Impurity

          The impure say, moreover, God has compassion on us who are subject to this vice because he knows that we are flesh. What do you say? God has compassion not on this vice but on those who call unto Him for help to fight against this vice. And you must know that the most horrible chastisements with which God has ever visited the earth have been drawn down by this vice. St. Jerome says that this is the only sin of man because of which God was sorry that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved Him to His heart (Genesis 6:6-12) …for all flesh had corrupted their way upon the earth. Wherefore it is, St. Jerome says, that there is no sin which God hates so rigorously, as this. He once sent fire from Heaven upon five cities and consumed all their inhabitants for this sin. Principally, it was on account of this sin that God decided to destroy mankind, except for eight persons, by the deluge. This is a very grave sin that God hates, and the effects of this sin are not only experienced by the soul after death but very much during this lifetime as well. In confirmation of this, we see many putrid souls still stuck in bodies that are corroding and weak, running from one hospital to another in pain. Young men and women who were once celebrated as icons, who were once strong and bubbling, but are now weak, squalid, tormented further with surgeries and medicines, caustic, and ulcers, most of which can be directly tagged to this accursed vice. “Because you have forgotten me and cast me behind your back, therefore bear the consequences of your lewdness and harlotry.” (Ezekiel 23:35). Beware, all those who intend to play the fool with this vice.

     Do you say God has compassion upon those men who wilfully subject themselves to this sin? But it is this sin that sends most men to hell. St. Remigius says, that the greater number of the damned are in hell through this vice. Father Segneri writes, that as this vice fills the world with sinners, so it fills hell with damned souls; and before him, St. Bernardine of Sienna wrote: “This sin draws the whole world, as it were, into sin.” And before him St. Bernard, St. Isidore, said, that “the human race is brought under the power of the devil more by lust than by all the other vices.” The reason is that this vice proceeds from the natural inclination of the flesh. Hence the angelic Doctor says, that the devil does not take such complacency in securing the commission of any other sin as of this, because the person who is plunged in this infernal mire remains fast therein, and almost wholly unable to free himself more. “No one is so obstinate in sin as the impure,” says St. Thomas of Villanova. Moreover, this vice deprives one of all light, for the impure man becomes so blind as almost wholly to forget God, says St. Laurence Justinian; which is in accordance with what is said by the prophet Hosea: They will not set their thoughts to return to their God; for the spirit of fornication is in the midst of them, and they have not known God. The impure man knows not God; he obeys neither God nor reason, as St. Jerome says; he obeys only the sensual appetite which causes him to act like the beast.

     This sin, because it flatters, makes us fall at once into the habit of it, a habit which some carry with them even to death. You see husbands, and decrepit old men, indulge in the same thoughts and commit the same sins that they committed in their youth. And because sins of this kind are so easily committed, they become multiplied without any track of their count. Ask the sinner how many impure thoughts he has consented to: he will tell you he cannot remember. But, brother, if you cannot remember, God can; and you know that a single immodest thought is enough to send you to hell. How many immodest words have you spoken, in which you took delight yourself, and by which you scandalised your neighbour? From thoughts and words you proceed to acts, and to those innumerable impurities which those wretches roll and wallow in like swine, without ever being satisfied, for this vice is never satisfied.

     But you will say, how can I hold out against the innumerable temptations which assail me? I am weak, I am flesh. Yes, we all are. And since you are weak, why not recommend yourself to God, and to the most Holy Mary, who is the mother of purity? Since you are flesh, why do you throw yourself in the way of sin? Why do you not mortify your eyes? Why do you gaze upon those objects whence temptations flow? St. Aloysius never raised his eyes to look even upon his mother.

     It is to be remarked, moreover, that this sin brings with it innumerable others: enmities, thefts, and, more especially, sacrilegious confessions and Communions, because of the shame which will not allow these impurities to be disclosed in confession. And let us remark here in passing, that it is sacrilege above all things, that brings upon us sickness and death; for, says the Apostle, “for anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment upon himself. That is why many of you are weak and ill, and some have died.” And St. John Chrysostom, in explanation of that passage, says that St. Paul speaks of persons who were chastised with bodily infirmities because they received the sacrament with a guilty conscience.

     My brethren, should you ever have been sunk in this vice, I do not bid you be disheartened, but arise at once from this foul and infernal pit; beg of God forthwith to give you light, and stretch out His hand to you. The first thing that you have to do is to break with the occasion of sin: without that, preaching and tears and resolutions and confessions, all are lost. Remove the occasions, and then constantly recommend yourself to God, and to Mary the mother of purity. No matter how grievously you may be tempted, do not be discouraged by the temptation; at once call to your aid Jesus and Mary, pronouncing their sacred names. These blessed names have the virtue of making the devil fly and stifling that hellish flame within you. If the devil persists in tempting you, persevere in calling upon Jesus and Mary, and certainly, you shall not fall. To rid yourself of your evil habits, undertake some special devotion to our Lady; begin to fast in her honour upon Saturdays; contrive to visit her image every day, and beg of her to obtain for you the deliverance from that vice. Every morning immediately after rising, never omit to say three ‘Hail Mary’ in honour of her purity and do the same when going to bed; and above all things, as I have said, when the temptation is most troublesome, call quickly upon Jesus and Mary. Beware, brother, if you do not choose to convert now, you may never be converted.

Act of Contrition: O my God, I am heartily sorry for having offended Thee; and I detest all of my sins, because I dread the loss of heaven and the pains of hell, but most of all because they offend Thee, my God, Who art all good and deserving of all my love. I firmly resolve with the help of Thy grace to confess my sins, to do penance, and to amend my life. Amen †