It's time for you to go on the offensive for purity and win
the battle against impurity. Build your Invincible Castle of Chastity
with these 6 secrets.There is a brilliant concept called the Invincible
Castle of Chastity.If you look at the picture you will see a castle
complete with towers, a keep, walls and a gate. This is the Castle of
Chastity. In the center is the keep where the sublime virtue of
chastity is guarded. You will note that parts of the castle are
labeled. The walls and gates protect the inhabitants from the attacks
of their enemies. The towers give you the ability to overcome
temptation and also the means to maintain, develop and perfect the
virtue of chastity.
Secret #1: Modesty
If you notice, the outer wall is labeled modesty. Modesty is the
moral virtue that guards and protects chastity. The Bible tells us:
“Let your modesty be known to all men” (Phil. 4:5). Let it be known to
men, not hidden. This virtue is not passive, but active. We should be
boldly modest and openly fight impurity. If we do not act this way, we
will end up making a pact with impurity and impurity will win.
Therefore, we must be more modest than the minimum standard of decency.
Our modesty should shine for all men.
Our very manner should breathe modesty as a constant reminder to
those around us. St. Francis of Assisi said that we should preach at
all times… and when necessary with words. Our pure and respectful
manner of dressing and acting can be a constant sermon to those who look
upon us. Please don't deny people this simple act of apostolate.Sadly,
some modern Catholics misunderstand modesty. They consider it a
restraint imposed by Holy Mother Church to cause us discomfort on hot
days. The more progressive look upon it as old fashioned, stuffy,
prudish, designed to keep women "subjugated." However, modesty is
nothing of the sort. It is rather our most effective protection against
the attacks of the enemy. Think of the walls of our sturdy castle.
Modesty is a strong barrier against the assaults of our enemies who
would like to rob us of our most precious treasure -- our chastity.
Secret #2: The Gate of the Castle -- Your Eyes
Today, people say: “Don't stand out. Just fit in." Granted, the
feeling of being different, of swimming against the current and facing
the world at large can be daunting. But there is nothing wrong with
being a "rock of scandal" after the example of Our Divine Savior (Romans
9:33).
The gate of our mighty fortress is a weak spot. The gate to the soul
is controlled by our eyes. It is said that Eve first looked at the
forbidden fruit and then desired it in her heart. So we first see, then
we desire. Using the metaphor of the castle, our eyes represent the
gate in the wall through which our enemy can make a breach in our soul.
Holy Job said, “I made a covenant with my eyes, that I would not so
much as think upon a virgin” (Job 31:1). The pact was with his eyes to
keep tempting thoughts out. He closed the gates to his enemy and lived
tranquilly inside the walls of his modesty.
St. John Chrysostom notes a curious thing about Job. He was a man of
God and severely persecuted by the Devil for his virtue. Yet, although
Job was able to face the devil head on, as well as his friends and the
rest of the world, he did not have the courage to face the illicit
thought of a girl. Because when the flesh is involved, the only heroic
thing to do is to flee. It is the only situation where true courage
consists in retreating every time.
The prophet David, author of the Penitential Psalms, looked with lust
upon a woman and thus put his soul and that of his entire kingdom at
risk. It would have been so easy for him to look away, but since he did
not, he became an adulterer, and then a murderer, and fell from the
grace of God.
Chastity is the easiest of all the virtues to maintain when we
control our eyes, but it becomes impossible to uphold when we practice
it halfheartedly. Our Lord Jesus Christ, according to Bible scholars,
even though it was impossible for Him to sin, always maintained custody
of the eyes as an example for the rest of mankind. But He went further
when He solemnly proclaimed, “If thy eye scandalize thee, pluck it out,
and cast it from thee. It is better for thee having one eye to enter
into life, than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire” (Matt. 18:9).
Secret #3: The Tower of Humility
The first tower of our castle represents the virtue of humility.
Knowledge of and distrust for oneself is the surest path to resist
temptations of the flesh. We know that pride always comes before the
fall. Therefore, if we practice humility, the virtue that helps us know
and acknowledge the truth, we will be able to discern the subtle tricks
of the devil for what they really are -- lies.
It is well to remember that God never sends us a temptation that is
too great for us to confront. Generally, when we fall, it is not
because we lack strength, but more commonly because we lack proper
vigilance. “Watch ye, and pray that ye enter not into temptation"
(Matthew 26:41) was Our Lord’s admonition to the Apostles. Many people
pray, even pray a lot, but how many people watch as they ought?
Secret #4: The Tower of Mortification
The second tower represents mortification. We must mortify our soul
and body. To mortify our bodies we practice penance, which, done with
proper moderation, is most efficacious in combating concupiscence.
Subjugating the body, bringing it to heel and controlling the
appetites are the primary reasons for penance. Fasting gives us great
moral strength by conquering the insistent urgings of our lower nature
and putting them in their proper place. No pain no gain. Our spiritual
life improves to the degree that we embrace sacrifice. However, it is
not enough to bring our bodies under control, we also have to regulate
our souls. And that is where charity comes in.
"Charity covereth a multitude of sins" (1 Peter 4:8). But can
charity also prevent sins from happening in the first place? Yes. One
way to fight against impurity is by doing active apostolate with
others. Since sins of the flesh are by nature selfish acts, any
unselfish act that we do causes the devil to lose ground. So, when
tempted against chastity, first flee the thought. Then if possible, in
order to harm the devil, search out a way to perform some act of
apostolate. Offer to alleviate the workload of someone who is
overburdened. In short, look for occasions to do good and practice
charity towards others.
All this causes the devil great pain and makes him furious. It goes
without saying that one should absolutely avoid doing “apostolate” with
those who might drag us into sin; flee from those people with your honor
intact. There are many stories about the devil using misguided
“charity” to make people feel sorry for a wolf in sheep's clothing.
Don't fall for it.
Secret #5: The Tower of Confession and Holy Communion
In one of his prophetic dreams, St. John Bosco asked for advice to
combat the sin of impurity. The response he received: use the anvil
and the hammer. Somewhat confused, he asked what it meant. The guide
in the dream replied: the anvil and the hammer represent frequent and
sincere Confession and frequent and devout Communion. These two gifts
are represented by the third tower, a sure path to salvation.
Our Lord made it clear: "He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my
blood, hath everlasting life: and I will raise him up in the last day"
(John 6:55). Now in order to receive the Blessed Sacrament with good
effect, we must have a clean conscience, therefore, we must confess our
sins regularly and with contrition. If the just man, as we are told in
Proverbs, sins seven times a day, what can we poor sinners do who have
so many more sins upon our souls, perhaps grievous ones. It is little
wonder then that we are enjoined to make frequent use of the sacrament
of Confession. Moreover, the effects and graces available to us when we
receive Holy Communion are only limited by our capacity to accept
them. The greater our receptivity is to the grace of God, the greater
is the gift that the Blessed Sacrament becomes.
Secret #6: The Tower of Love of God and Our Lady
The fourth tower is love of God and Our Lady. Prayer is the raising
of the heart and mind to God. Prayer fulfills our primary objective
upon this earth, that of loving God. Well did Our Lord combine these
two admonitions, "watch and pray."
Prayer fortifies the soul against the attacks of the enemy while
watchfulness allows us to foresee insidious traps. If we occupy our
minds with prayer, our hearts and minds become filled with God, leaving
no room for the devil. Included in prayer is spiritual reading,
contemplation of the things of God and devotion to Our Lady. True
mental prayer -- not unstructured daydreaming -- is a raising of one's
thoughts far above the common everyday to the contemplation of the
sublime.
Our Lady, in a special way, embodies the link between the sublime and
chastity. She always kept her thoughts on higher things -- so high in
fact that she was able to form in her mind, inspired by the Holy Ghost,
exactly how Our Divine Savior would be before He was even conceived in
her womb. Is the idealization of the God-Man not something of
transcendent excellence that causes our souls to be overawed by its
magnificence?
Chastity is the angelic virtue that makes men like angels. Through
chastity we see the higher aspects of life, the spiritual aspects.
“Blessed are the pure of heart for they shall see God" (Matt. 5:8).
Theologians and mystics concur that there is a special place in
Heaven close to the throne of God reserved for those who maintain their
chastity intact throughout their lives (Revelation 14:4). But this
ability to see God extends even to those on earth. St. John the Beloved
was able to recognize Our Lord long before every other Apostle after
the Resurrection. It was always he who, full of wonder, exclaimed, “It
is the Lord” (John 21:7).
Moreover, purity gives those who practice it a tranquility of soul
and a stability in life that is a natural corollary of a clean
conscience. Emotions are under control. Movements of soul are balanced
and serene. Nothing perturbs him. God is in control of his life. In
short, he is happy. He is content. Isn't that what we all want in life
-- to be happy?
How does the impure man compare?
The impure are blind. They see not the things of God and eat of the
husks of the swine. They take delight in the swinish pleasure of filth
and immorality. Their days are filled with nervous energy where calm
repose and simple joys have no place. Their nights are either disturbed
by a guilty conscience, or they simply forgo sleep, searching for ever
more excitement and frenzied pleasure. Health and general wellbeing
suffer.
Seeking ever more thrills, impure people frequently engage in
dangerous and unhealthy pursuits. They take drugs, hoping to attain
more inordinate and frenzied levels of excitement. In the end, decay
and corruption result, and finally, seeing no more pleasure on the
horizon the impure one is tempted to take his own life in despair. Not
everyone who is impure will reach this final stage, but doesn't the
trend sound familiar? How many actors, politicians, bankers, wealthy
people, and teenagers have followed this exact trajectory? The devil
would want everyone to follow this path to destruction and eternal
death.
If we are going to fight impurity and attack its root causes we
should expect to be persecuted. But do not be surprised. St. John's
Gospel is clear: “If the world hate thee, know that it hath hated me
before thee. If you had been of the world, the world would love its
own. But because you are not of this world but I have chosen you out of
the world, therefore the world hateth you. If they have persecuted me,
they will also persecute thee” (John 15:18-23). These are the words of
Our Divine Savior to His followers. We are His followers. He does not
promise a bed of roses. He promises anguish, suffering, hatred and the
complete abandonment by the world. And we should never hide the
reality of the Cross from those who want to follow Christ.
In the words of Professor Plinio Correa de Oliveira, “Do you really
think in these times of iniquity that the sacred words of Christ cannot
be applied to us? What kind of misguided charity would dull the word of
God on our lips, turning the regenerating scourge of peoples into an
innocuous weapon whose missing edge expresses timidity rather than
zeal.”
Listen then to these inspired words of St. James: “Adulterers know ye
not that the friendship of this world is the enemy of God? Whosoever
therefore will be the friend of this world becometh the enemy of God"
(James 4:4-5).
Holy Scripture is replete with condemnations of the world, the flesh
and especially the devil. “For our wrestling is not against flesh and
blood but against the principalities and powers, against the rulers of
this world of darkness" (Ephesians 6:10-20).
Our battle is against the devil and his fallen legions, creatures
much more intelligent and powerful than we are. Can we face them?
Alone, not a chance. But with Our Blessed Mother who crushed with her
virginal foot the head of the dragon, we are assured certain victory.
Therefore be of good heart.
Holy chastity, understood and practiced, will undermine the
rottenness of sensuality. In a world where vice and sin are everywhere
the norm, we must, with the help of the most Blessed Mother of God,
resist and overcome. We must stop fighting a defensive battle and
launch a mighty Crusade of ideals, prayer and action against the world,
the flesh and the devil.
The Reign of Christ and His Blessed Mother will not be constructed
upon the rotten foundations of pride and immorality. The angelic virtue
of chastity is key to overthrow our wayward culture. Let us then
subjugate our bodies and fashion our spirits in conformity with the
doctrine and teachings of Holy Mother Church throughout the ages, so
that we may be a strong foundation for the coming Reign of Mary foretold
by the fiery Saint Louis de Montfort. And if we have previously
failed, let us be those prodigal sons, beating our breast and weeping at
the feet of Mary Most Holy for our sins, begging her to restore our
souls to that snow white, pristine condition which we all enjoyed at
Baptism.
The
Blessed Virgin Mary first gave the Rosary to St. Dominic of Guzman in a
vision in 1208, as he earnestly begged God for a solution to the
Albigensian heresy then aggressively infecting the south of France.
After St. Dominic began to preach the Rosary, the days of the
Albigensian error were numbered.
On
May 13, 1917, there began in Fatima, Portugal a series of apparitions
of a luminous lady to three little Portuguese shepherds, Lucia dos
Santos and Francisco and Jacinta Marto. She asked them to return to the
same spot for five consecutive months, and that in October she would
work a miracle for all to believe and reveal who she was. In every
apparition the lady asked for the daily recitation of the Rosary as a
remedy to life’s ills, and for peace in the world. On October 13, 1917, a
crowd of 70,000 people witnessed the astounding miracle of the sun, as
the fiery orb performed a fantastic dance in the sky above. The heavenly
lady then revealed her name: “I am the Lady of the Rosary”.
No
sooner had he pronounced these words, the picture came alive and
extending her hand, the heavenly Lady laid it reassuringly on the
priest’s arm, saying:
But
it was only in the year 1214, however, that Holy Mother Church received
the Rosary in its present form and according to the method we use
today. It was given to the Church by Saint Dominic who had received it
from the Blessed Virgin as a powerful means of converting the
Albigensians and other sinners.
"I
want you to know that, in this kind of warfare, the battering ram has
always been the Angelic Psalter which is the foundation stone of the New
Testament. Therefore if you want to reach these hardened souls and win
them over to God, preach my Psalter."
It
often happens that while traveling with the Fatima statue we get into
conversations with host families about the Fatima message. Such was the
case one evening in Atlanta, Georgia while chatting with one father and
his 12 year old daughter, Lillie.
