Sex & Holy Purity

Archbishop Sheen

What is the single greatest gift a young man and woman can give each other in marriage? It is their holy purity or chastity. Without holy purity, human love – popularly known as ‘sex’ - becomes corrupt. There is no true human love without holy purity.

What is the single greatest virtue a young man and woman find most difficult to practice in this 21st century? It is the virtue of holy purity or chastity.

The sixth and ninth Commandment of God teaches specifically against sins of the flesh. When we practice holy chastity as taught by God’s Commands, we also will obtain purity of mind and heart. As the Catechism of the Catholic Church notes, "purity of heart is the precondition of the vision of God."

Without a knowledge and great love for God, holy purity will be very hard to maintain. St. Paul teaches us that chastity is a ‘fruit of the Holy Spirit.’ A strong Sacramental life, especially frequent reception of the Sacrament of Confession and the Eucharist, is most important.
Nevertheless, what about the countless temptations that seemingly are everywhere?
The best defense is a good offense – maintain a holy attack against impurity. How can young people accomplish this?

Here is a list of weapons to use to maintain holy purity:

~Begin each day with Holy Mass, if possible, and fruitful prayer. Moreover, remember Sister Christine Joseph’s morning prayer: "Good morning, dear Jesus, this day is for you! I ask you to bless me in everything I think, say and do!" and offer every thought, word, and deed of the day to Jesus.

~Dress modestly. Forget the current partially nude fashions. Instead, women should dress their body in modest clothing. Remember, a women’s husband is the only person who should see and receive the joy of her body. Follow the dress code for permission to enter Saint Peter’s Basilica in Rome: women must cover their shoulders and upper arms, must wear skirts below the knee, the collar of their blouse is to be at the collar bone, and no tight revealing clothing. The Basilica’s custodians standing on the outside porte-cochere will shake their finger at badly dressed persons and ask: "Quo vadis?" They will tell them to go back to their hotel, put some clothes on and then come back to enter the House of God

~Avoid inappropriate conversations. When a discussion becomes off color or the language is impure, change the subject or walk away from the group. Remember, the tongue and lips that receive Holy Communion should not be accused of uttering neither indecent words nor risqué stories.

~Arm oneself with holy sacramentals. Wear a blessed crucifix on your chest; wear a properly invested Brown Scapular around your neck; keep a blessed rosary in your pocket or purse. A blessed ‘Angus Dei’ medal could be attached to your rosary.

~Reject bad forms of entertainment. Imagine sitting next to the guest of honor, Jesus. Would he be offended at the television program or the movie we were watching? If it is not appropriate for the Jesus, it is not appropriate for persons desiring holy purity.

~Avoid useless activities. Ask the question: ‘By performing this activity, would it be giving honor and glory to God?’ If it would not, best to leave the activity alone.

~Remain cheerful. The crowd will follow a cheerful, courageous leader. Care not for human respect and give your heart to God. Observers will want to possess and imitate this same courage and dignity.

~Avoid occasions of sin. Very often young people feel compunction for their faults and yet they go back to the very sins they previously condemned and commit them again…and again. Do not return to the scene of the crime, for it will tempt the heart once more.

Ambush Porn

Playing Keep Away

A recent study reports that 42 percent of Internet users between the ages of 10 and 17 have viewed online porn.



The multibillion-dollar mainstreaming of porn has distorted, among other things, our judgment. Other recent research shows that the more porn people watch, the lower their standards for protecting children.


Dr. Mary Ann Layden, co-director of the Sexual Trauma and Psychopathology Program at the University of Pennsylvania, tells of one study in which people were asked various questions before and after watching quantities of porn.


One question was whether we should restrict children’s access to XXX-rated material. Post-porn, the number of people answering “yes” was reduced by half. Like any stimulant, the effects of porn diminish with use.


Not only are our kids being exposed to more porn, as a society we are increasingly less likely to want to protect them from it. We’re acclimated to what 30 years ago would have been considered “soft porn” and 60 years ago unspeakably vulgar. Here is what we’re currently willing to accept, according to a 2005 study from SRBI:

We didn’t arrive at this place suddenly - the journey was incremental. Before the nudity, others were “pushing the envelope” with profanity. With cable TV unrestricted and nearly everyone has cable TV the limit of what is tolerated increased. Just as it was noted in the University of Pennsylvania study, as a society we are increasingly numb to material that years ago would have been offensive. In Canada, pornography is shown on broadcast TV at night. Can the United States be far behind?

Adults over 35 for the most part grew up with the benefit of a real childhood, protected by our parents and by society. We were permitted to keep our innocence much longer than kids today. Kids today have seen and done so much that they seem quite sophisticated by comparison. However, that is a surface sophistication only - emotionally they are ill-equipped to deal with the adults topics to which they are exposed.

Viewing pornography is destructive. It’s harmful at any age, and we need to make it unacceptable in society’s eyes. That starts in the home. For parents who are interested in protecting their children, there is little option other than direct supervision. Don’t let your child have a computer in his bedroom. Utilize filtering software and pop-up blockers, but also make a point to be in the room while your child surfs the internet. Before you turn on the TV, check to see if the show is suitable.

Go with your child to the library, where adults regularly view porn at public computers. Most importantly, we need to censor our own media intake so that we do not become desensitized to it and lower our standards for what is acceptable for our children. The change starts with you, one household at a time.

Catholic Call-to-Arms: Defend the Splendor of Sexual Love!

By Christopher West

If you are in the loop on Catholic news and articles circulated on the Internet, by now you have probably come across Robert George’s article “Danger and Opportunity: A Plea to Catholics.” Therein George, a professor of Jurisprudence at Princeton University, calls all Catholics to get off their duffs (my expression) in order to transform our society and save our culture from suicide.

He writes, “There are many profound respects in which our culture is in need of transformation. ...There are two issues, however, that are so central to our future ... that they must, surely, be given a certain priority. Both are on the table now and will be resolved – for better or for worse – in the next decade or so. Critical (possibly irreversible) decision will be made in the next year or two.”

What are these two crucial issues? Marriage and bioethical questions. “In respect of both matters,” George maintains, “things will go one way or the other depending on the posture and actions of Catholics.”

Why does he put so much weight on our shoulders? Because the Catholic Church alone has a vision of sexual love and the sanctity of life coherent enough to save the culture of death from, well ... death. “An alert and engaged Catholic community,” says George, “would recognize that these issues are in our hands. We cannot do it by ourselves; but our allies cannot win without us, nor can they lose with us. Our activity ... will make the critical difference.”

If Catholics are engaged on marriage and bioethical issues and are working closely with other people of good will “grave injustices and the erosion of central moral principles will be, to a significant extent, averted. ...If, on the other hand, the Catholic community compromises itself, abdicates its responsibilities, and sits on the sidelines,” George predicts that “the already deeply wounded institution of marriage will collapse and the brave new world of biotechnology will transform procreation into manufacture, and nascent human life into mere disposable ‘research material.’”

This brave new world is not far fetched. It’s already well underway. Marriages are crumbling and human beings are already being manufactured in laboratories. How did we get here? In 1968, Pope Paul VI predicted it would happen. It would come, he foresaw, if society embraced contraception (see Humanae Vitae, n. 17).

Oh paalease .... Not that issue again! Why doesn’t the Church just get over it and stay out of my bedroom!?

Well, not only the Church, but the entire world has a vested interest in what happens in our bedrooms. What happens there (or wherever else men and women are coupling) actually determines the world in which we live. When sex is oriented towards lasting love and life, it builds marriages that last and families that foster life. In turn, those families become the basic building blocks of a civilization of love and a culture of life.

The opposite is also true. When sex is oriented against lasting love and against life, the end result is that love doesn’t last, families collapse, and human life erodes at its very foundation. The end result can only be a culture of death. Paul VI saw it coming. That in itself should cause us to want to give the oft maligned teaching of Humanae Vitae a closer look.

May I suggest John Paul II’s “theology of the body” as a great place to start? Just google the term and you’ll find lots of resources to help. John Paul himself said that the whole of his theology of the body – 129 talks delivered over five years – constitutes “an extensive commentary on the doctrine contained precisely in Humanae Vitae” (TOB133:2).

Those who take up arms in this battle for the dignity of sexual love and human life will find themselves staring a mighty Goliath in the face. All that’s needed to win, though, is a small stone and a sling. The stone is Christ. There is no other victory. And the sling that gives us the proper aim is John Paul II’s theology of the body. Let’s take it up, study it, and then get off our duffs and make a difference!

The Gift of Purity

Every second, over 28,000 internet users are viewing pornography, and more than $3,000 is being spent on the addictive and destructive images. R.A.G.E. Media, publisher of two of the foremost Catholic books on overcoming pornography addiction, is responding to these dire statistics with a special offer for Catholics who struggle with pornography addiction.

You can give the gift of a pure an clean heart to yourelf or loved ones, or give these valuable resources to someone you care about who struggles with pornography addiction.

Clean of Heart: Overcoming Habitual Sins Against Purity by Rosemarie Scott (ISBN 0977223450) and True Knights: Combat Training Daily Prayers for Purity by Kenneth Henderson and Jesse Romero (ISBN 0977223426) are now available at http://www.dyinglight.com/promo/overcome-pornography.html.

The books are highly recommended not only for Catholics who struggle with pornography, impure thoughts, or other habitual sins against purity, but also for confessors who regularly counsel such individuals.

"Clean of Heart is an excellent practical and inspiring spiritual guide for those tormented by such sins. I highly recommend it for late teens, young adults, and anyone else struggling with such sins. Confessors will find in it a gold mine for good advice to their penitents," says Catholic author and professor of ethics Ronda Chervin, Ph.D.

True Knights: Combat Training Daily Prayers for Purity has also been well-praised by respected members of the Catholic community.

The books also make great Confirmation gifts, particularly for young men, as they encourage the proper ideals of Catholic manhood while addressing temptations that no Catholic man can fully avoid in today's world.