Read and Meditate upon I Corinthians 6:15-20

Saint Paul, in his first Letter to the Corinthians, admonishes us vehemently not to use our bodies as instruments of sexual immorality, but rather to respect the dignity that we have that comes from union with Christ.

“Avoid immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the immoral person sins against his own 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, glorify God in your body.” (I Cor. 6:18-20)

To follow Christ the King means to enter into combat. This fierce war must be fought on three different fronts. Against the devil, the father of lies. Against the world that wants to seduce us into believing that true happiness can be found on earth. Finally, there is the fierce battle within our inner self—the battle that is waged between the flesh and the spirit.

Being aware of these three ferocious enemies contributes strongly to our eventual victory. Knowledge of the social milieu, knowledge of the pernicious attacks of the devil, and knowledge of our own human weakness facilitates enormously our ability to fight for the triumph.

In our short treatise today we will address the topic of the flesh—most specifically on how we can attain the indispensable virtue of purity, or if you like, chastity. If we desire one day to contemplate the Face of God in heaven, we must live out this essential Beatitude: “Blessed are the pure of heart; they will see God.” (Mt. 5:8)

Soldiers must have a game-plan or a strategy. As soldiers of Christ, we must establish our own strategy and utilize frequently the spiritual weapons in our armory.

1. PRAYER-POWER.

Some virtues reside within the natural realm of the human person such as diligence, courtesy, punctuality, and the art of communication.   However, there are other virtues that are specifically supernatural virtues. By supernatural is meant that they transcend the capacity of our natural powers to attain. Among these supernatural virtues are humility, mercy and forgiveness, and the virtue of chastity. Saint Augustine states that we are all beggars before the Divine Majesty. A beggar knows he is in dire need of help; so are we in dire need as beggars before God to attain the virtue of chastity. May the words of Jesus motivate us to to ask, to seek, and to knock: “Ask and you will receive; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened.” (Mt. 7:7)  As a beggar, let us knock at God’s Heart and beg for the virtue of purity.

2. DETERMINED DETERMINATION.

The great woman Doctor of the Church, Saint Teresa of Avila, when commenting on prayer asserts that “we must have a determined determination to never give up prayer.” The same should be expressed with respect to attaining virtues, especially the virtue of purity.  God’s all-powerful grace always comes first, but then our correspondence with grace must follow. We must muster up a strong will and determination, motivated by the grace of God, to acquire this essential virtue in the dynamic of our spiritual life. If we live a life in which we are slaves to our lower, sensual passions then it is literally impossible to soar high to the heights of holiness. It is like an eagle that has weights tied to his wings! He is made to fly, but the weights bind him to the earth! We all know persons who are willing to undertake superhuman efforts to attain money, success, sports triumphs, and academic achievements. Should we not make a more determined effort to strive for holiness through acquiring the virtue of purity?

3. PROPER USE OF MODERN SOCIAL MEDIA. 

Perhaps for most of us, one of the greatest challenges before our eyes and person is the reality of the modern social media. The Book of Genesis repeats the goodness of creation. God created and He saw that it was good! Therefore, the evil that surrounds us can never be attributed to God, the Author of all that is good, but rather, to the improper use of creation. Saint Ignatius, in the Spiritual Exercises in Principle and Foundation, challenges us to study the way we approach the reality of creation. We must use creation as a ladder to arrive at Heaven. We must never abuse creation, thereby transforming it into a stumbling block on our pathway to holiness.

In a word, we must have very strict vigilance over our children, teens, as well as ourselves, on the access and use we make of the modern social media. How easy it is through access to the Internet, through T.V., the computer, and especially the phone, to fall into websites, articles, pictures and videos that can taint the virtue of purity in our eyes, and from there in our mind, emotions and heart. Before we know it, with the devil working behind the scenes, we form an addiction, just as powerful as drugs, which will take concerted effort, time and energy to conquer. Many will agree that this is the acid test, where the rubber hits the road, in the struggle to attain purity—that is to say, not becoming a slave to the power of indecent, impure images. Bombarded right and left, and from all directions, we must have constant and very strict vigilance over our eyes and our person. If not, the battle can easily be lost! The devil knows his time is short. Therefore, he works 24/7 to conquer souls to populate his infernal Kingdom.

4. SACRAMENTAL LIFE. 

Indeed, we are all very weak, and in many ways, but especially in the realm of the flesh. Jesus expressed this very clearly: “Stay awake and pray so that you do not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” (Mt. 26:41) However, God is strong. The Psalmist confirms God’s power: “Our help is in the name of the Lord who made heaven and earth.” (Ps. 124:8) God’s life-giving power flows through His Mystical Body, the Church.  The channels through which God’s power and grace flow are the Sacraments. To attain a life of purity, and to sustain chastity and persevere until the end, we must have frequent recourse to two Sacraments: the Sacrament of Confession, and the greatest of all the Sacraments, the most Holy Eucharist. Confession is like going to the Doctor; Communion, to a luxurious Restaurant! The Sacrament of Confession heals our wounds of impurity; we are washed clean by the Blood of the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. Communion, the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Christ, heartens and fortifies our body, mind and soul to attain the difficult virtue of chastity. Received together, you have a spiritual atomic bomb of energy and strength!

5. IMMACULATE HEART OF MARY.

Finally, we arrive at one of the most efficacious means to attain the virtue of purity. It is love and devotion to Mary and consecration to her most pure and holy Immaculate Heart. Recorded in the Diary: Divine Mercy in My Soul by Saint Maria Faustina Kowalska has an encounter that radically transformed her life. Jesus appeared to her and placed a golden sash around her waist, signifying the gift of perpetual chastity. However, it must be noted, the saint stated that she had been begging the Blessed Virgin Mary for this grace, for this virtue, for a long time. It has been confirmed in the lives of many saints that it was through the powerful intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary that they were able to conquer temptations, conquer sin, and attain the virtue of purity. Such can be the case in our lives, too, if we consecrate our body, mind, heart and soul to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Our Lady loves those who love purity, and she loves to shower graces of purity on those who beg for it. Let us beg the most pure and Immaculate Heart of Mary for great purity so that one day, with her, we may contemplate the beauty of the Face of God in Heaven for all eternity.

God can speak to us in many ways. In nature the sun reflects the resplendent glory of God’s face. Meditation on the Bible lifts our mind and heart to God because indeed the Bible is the Word of God. God speaks to us through circumstances, through persons, places and things that He places in our path. In fact, nothing happens by chance. Rather all that has been, is, and will be has been determined in the mind of God in what theologians call DIVINE PROVIDENCE.

Let us return to the glorious splendor and magnificence of nature. Of course, we cannot state that God is actually the beauty of nature. This is the error of the heresy of Pantheism. However, God is the Creator of all the splendor and magnificence and beauty of nature, and the beauty of nature points clearly to the beauty of the Creator behind His creation. In other words, by allowing our eyes to be captivated, mesmerized, enthralled by the majestic splendor of Creation, we can easily be lifted up to God Himself, and consequently burst forth in a hymn, canticle or song of praise.

SAINT FRANCIS OF ASSISI.  Of the many saints present in the firmament of God’s glory in Heaven, Saint Francis of Assisi stands out as one of the most prominent in his love for the utter beauty of creation. Flowing from this inner knowledge of the beauty of creation, Francis wrote one of the first poems in the Italian language—“The Canticle of the Sun.” In this glorious hymn of praise, through nature Francis praises Brother Sun and Sister Moon, and other elements of nature, all emanating from the loving and providential Hand of God, the Creator. 

OUR OWN PERSONAL EXPERIENCE OF GOD AND NATURE.  Let us step back and open our eyes to God’s Book of Creation and ask ourselves what are the elements of God’s creation that seem to touch and move our hearts in the most profound manner? I can help by pointing out, on a personal note, one of my favorites: THE REALITY OF THE SUN!

THE SUN.  The sun is fascinating! It rises and sets every day. The rising points to the key moment in the Life of Jesus, namely, His rising from the dead and hopefully our own rising from the dead to be united with the Risen Lord. Then the sunset points to the close of day and can easily set the stage for a meditation on the closing moments of our life—the stark but serious character of our mortality. One day we will all have to die and render an account to the Lord of the living for what we have done with the time, treasure, and talents He has bestowed upon us.

Again, the sun rising. As an ordained Catholic priest, this ascension calls to mind the greatest act on earth (the Opus Dei), the consecration in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. Once the words of consecration have been pronounced over the bread and wine, and the two elements are elevated, Jesus the “Son of God” and “The Light of the World” becomes present in my hands. This indeed is the greatest miracle! From the rising of the sun to its setting, may there be a perfect offering of praise made to God. (Book of Malachi)

With respect to the physical qualities and its influence on us, the sun radiates most especially two essential qualities: light and heat. These essential physical qualities point to a supernatural quality and even the reality of a PERSON—the Holy Spirit. Of course, the Holy Spirit is God, the Third Person of the Blessed Trinity. In His utter goodness, He radiates in abundance both light and heat.

LIGHT.  By light He illuminates our intellect so that we can perceive God Himself in His handiwork and His Word, as well as in the persons, places, events and circumstances in our lives. But of great importance, pertinent to our reflection today, we can perceive God in the beauty of Creation.

HEAT.  In addition to light, the sun also emits heat. Actually, the sun is like an enormous fire-ball!!! Both enormous and intense! From this many offshoots or sparks can ignite our mystical and poetical mind! Both stark and serious, glorious and triumphant! Let’s go!

FIRE OF ETERNAL LOSS.  Hell does exist and Jesus describes it in terms of the eternal fire. When Our Lady of Fatima appeared to the children on July 13, 1917, she presented Hell as a lake of enormous fire.

FIRE OF PURGATORY.  Once again, contemplating the sun one can come to the reality of Purgatory. If we die in the state of sanctifying grace but still need to be purified of sin, the fire of Purgatory is our lot. Short or long—that depends on how we lived our lives. Dying with much egotism—most likely a longer duration! Saint John of the Cross depicts the human person in terms of a piece of cold, rusty, hard and smelly piece of iron thrown into a blazing fire. The fire burns away the dross until the iron becomes like the fire itself. So the fire of God’s love must burn away our dross and rust so that we can be worthy to enter His Eternal Dwelling Place.

THE FIRE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT.  Still following up on the analogy of fire is the Presence of the Holy Spirit. (Acts 2) Among the many images for the Holy Spirit—dove, wind, cloud, that of FIRE is one of the most prominent. This we witness on Pentecost when the Holy Spirit descended upon the Apostles and the Blessed Virgin Mary in tongues of fire. Jesus also mentioned fire in these words: “I have come to cast fire on the earth and I am not at peace until that fire be enkindled.” (Lk. 12: 49) This fire is both the Holy Spirit, as well as Jesus’ ardent love for the Eternal Father and for the salvation of our immortal souls

THE FIRE EMANATING FROM THE HEARTS OF JESUS AND MARY.  Once again we turn to Jesus and now His Mother Mary related to fire in our image of the sun. Most of the images of the most Sacred Heart of Jesus and Immaculate Heart of Mary depict fire. This intense fire that emanates from their hearts and surrounds them represents love. All too often, it is a love that is neither appreciated, nor accepted. Jesus complained to Saint Margaret Mary Alaqoque manifesting His suffering Sacred Heart: “Behold the Heart that loves so much and receives only coldness, indifference and ingratitude in return.”

THE GARDEN OF GOD’S BEAUTY: THE SUNFLOWER AND IT’S LIFE.  Of all God’s glorious plants in the realm of flowers, the Sunflower has a prominent place, especially pertinent to our topic. The life, sustenance, preservation and very existence of the Sunflower depends upon the terrain, the planting, the cultivation, the moisture and rain, but most especially upon exposure to the sun. If this flower receives only a constant downpour of rain, its head droops almost as if it were weeping, almost as if it were a weeping willow. But when exposed to the light and the heat of the sun, the sunflower blossoms. It is almost as if it were standing on its hind legs and chanting a hymn of praise to God, the Creator of all that is good—but most especially the sun.

An interesting linguistic note. In Spanish the word sunflower is translated as such: GIRASOL—meaning, turn towards the sun. How poetic but true is the Spanish translation. The sunflower really does turn towards the sun.

HUMAN AND SUPERNATURAL SUNFLOWERS. Using a poetic, mystical, and sacramental lens, we can assert that we are all called to be a supernatural sunflower. In this sense, the more we draw close to Jesus, the Son of God, present in the Tabernacle, the Monstrance, and Holy Communion, then the more we will rise, grow, and fortify our whole being.

Then at the conclusion of our earthly life, our whole being will be both translated and transferred to God’s Eternal Garden in Heaven. There we will contemplate the radiant Face of Jesus, the Son of the Eternal Father, for all Eternity. May Our Lady, the Rosa Mystica, help us to attain this most glorious reality!

THE THREE ENEMIES OF OUR SPIRITUAL LIFE.

The classical spiritual writers highlight the three principal enemies to the salvation of our immortal souls: the devil, the flesh, and the world. Ignorance of these three chief enemies can prove catastrophic and disastrous related to our progress in holiness and virtue, and perhaps a real threat jeopardizing our salvation.

WHAT ARE THESE ENEMIES?  Jesus describes the devil as the father of lies, a liar and a murder from the beginning. (cf Jn. 8: 44) The flesh is our fallen human nature that seeks ease, comfort, and pleasure, often over carrying out God’s will in our lives. The world in which we live tries to convince us that true happiness can be found in the things the world offers us over our eternal destiny which is Heaven.

TRUE DEVOTION TO MARY: ST. LOUIS DE MONTFORT.  The classic on consecration to Mary is that of True Devotion to Mary by St. Louis de Montfort. In this rather lengthy process of preparation for consecration to Mary, the saint insists that we spend the length of close to 11 days meditating upon the world and its enticements. Saint Louis invites us to meditate upon the Sermon on the Mount (Mt. Chapters 5 thru 7), and also, various chapters from the classic The Imitation of Christ by Thomas a. Kempis.

The focus and thrust of this article is to present how Jesus Christ, His teachings and doctrine, are not only at odds, but are diametrically opposed to most of the worldly values. The problem is that we live in the world. However, Jesus says that while we live in the world, we should not let ourselves be part of the world.

How easy it is to allow the world and its values to insinuate and seep into our lives. It can be compared to dust slipping into the house, sliding under the door without our even being aware of it. For that reason, dusting and sweeping is a constant chore. So it is in our spiritual lives; we must be constantly dusting and sweeping the dust from our minds, hearts and souls.

WORLDLY VALUES IN CONTRAST TO THE VALUES OF CHRIST AND THE GOSPEL

Perhaps one of the best means to make this marked contrast between the values of the world and the values and ideals of Christ is the meditation at the beginning of the Sermon on the Mount, the Beatitudes. These eight Beatitudes are diametrically opposed to all that the world falsely offers us. Unless we refer our lives to the Gospel and the Beatitudes, we can easily become engulfed in the world, enamored with the world, and live our lives totally dependent on what the world offers us.

THE BEATITUDES OF OUR LORD AND SAVIOR JESUS CHRIST (MT. 5:1-12)

1. “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”
2. “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.”
3. “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.”
4. “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.”
5. “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.”
6. “Blessed are the pure of heart, for they shall see God.”
7. “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.”
8. “Blessed are you when men revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad for your reward is great in heaven, for men persecuted the prophets who were before you.” 

How easy it is for us to be enveloped, absorbed, mesmerized and eventually blinded by the world and worldly values. Then our thought processes, our decisions, and our actions are motivated more by worldly standards, while the standards of Christ and the Gospel are relegated to a second place, or worse yet, are totally obliterated from our thoughts and actions.

THE BEATITUDES: SURE PLAN TO REMEDY A WORLDLY LIFESTYLE.  If we can read, meditate, understand and start to live out the Beatitudes as the rock foundation of our spiritual life, worldliness can be conquered.

Off the bat, if we decide to pattern our lives on the Eight Beatitudes, we will be seen by many as fanatics; we will have to go against the grain; we will have to be counter-cultural; and we will be subject to attacks, at least in the verbal arena.

The saints were those who lived a radically different life by embracing the Beatitudes and living them out. Let us take a saint for every Beatitude and see how these lovers of Christ and the Gospel, going against worldly values, lived out these attitudes of the Heart of Jesus. May the example of the saints inspire us to do great things for God with Christ as our Model. Indeed, Jesus is THE WAY, THE TRUTH, AND THE LIFE.

1. BLESSED ARE THE POOR.  Perhaps the most famous saint outside the Bible is Saint Francis of Assisi. Leaving a life of ease, pleasure, comfort and sensuality, Francis embraced Lady Poverty as his spouse. His father was a merchant who sold expensive and elegant clothes. Francis wore them, danced and sang and lived the party life. Once converted, Francis gave up all he had materially to follow the poor Christ. Contrast the poverty of Francis to the modern materialistic world. Beg for the grace to be detached from the world of having things, and desire instead to possess Christ as the pearl of infinite price. He who has Christ has everything; he who does not have Christ (though he be a multi-billionaire) is really poor and miserable!

2. BLESSED ARE THOSE WHO MOURN.  A saint that we can take who exemplifies this Beatitude of mourning is Saint Monica, the mother of Saint Augustine. Her wayward and spiritually lost son, Augustine, was immersed in the pleasures of the world. In fact, he had an addiction, as many do today, and that was to his sexual appetite. He would pray: “Lord, give me chastity, but not yet.” Monica wept profuse tears, and as predicted by Saint Ambrose, in the classic “The Confessions” written by Augustine, we see how he was converted and became a great saint. In the world, people weep many tears at the loss of money, pleasure, power, and material possessions. This Beatitude teaches us to weep for individuals, perhaps our children and relatives, who have exchanged the love of God for the love of pleasure and sin.

3. BLESSED ARE THE MEEK.  Only once in the Gospels do we have Jesus explaining and describing His Heart: “…learn from me, for I am meek and humble in heart…” (Mt 11: 29) Contrary to what the world thinks, meekness is not weakness, but powerful emotions under control. Let us take as a model for this virtue the great Saint Frances de Sales. By nature, young Frances was irascible, impatient, and prone to anger. He finally dominated these bad inclinations, but it took time. There was an incident in the latter part of his life when he was talking with a friend and a rude man barged into his room and insulted the mother of the saint. Frances allowed the man’s insults and did not respond. Afterwards, he told his friend that he did not want to lose in one minute what took him close to 40 years to acquire—a meek, patient and well-controlled emotional life. Let us learn from the saints. The world attacks and seeks revenge; but “the meek are slow to anger and rich in mercy.” (Psalm 86: 15)

4. BLESSED ARE THOSE WHO HUNGER FOR HOLINESS.  The Venerable Lucia de los Santos, the oldest of the visionaries of Fatima, when she made her first Communion, receiving the Lord Jesus into her heart for the first-time, begged Jesus to make her a great saint. Her two little cousins, Francisco and Jacinta, who died at ages 10 and 9, are already canonized saints. In general, the saints have a great longing—to become the saint that God has called them to be. Leo Bloy stated the following: “The biggest tragedy that could befall any of us is to fail to become the saint that God has called us to be.” In general, the worldly person could care less about becoming a saint, caring more to be exceedingly known, applauded and honored, and have statues made of them even in life.

5. BLESSED ARE THE MERCIFUL. The saints are merciful, having the merciful Heart of Jesus as their model. To exemplify this Beatitude let us take the modern saint Pope Saint John Paul II. He wrote a superb Encyclical, “God Rich in Mercy”, and he lived what he preached. One of the clearest manifestations of his mercy was related to the attack on his life. On May 13, 1981, he was shot and almost died. That same year, on Christmas Eve, the saintly Pope went into the prison cell of the would-be assassin and forgave the attacker. Those immersed in the world have as their motto: “An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth—the law of revenge”. Those who embrace the Beatitude of the merciful are ready to forgive even the gravest of offenses, calling to mind the words of Jesus as he hung on the cross: “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they are doing.” (Lk. 23: 34)

6. BLESSED THE PURE OF HEART.  What a challenging attitude of heart in a world immersed in sensuality, impurity and the modern drug—porn. Let us take as our model the little girl who died at 11 years—Saint Maria Goretti. Rather than give into the sexual passions of Alessandro Serenelli, the little girl preferred to be stabbed to death—14 times in total. She valued her immortal soul and her great love for God over the safety of her body. Now she is a great saint and patron for all, but especially for the young and the teens. So many today are slaves of the world and the sexual pleasures the world has to offer. However, if we want to see God in time and in eternity, we must live out the Beatitude: “Blessed are the pure of heart, for they will see God.”

7. BLESSED ARE THE PEACEMAKERS.  In a world where wars are constantly raging and perhaps will be until the end of time, Jesus preached the importance of trying to be a Peacemaker. Let us take another young saint—Dominic Savio. There was an episode in his life where two teens grew to hate each other. They planned a rock-duel with the intention of hurting the other, even to the point of death. Aware of this, Savio placed himself between these two enemies (risking his own life), lifted on high the cross, and then invited the two who were bent on murder to throw the first stone. Totally embarrassed, they dropped their stones, and at the command of Savio, both shook hands and went off to make their peace by making a good confession. How often the worldly seek fights, quarrels, and attacks over the smallest offense. On the contrary, the peacemakers seek both harmony and peace in social relationships.

8. BLESSED ARE THE PERSECUTED.  There is a clear category of saints who lived out to perfection this Beatitude of being persecuted; this would be the MARTYRS. There are many, and of course Jesus is the King of Martyrs. Perhaps one of the most famous and relatively modern martyrs is the person of Saint Maximilian Kolbe. As a child, he had a vision of the Blessed Virgin Mary offering him the choice of two crowns—a white one and a red one; he chose both. The white crown symbolized purity which he lived his whole life. The red crown, martyrdom. Kolbe offered his life for the salvation of a married man in the concentration camp of Auschwitz. He was left in a bunker to die by dehydration and starvation. After two weeks passed and he still was not dying, the executioner injected him with carbolic acid and then incinerated his body, so that he would be seen no more, as Kolbe had predicted. The world flees from suffering in all forms. The martyrs understand suffering to such a degree that they are willing to die for love of Christ and the salvation of immortal souls.

In conclusion, there are three principal enemies or obstacles to our growth in the spiritual life: the devil, the flesh, and the world. We have presented clear and concise means how to think, decide and act against the worldly values that can so easily blind and enslave us, through meditating on the Eight Beatitudes, and the manner in which the saints lived out these simple but sublime attitudes of the Heart of Christ. Pope Saint John Paul II stated that if we desire to have a window into the Heart of Christ, then we have to meditate upon the Beatitudes.