritual life is manifested by the saints, but in a special way the martyrs. They imitated Jesus by dying and shedding their blood for love of Jesus.

 

A modern saint who died during the “Cristero” revolt in Mexico is Blessed Jose Luis Sanchez del Rios. The anti-Catholic government tried to force this mere teenager to renounce Christ the King. With a courage and energy that came from the Holy Spirit the mere boy cried out “Viva Cristo Rey!”   “Long live Christ the King!” He was tortured by knives slicing his feet, brutally bludgeoned with sticks, machetes and knives, but still he proclaimed loud and strong “Viva Cristo Rey!”  Finally he was shot in the head.  The boy-saints’ last gesture was to make the sign of the cross in the ground with his own blood!
The saints, the saints, the saints!  How glorious, magnificent, noble, heroic, courageous, faithful to their last breath. May God inspire you to become a great saint to proclaim the glory of God and to win a multitude of immortal souls to glorify the Blessed Trinity for all eternity!
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PEACE— A FIVE-LETTER ACRONYM FOR P.E.A.C.E.

 
Our Lady of Fatima insisted that we pray for peace.   The famous Rosary priest, Father Patrick Peyton, coined immortal one-liners.  Most of us have heard and even repeated:  “The family that prays together stays together.” So true! Families let us start today!  Set a time a place and be faithful!
Another less known one-liner of Father Patrick Peyton, but all so pertinent today, is: “A world at prayer is a world at peace.”  Our Lady of Fatima
warned us that if people kept sinning, a worse war would break out.  Of course it happened about two decades after World War I; Hitler marched into Poland and the Second and worse world war was underway.
The proliferation of sin, violence, hatred, and wars are all too clear signs that prayer is absent. Prayer communicates the “Gift of Gifts” (The Holy Spirit). One of the fruits of the Holy Spirit is peace.
St. Augustine offers us an excellent definition for peace: “Peace is the tranquility of order.”  Related to this concise and to the point definition are the words of St. Ignatius telling us the purpose of the Spiritual Exercises:  “To order the disordered in one’s life and to seek God’s will.”
 
Venerable Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen, known for his depth in spirituality as well as his eloquence, explains the origin and genesis of World Wars.  Sheen says that when wars are raging in individual hearts due to sin, they spill over into families, and families into cities, and cities into countries, and countries into continents and boom, the bomb explodes! In sum, deep prayer in individual hearts eliminates sin and brings forth peace.
After these introductory remarks on peace, let us offer the acronym for the word P.E.A.C.E.
Every one of the individual letters will express a concrete idea and practice that we will be challenged to live so that all of us can contribute to inner peace, peace in our homes, peace in our communities, peace in our country, and finally for world peace.   May we all strive to live out the famous prayer attributed to Saint Francis of Assisi: “Lord, make me a channel of your peace.”

 

Jesus praying fervently in the Garden of Olives
 
P-RAYER…  Pope Francis exhorted the whole world to pray for world peace on Saturday, September 7.   With prayer he invited us to practice fasting.  Jesus constantly prayed, taught the importance of prayer and died praying to His Heavenly Father. Jesus also said that some devils can be expelled only by prayer and fasting. To soar in the spiritual life, like an eagle, we need two wings: the wing of prayer and the wing of penance!

E-UCHARIST….   If at all possible make it a habit to receive the most Holy Eucharist as often as possible with deep faith and the fiery passion of love. Among the many intentions in your heart should be that of attaining world peace.  If we only knew the power of Holy Mass and fervent Holy Communions the churches would be packed to overflowing every day!

A-DORATION….  Either before or after the celebration of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass spend time with the Eucharistic Lord. Praise Jesus, thank Him, beg pardon for the many sins of the world and
finally beg the “Prince of Peace” to attain for the hearts of men and women of good will a desire for peace.  May the world strive to live out Jesus’ last and greatest commandment:  “Love one another as I have loved you.”  Our Sacramental life should be supplemented by personal prayer and spending time before the “Lord of Lord’s and King of Kings.

C-HARITY… Our prayer, our reception of the Eucharist, our time spent in adoration should transform us— like Saint Francis Xavier, Saint Peter Claver, and Saint Peter Chanel—to be fiery and passionate missionaries of His love and peace.  Our Lady, Queen of Peace, is also our example for this in the two first Mysteries of the Most Holy Rosary—the Annunciation and the Visitation.  In the Annunciation, Our Lady was rapt and deeply absorbed in prayer. Immediately following the Annunciation Mary is moved by the Holy Spirit to serve in charity her cousin Saint Elizabeth.   The normal greeting among Jewish people is the word “Shalom”—meaning, “Peace be with you.”   Authentic charity produces harmony and peace.
E-MMANUEL….    This Hebrew word used by the Prophet Isaiah and repeated in the antiphons of Advent means “God with us”.  Saint Paul reiterates this idea, saying:  “If God is with us who can be against us?”  We should be keenly aware of the all-abiding presence of God within us starting from Baptism and living in the state of sanctifying grace. Blessed Pope John Paul II constantly taught of the innate dignity of the human person, created in the image and likeness of God and elevated to divine-sonship through Baptism.  If all were aware of God’s presence, if all were aware of the “Emmanuel” God with us and within us, if all were aware of the dignity and destiny of one’s neighbor, then wars would not explode into realities!
Conclusion.  In the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass the “Sign of Peace” is introduced by the priest with these words:  “Lord Jesus Christ, who said to
your Apostles: Peace I leave you, my peace I give to you. Look not on our sins, but on the faith of the church, and graciously grant her peace and unity in accordance with your will, Who live and reign forever and ever.”  Then the priest addressing the people says, “Peace be with you….” “Let us offer each other the sign of peace.”
 
These words come shortly before the Rite of Holy Communion.  Jesus, “the Prince of Peace”, who greeted His friends with the typical Jewish greeting “Shalom” invites all of us to leave aside grudges, past hurts, and resentments and to be at peace with God, to be at peace in our own hearts and to be a peace with all of our brothers and sisters in the world family. 
May Our Lady, Queen of Peace, attain for us the precious gift of World Peace. Amen! 

 

Our Lady is the Queen of peace
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HUMILITY OF HEART AND LIFE.

 

St. Bernard was once asked what virtue he would suggest to practice. The saint responded: “humility, and humility, and once again humility.”  In
heaven God is surrounded by His friends, the saints. In hell, the damned live in company with Satan and the devils.  All of the saints are humble. The devil and the damned are proud.  To make a long story short: we should all long to practice virtue, but in a very special way the virtue of HUMILITY!  Following is a short essay on ten concrete ways that all of us can strive to attain and to practice the all-important virtue of humility.
TEN WAYS THAT WE CAN GROW IN THIS IMPORTANT VIRTUE…..
1.   Beg for the grace to grow in humility. Be a beggar and implore the Lord for humility!

2.   DEFINITION:  “Humility is a quality by which a person considering his own defects has a lowly opinion of himself and willingly
submits himself to God and to others for God’s sake.”  St. Bernard defines it: “A virtue by which a man knowing himself as he truly is abases himself.” These definitions coincide with that given by St. Thomas: “The virtue of humility,” he says, “Consists in keeping oneself within one’s bounds, not reaching out to things above one, but submitting to one’s superior.” (Taken from the Catholic Encyclopedia)
3.   Recognize who you are and where you came from. St. Catherine of Siena would say, “God is all and I am nothing.”  Call to mind that once you did not exist and God through His infinite love created you and brought you into existence.
4.   Learn this short but efficacious prayer for humility: “Jesus meek and humble of heart make my heart like unto thine.”

5.   Recognize that the royal path to humility is through humiliations.  God chooses certain humiliations to keep us humble.  The  following
is a list of possible humiliations that  God could allow to visit us:
a.)   Being cut off in traffic and honked at!
b.)   Interrupted and cut off during a conversation.
c.)  Your Birthday or Anniversary is forgotten by a loved one who should have known better!
d.)   A dear friend of yours ignores you; does not take you into account.
e.)  CORRECTION.  Somebody pulls you aside and corrects one of your defects.
f.)   CORRECTION.  In Public, somebody corrects you in front of a group of people!
g.)  Mom works hard giving time, effort and energy to preparing a good family meal and instead of gratitude she receives either indifference or a criticism on her cooking!
h.)  BANQUET/PARTY.   You are invited and given the last place in the banquet hall near the door or the bathroom.
i.)   WEDDING.   You were not even invited to the wedding by your sister or by your cousin!
j.)   In a Company meeting everybody is mentioned and given a reward for their work and effort, except you.
k.) PROMOTION.  A new worker is given a promotion and raise in salary, and you have not, even though you have been working there for more than ten years!
l.)   SPORTS.  You simply lose the game after all the hard work!
m.) EXAM. Failed it after  hours of study!

6.   HUMILIATIONS can make us “Better of bitter”.   If we do not see them in the light of faith suffering as well as humiliations can be a source of bitterness. However, if seen in the light of faith they can make us better and even more holy people.

7.   MEDITATE UPON THE EXAMPLE OF JESUS: 3 ASPECTS OF HIS LIFE…
a)   INCARNATION.  The Son of God becoming man was indeed an incredible humiliation. God lowered Himself to become a man!

b)   PASSION, SUFFERING, AND DEATH.   Just going through any element of His Passion we contemplate the depths of true humility of the Son of God. Go back and view the movie of the Passion of the Christ by Mel Gibson and you will see.  Especially you might focus on His crowning with thorns.

c)   JESUS’ PRESENCE IN THE MASS AND THE EUCHARIST.   Jesus said that He would be with us always even until the end of the time. 
This is true in His Mystical Body the Church, but in a very special way in the Mass and the Eucharist.  Related to humility, many do not even go to Mass thereby ignoring the King of Kings. Worse yet, there are many Catholics who receive Him who should not receive Him
in Holy Communion thereby committing a sacrilege, eating and drinking to their own condemnation. ( Read I Corinthians 11). By this they are crucifying Jesus over and over again.

8.   THE KEY FOR US TO GROW IN HUMILITY.  Even though this is extremely difficult, when the humiliations come and they indeed will come, then to accept them as a blessing from God.  If when one of these many humiliations comes to visit us we can accept them and unite them to Jesus’ humiliations with resignation and conformity, then these humiliations make us better rather than bitter and we grow in the virtue of humility.   The grace of God is operative but we must be docile and respond to it.

9.   HEAVEN AND HELL.   In hell are only the proud, arrogant, obnoxious and self-sufficient. In Heaven, with Jesus and Mary (true models in
all virtues) are those who were humble. Saints were humble and we are called to imitate the saints especially in this virtue. Saints recognize that all the good they can do comes from God; they also admit the evil is of their own doing.

 

10. MARY.   After Jesus Mary is the greatest model of humility in the world. In two places we see her profound humility. 1) Her “Fiat” or consent to God to be the Mother of God: “Behold I am the handmaid (servant) of the Lord, may it be done to me according to your will.” 2) Her Magnficat, in which she says, “He has looked upon the lowliness (or humility) of his handmaid…. He has cast down the mighty from their thrones and has lifted up the lowly…”   May Our Lady grant us the grace to turn our humiliations into signs of true victory.  “Jesus meek and humble of heart, make my heart like unto thine.
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BATTLE FOR PURITY (PART II)

Saint Augustine, Saint Mary Magdalene, Saint Margaret of Cortona (known as the “second Magdalene”) all had this in common—an addiction to the desires of the flesh and slavery to sexuality.
The slavery was so over-powering in the life of Augustine that he actually prayed as such:  “Lord, grant me the virtue of purity, but not yet!”
It does not take a rocket-scientist or the genius of an Einstein to know that the biggest addiction in the modern world is to some form of sexual aberration. Fornication, masturbation and pornography, adultery leading to divorce, the rampant legalization and practice of homosexuality are becoming so widely pervasive that many are becoming desensitized to what is right and to what is wrong!
WORD OF GOD AND COMMANDMENTS.  Even though modern society promotes a false sense of liberty which is truly licentiousness, the Word of God and the Ten Commandments are still viable and will be until the end of time.
Two of the Ten Commandments refer explicitly to the all-important virtue of purity: the sixth and the ninth.   The sixth is “Thou shalt not commit adultery.”  The ninth is “Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s wife.”
In an earlier blog-article we highlighted five concrete practices to undertake in our combat and struggle to attain the virtue of purity.   We would
like to offer another five for your spiritual strategy and game-plan!
1.   THE MOST HOLY EUCHARIST.   By far the most efficacious means to attain any virtue whatsoever, but especially the virtue of purity, is the frequent, fervent, and faith-filled reception of the greatest of all the Sacraments, the most Holy Eucharist. In all truth the Eucharist is truly and substantially the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. In concrete, when we receive the Eucharist, the Precious and most pure Blood of Jesus circulates and rushes though our veins, arteries and rushes into our very heart. In all truth, every Holy Communion we receive a “Heart-Transplant”. Jesus willingly donates His loving and pure heart to our heart. The Heart-transplant is complete!  Saint John Bosco highly recommended to his young boys to receive the most Holy Eucharist as often as possible, of course with the best of dispositions!  The Eucharist serves to extinguish concupiscence’ and the fiery lustful passions!
2.   HARD WORK—THE WORK ETHIC.  “Idleness is the workshop of the devil.”  If we have nothing to do then the devil will give us plenty to do, and especially in the realm of impurity.   St. Bonaventure commented: “When we are working one devil can go after us; but when we have nothing to do then an army is ready to assault us.”  St. John Bosco mortally feared vacations for his young men. The reason?   Too much free time in those summer months!  The saint actually said that vacations were the harvest-grounds of the devil. In other words, young men and free time and the devil overly active could easily lead to many sins and sins against purity. One hundred and fifty years later Internet Porn raises its ugly head especially with young people, (older people, too) when there is too much free time and liberty!
3.   JOYFUL HEART.   After sin itself, St. Francis de Sales and many saints agree that the worst thing is sadness and depression.  St. Ignatius of Loyola warns us that when the soul is in a state of desolation—feeling sad, depressed, discouraged, low in spiritual energy—then the devil is ready to attack.  Frequently we should beg the Holy Spirit to fill us with joy; that we would radiate a joyful countenance emanating from a joyful heart. Actually God commands us to have a joyful heart and disposition.   Recall the words of St. Paul to the Philippians:  “Rejoice
in the Lord; I say it again: rejoice in the Lord.” (Phil. 4:4)   A joyful heart catapults the devils of impurity into the fiery furnace.

 

4.   SACRAMENT OF CONFESSION.  The Bible reminds us that even the just man falls seven times a day.  If we fall into a sin against the virtue of purity we should never give in to despair, but immediately repent and trust all the more in the mercy of God. According to Blessed Pope John Paul II and Saint Faustina Kowalska, the greatest attribute/virtue in the Sacred Heart of Jesus is His infinite MERCY!  The whole purpose of Jesus’ coming, suffering, dying and rising from the dead was to save the whole world and all of us individually from the reality of sin.  The Sacrament of Confession heals the soul of impurity and infuses in the soul grace to fight the good fight and run the race so as to win the immortal crown of victory.  The devil strives to discourage us to give up. The Holy Spirit encourages us to get up and keep trying, as we see so beautifully displayed in the Parable of the e Prodigal son, or, if you like the Merciful Father.

5.   READING THE WORD OR GOD.    Viewing bad images leave an ugly residue and poisonous effect on the mind. These images cannot always be erased over-night.   We are all the epitome of weakness, but God is omnipotent, all-powerful in all times and all places.   The well-known convert Steve Wood, who has written, spoken and labored strenuously for the family, the sanctification of men and against addiction to pornography insists on the importance of reading, meditating and even memorizing the Word of God. An analogy for you!   What chlorine is for your swimming pool, so is the Bible, the Word of God, for the mind.  As chlorine purifies and kills the bacteria and poison floating in the
pool; likewise the Word of God has a powerful effect to help to surface the bad images left by pornography and burn them out of the mind. St. Paul compares the Word of God to a two-edged sword that separates marrow from bone. It can serve to cut away and eliminate the presence of the bad image!  May Our Lady, the most pure and Immaculate Heart of Mary, come to our assistance to live out the virtue of purity.   “Blessed are the pure of heart; for they will see God.” (Mt. 5:8)
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