God has given to every person a conscience. All are called to the serious formation of the conscience.  All are called to learn the difference between “right and wrong”. All are called to avoid evil and pursue the path of goodness. Eternal consequences follow the actions made upon the following of one’s conscience.

Many have a poorly formed conscience.  Pope Pius XII  expressed it bluntly,  “The sin of the century is the loss of the sense of sin.”  Indeed this statement of the late Holy Father indicates a loss of the formation of the conscience.  When one loses the sense of God in one’s life, he then logically loses the sense sin and consequently the loss of conscience— of knowing the difference between good and evil.

The obvious consequence of this moral atmosphere is “Situation Ethics”,  “The Dictatorship of Moral relativism”  (Pope Benedict XVI), or  “Cafeteria Catholicism”— meaning, you choose what is right and wrong, what appeals to your moral taste buds and savor it; just dig in! This prevailing moral climate necessarily will lead to confusion, chaos, and war— each one ruthlessly defending his own moral territory!

What  is conscience, a definition?  The concise and clear-minded Jesuit theologian Father John Hardon in his Pocket Catholic Dictionary  defines conscience for us in these words:
” CONSCIENCE.  The judgment of the practical intellect deciding, from general principles of faith and reason, the goodness or badness of a way of acting that a person now faces. It is an operation of the intellect and not of the feelings or even of the will. An action is right or wrong because of objective principles to which the mind must subscribe, not because a person subjectively feels that way or because his will wants that way…..Always the role of conscience is to decide subjectively on the ethical propriety of a specific action, here and now, for this person, in these circumstances. But always, too, the decision is a mental conclusion derived from objective norms that conscience does not determine on its own, receiving it as given by the Author of nature and divine grace.”  (Pocket Catholic Dictionary,  Fr. John Hardon, S.J. page 89)

This being said, there are many who have a deformed, mal-formed,  callous or even deadened conscience.  What are the various forms of conscience we might have, or run into today. We will give a list and see where you might fall and then make the decision , for the good of your own salvation that of your family ,the church , and the whole world, to form your conscience correctly, in the light of reason, guided by faith under the supervision of the Holy Father and Magisterium of the Church!

1.  ERRONEOUS CONSCIENCE.  Means a conscience that is darkened due to errors. “Erroneous” means a conscience plagued with “Errors”. Examples have no end, but here is one!  Sujectivism!  “I go to Holy Mass when I feel like it!” Error!  Attendance at Mass is obligatory binding, and missing without reason is a Mortal sin!

2. LAX CONSCIENCE.   A conscience that has become so dulled to moral truth and the working of the Holy Spirit that it is only aware of the most egregious sins that he commits! Example: Person who goes to confession after 25 years and cannot confess anything and says point blank: “I have not killed nor robbed that bank; I am a good guy!”   The Italians put it this way, “No faccio mal a nessuno!!!” (I have done no evil to anybody!)

3 SUPPRESSED CONSCIENCE.   The person has purposely held back or blocked out the willingness to know the truth. Example: Book of Daniel, when the two elders purposely fail to look to heaven (blocking God out) and pursue their lusts as they try to force the chaste Susanna into committing adultery.  Due to lust, these elders had “Suppressed” their consciences! Frequently, by becoming slaves to passion and lust, the net result is the suppression of the conscience!

4. DOUBTFUL CONSCIENCE.  Moral theology maintains this sacred principle: “Never act on a doubtful conscience!” The reason: one is risking offending God by sin!   Remedy and solution: consult a confessor, or spiritual director, or orthodox text on moral theology to clarify the doubt! Search for the “Truth” in the proper place and you will find it!

5. SEARED/CAUTERIZED CONSCIENCE.   A conscience that has been”Burned”, greatly defaced, seriously damaged to the point of almost being dead to the promptings of the Holy Spirit.

6. HARDENED CONSCIENCE.    We are either drawing closer to God or drifting away. Remember the words of the poet:  “The sun beat down on two different surfaces:  wax and mud; the latter hardened, the former, softened. Either we are wax and becoming more docile to God’s inspirations and grace or we are mud, becoming more hardened to God’s  grace! Example:  A couple living in “Free union”  (Cohabitation). They have been invited to Sacramental marriage, gently rebuked by relatives and friends, have heard exhortations in homilies and even retreats, but have hardened their hearts.   “If today you hear his voice, harden not yours hearts as in Meribah and Massah in the desert…” (Psalm 95)

7.  DEAD CONSCIENCE.  God respects human freedom.  Pope John Paul II calls mortal sin, “Moral suicide”. One can decide to kill the voice of conscience. I remember hearing of a case of a woman who had 28 abortions! At first, her conscience– most likely— rebuked her (“Sting of conscience”), but gradually she suppressed, cauterized, and eventually killed her conscience!

8. SCRUPULOUS CONSCIENCE.   Father John Hardon S.J., once again, defines this conscience for us.   SCRUPLE.  Unreasonable doubt about the morality of an act done or to be done.  Its basis is an erroneous conscience combined with a lack of control of the emotion of fear. (Catholic Dictionary, Father John Hardon page 399).   It can be a sick conscience that exaggerates the small to wide proportions and at the same time can be blind to what is truly serious. Saints have passed through this stage: St. Ignatius, St. Maximillian Kolbe, and even St. Therese of Lisieux, for a short time.  Remedy: strict obedience to one’s confessor!

9.  HEALTHY CONSCIENCE.    A conscience that has had a proper formation in truth and responds correctly to human acts.   A healthy conscience, when he has done something wrong experiences pangs, biting(St. Ignatius), remorse/sadness. This is healthy!  However, if he does good, he experiences joy, happiness and peace and a sense of wholeness and satisfaction!  One of the greatest blessings in the world is to experience the peace of a well-formed conscience that is resting in the knowledge of doing God’s will! Whereas,  a tortured conscience sullied by evil and sin is “Hell on earth!”   Lady Macbeth had to wash her hands over and over, striving to wash away the guilt of murderous blood on her conscience!

10. DELICATE CONSCIENCE.   The conscience of the saints!  Not only has this person formed a healthy conscience; even more a “delicate” conscience!  This means that slight sins, lack of response to grace, imperfections, lack of total generosity towards God  (Magnanimity) results in the pricking/ gentle rebuke of the conscience! Welcome to the “Hall of the saints!” Saints, not only fight fiercely against all forms of sins in their lives, but they labor, with the help of God’s grace, to be docile and constantly open to God’s gentle but constant and insistent inspirations. Our model is the Blessed Virgin Mary and her total openness to grace and the working of the Holy Spirit in her life.

Conclusion! Let us make a concerted effort to work on forming our consciences, in the light of reason, faith, the Holy Father and the teaching of the Magisterium of the Church.  Finally, parents, must recognize their moral duty before God to form the conscience of their children! May God assist us in this challenging but exceedingly important  OPUS DEI— work of God!  “Come Holy Spirit come, through the intercession of Mary most holy.”

The saddest day in the history of the United States of America was January 22, 1973,  On that day the Supreme Court legalized abortion, the killing of innocent babies, from the earliest stage of development until the latest. Murder came legal!  Murder of the most innocent and defenseless! Since then close to 53 million babies have been murdered by a surgical procedure, not to mention the chemical abortions, the number skyrockets!

Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta, an ardent defender of the unborn, stated that if we do not defend the most defenseless, then we should not be surprised, that across the board, human life in general will be respected less.  Gang activity and murder, world wars, euthanasia— the  brutal attack against the aged and the sick— are mere consequences of not respecting life from its earliest stages. Therefore, we must be the voice of the unborn child, the voice that cannot be heard, must be heard through our voices and our lives!   Action items…

1. STUDY!  Click into Priestsforlife.org!  An excellent website on PROLIFE!  Biblical passages, pro-life material in general, political candidates and voting,  photo galleries showing babies aborted from the first term up to 9 months, personal testimonials, and much more can be found on this  excellent website!  Click on!

2. PARENTS AND TEEN CHASTITY.  Parents must make a concerted effort to teach their children the importance of the virtue of purity. Likewise parents should dissuade their children from pursuing an premature courtship which often leads to premarital relations, unwanted pregnancy and abortions!  Parents as teachers, do your job!

3. PARISH CHASTITY RINGS!  In dealing with young in confirmation programs, it is a wonderful  idea and project to offer the young a chastity retreat which concludes with a Mass of consecration— preferably on a Marian Feast like the Immaculate Conception–  and give them a ring in which they promise virginity and life-time chastity. The retreat, Mass of consecration and ring can all be powerful reminders to the young of their dignity and that their bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit.

4. VOTING!  Christians should have  a moral-conscience in voting. Remember the key topics and the “Non-negotiables”— the topics that are always intrinsically evil!  Abortion, euthanasia, homosexuality, contraception, embryonic experimentation. These are all key moral topics and should be the first criteria on which to cast your vote!  Vote for life, the unborn child and for the salvation of the family!

5. PRO-LIFE WALK!   Find out where is the closest abortion-clinic in your neighborhood or city. Then organize a group of “Pro-lifers” to peacefully pray in front of it, especially the Rosary! Babies can be saved by your prayerful, holy, life-giving presence!

6.  JAN 22.   The American Bishops have proclaimed this as a day of penance and fasting in reparation for the many abortions .  Pope John Paul II spoke about “Institutionalized sin”. Sin has its very roots in governments and institutions. To eradicate this much prayer and penance is required.  Jesus said that some devils can be cast our only through prayer and fasting. That was how Jesus conquered the devil in the desert, by 40 days of prayer and fasting!

7. SPEAK OUT!   You should be the voice of the unborn child. He cannot speak and defend himself; so, you must be his voice. Often, I make it a habit that when a pregnant woman announces to me her pregnancy I respond immediately with:  “Praise the Lord!” What an incredible blessing!  That child will have a special mission on earth! My prayers and blessings!  Who knows? Maybe she spoke to three persons before me that were indifferent to the child or even encouraging her to have the abortion and because of my intervention the tide could be turned and she could choose life  over death. Therefore, speak up and be the voice of the child who has no voice of his own to be heard!

8. ULTRASOUND!    With pregnant and confused women expose them to the ULTRASOUND. Take them where one can be found; pay for it, and let them see that little baby within, the little one opening his mouth, yawning, sucking his thumb and smiling— all of these can be powerful messages for the mother to love the child, give birth to the child and give thanks to God for the child!

9 MERCY. If you meet a woman who has had an abortion( or more than one) always be merciful! Encourage her to return to God. Speak to her about God’s greatest attribute: HIS DIVINE MERCY.  Jesus said to St. Faustina that the greatest sinners can be the greatest saints if they  simply trust in His mercy. Encourage her to beg for God’s mercy, go to confession, beg mercy and forgiveness from the child, name the child and allow Jesus the wounded healer to gently and patiently to heal her wounds. Jesus said, “Come to me all….

10. MARY’S YES AND LIFE.  One of the best Biblical passages– if not the best– that promotes human life in the womb is the account of the VISITATION of Mary to her cousin St. Elizabeth (Lk. 1 39-45).  Here we encounter two pregnant women who are rejoicing in the babies within their wombs. However, in the modern American society, they would be obvious “prime targets” for abortion. The reason!  One would be considered too young; the other, would be considered too old. Mary, was a young virgin; Elizabeth— way beyond the age of  fertility– was already 6 months with child.  What did these two women have in common? Faith in God, trust in Divine Providence, love for human life. Both said “Yes” to life and brought forth  the greatest children born of woman:  St John the Baptist, and  JESUS CHRIST, THE LIFE OF THE WORLD!  Therefore, let us turn to this passage to defend the unborn child and often pray  to repair for abortion and to end abortion, one of the greatest “Pro-Life”prayers, the Hail Mary:  BLESSED ARE YOU AMONG WOMEN AND BLESSED IS THE FRUIT OF YOUR WOMB, JESUS… May Mary’s “yes” be our inspiration to respect life as a precious gift to be loved and respected from the moment of conception until natural death. Amen

Taking a walk one day,  in front of me I saw a huge black bird. As I drew closer, I expected the bird to take flight! He did not!   Thinking that possibly I had a latent, hidden “Franciscan charism”— the ability to captivate birds– to my chagrin I recognized that the bird simply was “land-bound” due to a broken wing!   It dawned on me that one of the principle reasons why so many followers of Christ, never reach the  stunning heights of holiness to which they are called is because they are using one wing, and the other is paralyzed or broken!

The two wings to soar into the height of the spiritual atmosphere that God is calling us to– the heights of holiness– is that many of us pray, but we recoil from any form of penance. In other words, to truly fly high and reach the heights of sanctity, we must unite the two “P”‘s both PRAYER AND PENANCE!     

Fascinating and captivating is the message of Our Lady of Fatima. The message can be boiled down to two basic ideas: PRAYER AND PENANCE!   Mary insisted that we pray and pray and pray and especially the Most Holy Rosary, but also added to prayer must be sacrifice for the conversion of poor sinners, as Our Lady said, many souls are lost because there is nobody to offer prayers and sacrifices for them!

FASTING  obviously is a clear form of penance that  Jesus practiced— 40 days in the desert, He taught by saying that some devils are cast out only through prayer and fasting and the Church continues to teach, strongly insisting upon it especially in Lent. Now, January 22, the American Bishops call for a day of fasting to repair for the Supreme Court decision Roe vs. Wade, legalizing abortion— the killing of innocent babies.  Close to 53 million dead since  Following, instead of listing ways to fast, we will  present motivations for fasting.  Unless we are convinced through motivational principles we will never undertake any worthy enterprise!

1.  IMITATION  OF CHRIST.      If Jesus fasted for 40 days and 40 nights, and He is  The Way, the Truth, and the Life, then we should put forth an effort to imitate Him at least to a small degree.

2. SAINTS.   A student of the lives of the saints quickly observes the willingness of the saints to make huge, costly and frequent sacrifices, especially for the conversion and salvation of sinners. The saints love what God loves— the salvation of souls.  If Jesus sacrificed Himself by shedding His precious Blood  we should be ready and willing to give until it hurts!

3. CONVERSION OF SINNERS.   These were the words and message of Our Lady of Fatima: many souls are lost because nobody is ready and willing to sacrifice for them.  St Therese Lisieux made small but costly sacrifices for the conversion of a hardened sinner, named Pranzini; in the end he was converted but through the sacrifices of St Therese, the Little Flower.

4.  DEMONIC DOMINION.  Jesus states very clearly in the Gospel that some devils can only be cast our by prayer and fasting.  Exorcists must fast before performing the exorcisms. Jesus conquered the devil in the desert by using three (3) weapons: prayer, fasting, and the power of the Word of God!    

5. REPAIR FOR PAST SINS.  Personal sin, family sin, national sin, social sin— all of these demand in justice some form and concrete manner of penance. Fasting/ and other forms of penance can repair the damage as well as placate and appease thee just anger of God.

6. DOMINATE THE FLESH.   Due to Original Sin, we all carry a dual nature within  us: the Adamic nature or fallen nature or what is called the “Flesh”. Also we have the spiritual, renewed, sanctified nature. However, both are at war.  Which of the two will win? If we apply ourselves to serious, assiduous prayer and penance then the spirit will conquer the flesh and peace will ensue.  If not, the flesh will win out and slavery.

7.   SOLIDARITY WITH THE POOR.  Throughout the world, many this very day will die due to hunger– they will starve to death.  At times, to experience an empty stomach and a deprivation of what is necessary, can enhance our love and understanding for  the huge mass of humanity that on a daily basis strive to put enough food on the table to barely subsist! What many Americans will through in the garbage, many — if they had the chance– would retrieve the “thrown away food”, bless it and thank God for such a nourishing meal! Count your blessings!

8.  BEG FOR A FAVOR!  St. Ignatius of Loyola motivates us in still another way. If we are really in need of a special grace adding penance to prayer can win over the heart of God and draw down an abundant  bestowal of gifts! God  recoils from the stingy but is open-handed towards the generous!

9. PREVENT NATURAL DISASTER.   Queen Esther fasted, and by means of this, she was able to save the Jewish people.   After escaping the belly of the big-fish, Jonah proclaimed a fast in Nineveh, which was strictly carried out from man to woman from child to beast of burden. All fasted in sackcloth and ashes. God looked down on this pagan nation and held back from a terrible chastisement. Nations should turn to God in prayer and fasting especially in reparation for the killing of millions of innocent babies through abortion!   “Through the sake of His sorrowful passion, have mercy on us and on the while world! (Chaplet of Divine Mercy).

10.  BODY AS TEMPLE OF THE  HOLY SPIRIT.    Keenly aware of the great dignity of our body as temple of the Holy Spirit, Tabernacle of the Blessed Sacrament after Holy Communion, and destined to be glorified in heaven, bodily discipline serves  as a means to glorify God in the body.

May Our Lady who insisted on penance and sacrifice in Fatima, may Our Lady who spent  nine days and nine nights with the Apostles in the Upper Roompraying and fasting, awaiting the coming of the Holy Spirit, May our Lady whose Immaculate Heart is surrounded by thorns— the sins of humanity– obtain for us a generous spirit of sacrifice. True lovers are ready and willing to suffer for the sake of the Beloved!

St. Paul exhorts us vehemently  to keep the  body pure! “Brothers and sisters: the body is not for immorality, but for the Lord and the Lord is for the body…. Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own.For you have been purchased at a price. Therefore, glory God in your body.” (I Corinthians 6…)  The price that Jesus paid for our salvation was the shedding of His Precious Blood for us on Calvary, Holy Friday!  The price was the Blood of God Himself!

Clearly the Holy Spirit, speaking through the words in the Letter of St Paul to the Corinthians is  challenging  the comunity of Corinth, as well as the whole world, as well as you and me individual to strive with all our effort and the grace of God to live out purity in our lives!

In 1917 Our Lady appeared in Fatima to three shepherd children and spoke several times about the virtue of purity.  She said that most souls are lost due to sins against the virtue of purity; also, that many immodest fashions would enter the world that would gravely offend God.  She also reminded priests to dedicate themselves to their priestly ministers and to live a life of purity and finally she said sadly that many marriages are not good.  Even though she did not mention the reason for the marriage state; however, obviously, one of the principal reasons why marriages and families are in crisis is due to a failure in the virtue of purity!

Therefore, let us launch into a short   PROGRAM FOR PURITY!

1. PRAYER!  Purity, like humility and mercy and forgiveness, are all supernatural virtues. In concrete that means that these cannot be practiced merely on a natural plane; we need grace and a lot of it! Therefore,  we   must become “Beggars”.  St. Augustine affirmed, “We are all beggars before God!  Beg God for a pure heart!  Jesus told us in the Gospel:  “Ask and you will receive; seek and you will find; knock and the door  will be opened…(Mt. 7:7)  Jesus wants to bestow this gift on us more than we actually want it.  It is for your receiving if you beg for it and collaborate with God”s grace!

2. BEAUTY!   We are attracted to beauty! Convince ourselves of this truth: sin is ugly, but virtue is beautiful!   The more holy the soul; the more beauty radiates from it. For that reason Mary most holy is attractive– due to the beauty of grace and holiness!  The Italians have an expression: “Ugly as sin!”

3. CONTROL YOUR EYES!   The eyes are the mirror of the soul.   The senses are the gateways and pathway by which we contact external reality. However, smut, dirt, mud can enter our souls if we abuse our eyes!    Remember the great King David– poet, mystic, warrior, friend, composer of Psalms, musician and even one of the greatest of Kings!  Despite all these natural and supernatural gifts, the Great King fell deep into the mud of sin and  one of the principal reasons was that he did not keep vigilance over his eyes. He saw Bathsheba, lusted after her, committed adultery with her and ends up by killing an innocent  man, the husband of Bathsheba! Keep strict vigilance over your eyes!

4. MORTIFICATION OF THE USE OF THE ELECTRONIC MEDIA! Advances in technology stuns the imagination! Never has there been so many sources of information, but at the same time never has there been so much confusion and at the same time access to images that can  damage, poison, form addictions and eventually ruin the person for time and for all eternity!  The use of television, movies, magazines, but especially the use of the Internet must be strictly controlled— and with teens– supervised!  Computer/Internet control must be supervised and protected.  Having the computer in an open space, utilizing  a filter like “Safeyes.com”, set times of use for the computer, a screen saver with an image of Jesus and Mary, passwords…. All of these are precautionary measures that should be utilized!  More than 200 years ago St. Elizabeth Seton made the prophecy that a “Black-box” would enter the American homes and do irreparable damage!  Was this prophecy the entrance of the t.v. into the home?

5. MODESTY IN DRESS!   We must come to a keen awareness of our innate dignity that we are created in the image and likeness of God. Through the Sacrament of Baptism we have become temples of the Holy Spirit. In  receiving Holy Communion, we are living Tabernacles of the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Finally, St Paul calls us ambassadors of Christ– he who represents the King!  This being said, we must dress at all times according to this sublime dignity that we all possess!   On one occasion a young man, while in church and on the Communion line, tapped a young woman (very immodestly dressed in church) on the shoulder and told her: “You cannot go to receive Holy Communion; the reason is that because of you(your flagrant immodesty) I cannot go to Communion.    Her immodest attire led the young man into serious sin, while in the  Church! Followers of Christ, should be dressed modestly 24/7– always!   We always are ambassadors of Christ– the King of Kings and Lord of Lords!  Any immodest dress in your wardrobe? Get the sharp scissors and cut to shreds! Better this now than the fiery judgment of the Lord!

6. SPEECH!   Control your speech!  Nothing indecent, immodest. impure should issue for your mouth!  Remember the  penetrating words of Jesus:  “Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks.”   On one occasion already as an elderly priest, St John Bosco sadly complained that when he was a boy an elderly man had told a dirty story and after close to 50 years he(St. John Bosco) could not expunge the words from his mind!  Our words can have huge impact and impressions, either for good or for bad!  St. Bonaventure says that we should open our mouths to speak on three occasions:  “To accuse ourselves, to praise God and to edify our neighbor.” May this be our rule for speech!

7.  PENANCE/MORTIFICATION.  Due to Original Sin and concupiscence— a disordered desire for sensual pleasure— the body is like a petulant, capricious, and spoiled child, that always wants more and more— in other words, it likes pampering! To conquer the flesh, the spiritual solder must form the habit of the practice of frequent penance and even fasting!  Jesus said that some devils can be expelled only by prayer and fasting. Jesus taught us by His own example by fasting and praying for 40 days and nights and as such conquering the devil. (Mt 4: Gospel for first Sunday of  Lent).  Either the flesh is conquered by the spirit and their is true liberty of the flesh conquers and their is slavery. Every Sunday the church celebrates a “Mini-Easter!” Every Friday we renew our sentiments of sorrow for Jesus’ suffering on Calvary and we renew sorrow for our sins– that which nailed Jesus to the cross.  Friday is a day of penance, in which we should sacrifice ourselves for Jesus who loved me and gave Himself up for me! Penance fortifies the will against the imperious demands of the flesh and paves the way for a life of purity!

8. FALL? GET UP IMMEDIATELY!   A classic film of the 80’s— CHARIOTS OF FIRE— portrays the hero, Eric Liddle, in the 400 meter race.  Almost from the start another one of the runners nudges him and he collapses!  The loss of a few seconds in such a short race is enormous!  He had to choose?  Remain in the dust and bemoan his fate or rise and pursue the others and win the prize. That is what he decided.  With all the energy in his body, and all the strength in his will, he passed on runner, then the second, and finally the third, broke the tape on won the race by a split-second!  We can all easily fall! However, we must be resilient to rebound, bounce back and ascend higher. Peter fell, but he returned loving the Lord all the more. Love covers a multitude of sins.  A well-prepared, well-expressed confession with true sorrow and a firm purpose of amendment for sin can  lift us higher than before our fall. Our God is merciful, a God of second chances. He forgives us even more than the 70 times 7 if we are truly sorry!

9.  HOLY MASS/HOLY EUCHARIST/HOLY COMMUNION.   Above and beyond any remedy, caution, suggestion to live out the holy virtue of purity is the frequent, fervent, and faith-filled reception of Holy Communion.   The fires of passion can be best extinguished by the reception of the Body and Blood of the Lord Jesus.  The Precious Blood of Jesus mixes with ours, purifying, ennobling, sanctifying, strengthening.   Every Holy Communion results in the transformation of a  “Heart-Transplant”.  The Sacred Heart of Jesus beats in ours and turning the lowly and impure into the  most pure and sublime!

10. MARIAN DEVOTION AND CONSECRATION.   Unanimous are the saints in their love for Mary! Also in their struggles and temptations they have frequent recourse to the most pure and Immaculate Heart of Mary.  An example from ST. FAUSTINA KOWALSKA!  She had been storming heaven for a very special grace:  PERFECT CHASTITY. The day arrived!  Jesus appeared to her in glory! he approached her and wound around her waist a golden sash. The sash symbolized perfect chastity. No longer would Saint Faustina experiences temptations in the mind against chastity nor even the movements in the flesh! God had granted her the gift of perfect chastity! Upon receiving the gift, the saint rejoiced immensely. However, she added that this gift she had been begging for a long time and she was begging this gift through the intercession of Mary.  So, it was through the powerful intercession of Mary, Queen of Virgins, Virgin of Virgins, Virgin most holy that this extraordinary gift was granted to the saint!  In our struggle to conquer lust, impurity, and sensuality in all forms, let us lift up our minds, souls, and hearts to Mary, trusting that she can attain for us extraordinary graces, especially that of purity of mind, eyes, heart, body,  intention and life!

Conclusion.  By acquiring purity of life, we will be able to contemplate the Face of Jesus for all eternity.  Jesus promised us in the Beatitudes:  “Blessed are the pure of heart, they will see God.” (Mt. 5:8) St. John Berchmans S.J. asserted:  “I want to keep my eyes all the more pure in this life so as to contemplate with every greater clarity the beauty of Mary in heaven.”

 

THE WORLD, THE FLESH, AND THE DEVIL!

In our struggle to attain the crown of eternal life, we must overcome
three major obstacles: the world, the flesh and the devil.   The devil
tempts us insistently and insidiously and maliciously; the flesh from
within rebels against the law of the spirit; the world, tries to seduces
us into believing that true happiness can found in this world and all
that it can offer!

Unless we are prayerful, self-controlled and constantly vigilant
(guards on watch) we can fall prey easily to any of these mortal
enemies, become slaves to them and lose  our eternal salvation.    The
constant state of man on earth is “Warfare”.  As the book of Sirach
clearly points out: “If you decide to follow the Lord, prepare yourself
for warfare.”

St. Ignatius, an ex-soldier, who was converted as a result of
the battle of Pamplona, in the Spiritual Exercises, presents us with two
meditations revolving around this theme of “Spiritual Warfare”. The
first, is the “Call of the Temporal King leading us to meditate on the
Call of the Eternal King.”  The purpose is to hear the voice of the
Eternal King and fight the good fight so as to win the whole world to
the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.   The  second is the “Two
Standards”, in which St.  Ignatius warns us that the enemy of our
salvation,  will study you, surround you, and attack at your weakest
point to wound you and drag you away as his prize!

Knowledge of our mortal enemies is half the way to victory.
Ignorance, results in enormous advantages for the enemy.  Therefore, let
us illustrate clearly some of the major traps, deceits, and weapons
that the world can present into seducing us away from the authentic
Truth, Jesus who is our True King!   We will be talking about  THE WORLD,  and its lies!

1. MATERIALISM.    Teaches that true happiness can be found in
material things.  Acquiring , possessing, having, saving, hording, money
$$$$$—- this is what truly produces happiness! Erik From challenges
this false philosophy, with these poignant words:  “If you are what you
have and you lose what you have then who are you?”   Another  concise
but meaty phrase is “Your possessions can end up possessing you!”  Pope
John Paul II, with his usual theological depth  asserted, ” Being is
more important than having… and Doing flows from being!”  Worldliness
tries to convince us that things produce true happiness.  Even the
Beatles rebelled against this in the 60’s with the song:  “Money can’t
buy me love.”

2. HEDONISM.  This is the worldly philosophy of pleasure.  The
more frequent and intense the pleasure, the more this will bring us
happiness.  Worldly maxims spray out at us right and left!  “Enjoy
life!”  You have one life to live, get the most out of it!   Get all
the  GUSTO out of life.  “It is Miller time!”   Also,  “You deserve a
break today!”   Finally,  “Eat, drink, and be merry!”  Just live it up! 
Jesus smashes this philosophy with the Parable of the Rich Fool who
dies suddenly, with grain bins, overflowing, luxurious eating, and money
in reserve. “You fool, Jesus cries out, “Today, you will be dead and
where will it all go?”  Jesus teaches, “If anyone wants to be my
follower, let him renounce himself, take up his cross and follow me.”

3. WORLD AND VANITY!   The word of God teaches that all is
vanity if it is not centered on God!   “Vanity of vanity; all is
vanity!”    In the modern society that focuses on the exterior
especially the “Appearance” the   5 B’s  have become the modern focal point.  Behold the “5 B’s! that are adored!      BEAUTY, BRAWN, BRAINS, & BIG BUCKS $$$$$$$!   
T.V, models, Hollywood,  beer commercials, the modern mode embrace
these  “5”, B’s as their god to be adored!  How easy to be swept into
this philosophy!

4. RELAX!   The world promotes vacation, rest, amusements,
diversions, fun and entertainment. When I was in Argentina a man came up
to me and wanted to flaunt and parade to me — an American– his
knowledge of “American English”!  I invited him to impress me and he
blurted out immediately:  “I know American English:   TAKE IT EASY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!   
Jesus did not agree with this; read and meditate Lk 16 and the Parable
of Lazarus and the Rich man. Because the rich man enjoyed his leisure,
relaxation and his “Take it easy!”lifestyle, he ended up in the fiery
pit of hell! His ease totally blinded him to seeing and helping Jesus in
the poor!  St. Alberto Hurtado put it bluntly:  “There are two places
to rest: the cemetery and heaven!”  When St. Peter Canisius was chided
for working too hard, he defended himself saying that in heaven there
will be a lot of time to rest!  Work now, for the Lord, and rest in
heaven!  These are the saints!

5.  ONLY A WHITE LIE!   All too common today is the habit of
telling white lies!  In Spanish the translation is “mentira piadosa”— a
“pious (holy lie)”.  The 8th Commandment says that a lie is neither
holy nor the color white!  Rather, it is an offense against the truth. 
The purpose of speech is to communicate the truth with love! Lying
frustrates the purpose and end of speech!
A Peanuts strip portrays Lucy talking to Charlie Brown.  Charlie
tells Lucy that it is only a white lie! Lucy rebuts astutely, “Charlie,
I did not know that lies come in colors!  In sum, speech is for the
purpose of communicating the truth!  May this be our rule and standard!

6.   EVEN STEVEN!   A saying often used to justify getting even
with somebody that has hurt you!  Many still live in the Old Testament
and espouse the Law of Talon, which is “Eye for eye and tooth for
tooth!”  The Italians express it with “Dolce Vendetta!”, which means,
“Sweet revenge!”  St Rita, whose husband was murdered, had two sons who
were plotting the revenge and murder of the man who assassinated their
father. St. Rita prayed that their lives would be taken before this
revenge would be perpetrated! It happened!   The saints believe in the
Ignatian principle:  “Death rather than sin!”  (St. Dominc Savio’s
motto). Jesus insists on mercy, Hs greatest attribute. From the cross,
dripping blood and in agony, His merciful Heart bled forth with these
words:” FATHER, FORGIVE THEM FOR THEY KNOW NOT WHAT THEY ARE DOING!” 

7. EVERYONE ELSE IS DOING IT!   Following Jesus is not a
Democracy— the majority rule wins!  On the contrary, to follow Christ
is to be persecuted at times(the last of the 8 Beatitudes). It is to be
counter-cultural and to swim against the current.  Face it!  Are you
going to be a “People-pleaser” or a “God-pleaser”????  Following Jesus
is not always the most popular, but it is the only path that leads to
true peace, joy and eternal life!  Why not choose it!

8. FIVE-FINGER-DISCOUNT!   A modern idiomatic youthful
expression to render innocuous and trivial stealing another’s property!
This can be done with the false pretext: this store has too much anyway
and it will go to waste! If it is food, “It will not go to waste, but it
will go to my waist!” Once again, this does not square with the  7th
commandment: “Thou shalt not steal!” Even though it may be small, God
pays attention to the details. For that reason Jesus said: “He who is
unfaithful in the small, will also be unfaithful in the large!”

9.  BOYS WILL BE BOYS!    What this lethal and toxic expression
means is that   when arriving at a certain age the boy should be exposed
to immorality and be given free reign to indulge in his passions! In
other words,  exposing boys to immodest images and immoral relationships
is totally normal, natural and to be praised!   Due to Freudianism and
Kinsey, the all-too-widespread view is that sexual appetites cannot be
curbed but must be satisfied, If not that individual will grow up with a
warped, stunted and diminished personality.   How wrong, but how
widespread a worldly philosophy this is!  The Church does not believe in
“Birth-control”, but “Self-control”; nor does it believe in “Safe-sex”.
but “Sacred-sex”. The battle is within!  Either grace will conquer and
freedom and peace will reign; or  the flesh will dominate and slavery
will conquer and the flesh will humiliate the spirit!

10. WORLDLINESS AND THE CHURCH.   In the past few decades a
certain worldliness has insidiously entered into the realm of the
church, even into the Sanctuary itself.  Pope Leo XIII asserted that the
smoke of Satan has entered the church! How? Unfortunately, the realm of
silence and mystery has given way to noise, chattering and even
socializing within the context of the church, even in the presence of
the “Real Presence”, Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament!  Jesus stated
vigorously, as He cast the  sellers our of the Temple,  “My Father’s
House shall be a house of prayer and you have turned it into a
marketplace.”  The Apostles remembered,”Zeal for my Father’s house
consumes me.’  (Jn. 2).   The sense of Mystery, the sense of reverence,
the sense of the sacred must be restored to our churches and the worldly
dust must be kept outside or even swept outside. Our God is a  three
times holy God!  (Isaiah).

In conclusion, in our battle for holiness and the salvation of
our mortal soul,  we must name and claim our enemies.  The devil is ever
on the lookout, like a roaring lion, seeking whom he might devour.  
The flesh rebels against the spirit, like a petulant spoiled child.
Finally, the world knocks constantly at the door of our hearts, seeking
entrance. For our part, the door of our hearts should only be open so
that the Good Shepherd of our soul can enter and move about freely and
totally.  “The Lord Jesus is my Shepherd, there is nothing  I shall
lack.” May the Mother of the Good Shepherd constantly watch over us with
her maternal and loving gaze!