42nd Star

CHASTITY
C hastity, for some, is a peaceful state of being, freeing the
body from tension and the mind from longing, preparing the
soul for ecstatic heights of selfless love. For others, it is a worse
fate than the unbridled storms of lust that seek to devour the
soul. Chastity and purity too often lie wounded on the side of
the road. They are dismissed and discarded in favor of a
lonely fire that propels the body to unite with opportunity in
its quest for love.
The serpent whispers that to live without sexual pleasure
is to live an inhuman, unfulfilled existence in a solitary state
of repression and deprivation. A liar from the beginning, the
devil fills the soul with suggestive images, words, music, and experiences, in order to trap the senses.
The mind and body, thus addicted and possessed, believe and feel that they can no longer live
otherwise. Even between husband and wife, where sexual union is meant to mirror the unitive and
procreative love of the Trinity, raw sensuality can displace love.
Long forgotten are the innocent joys of youth and the simpler pleasures of life. Never known
or seldom remembered is God’s clarion call to honor the human body as a living temple of the
Holy Spirit. Chastity doesn’t dare to use another for pleasure, easement, or an escape from
loneliness. It never behaves or dresses so as to seduce or draw salacious attention. Chastity respects
oneself and others as dignified creatures made in the image of God. It inspires the squeeze of a
hand, the glance of an eye, the embrace of a hug, to heal and never harm. Only can we imagine
the tenderness contained in the touches between Joseph and Mary.
“You certainly will not die!” (Gen 3:4b) “Go ahead and take a bite of the fruit from this tree,”
urges the serpent, while the purest of them all, the Lady clothed with the sun, warns us not to, as
through her appearances in Fatima (1917): More souls go to hell because of sins of the flesh than for any other
reason. . . Certain fashions will be introduced that will offend Our Lord very much. . . Woe to women lacking in
modesty. . . The sins of the world are very great. . . If men only knew what eternity is, they would do everything in
their power to change their lives.
Nothing good is lost forever while a soul remains alive. Our spiritual senses can be awakened
and the relentless chanting of lust harnessed when we run into the arms of God—to the sacraments,
to Scripture, to fasting and prayer—and if needed, to counseling and a program of recovery. In
time, the soul will begin to taste the sweet nectar of freedom.