You Light Up Your Grace of Body with the Radiance of Your Mind

You Light Up Your Grace of Body with the Radiance of Your Mind

From a book on virginity, by St Ambrose:

You are one of God’s people, of God’s family, a virgin among virgins; you light up your grace of body with your splendour of soul. More than others you can be compared to the Church. When you are in your room, then, at night, think always on Christ, and wait for his coming at every moment.

  

This is the person Christ has loved in loving you, the person he has chosen in choosing you. He enters by the open door; he has promised to come in, and he cannot deceive. Embrace him, the one you have sought; turn to him, and be enlightened; hold him fast, ask him not to go in haste, beg him not to leave you. The Word of God moves swiftly; he is not won by the lukewarm, nor held fast by the negligent. Let your soul be attentive to his word; follow carefully the path God tells you to take, for he is swift in his passing.  

What does his bride say? I sought him, and did not find him; I called him, and he did not hear me. Do not imagine that you are displeasing to him despite having called him, asked him in, and opened the door to him; and that this is the reason why he has gone so quickly – no, for he allows us to be constantly tested. When the crowds pressed him to stay, what does he say in the Gospel? I must preach the word of God to other cities, because for that I have been sent. But even if it seems to you that he has left you, go out and seek him once more.

CHAPTER VI. The Sixth Precept, in Which Three Moral Virtues are Explained

The Sixth Precept, in Which Three Moral Virtues are Explained

ALTHOUGH the three theological virtues faith, hope, and charity include all the rules for living well, and therefore dying well; yet the Holy Spirit, the author of all the books of Scripture, for the better understanding of this most necessary art, has added three other virtues, which in a wonderful manner help men to live well and die well. These are, sobriety, justice, and piety of which the Apostle Paul speaks in his Epistle to Titus: "For the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ hath appeared to all men, instructing us that, denying ungodliness and worldly desires, we should live soberly, and justly, and godly in this world, looking for the blessed hope and coming of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ," (chap, ii.)

This, therefore, will be the sixth precept for living well and dying well: that, denying ungodliness and worldly desires, we should live soberly, and justly, and godly in this world." Here is an epitome of the whole of the divine law, reduced into one short sentence: "Decline from evil, and do good." (Psalm, xxxvi.) In evil there are two things; a turning away from God, and a turning to creatures, according to the prophet Jeremias: "My people have done two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and have digged to themselves cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water." (chap. ii. 13.) What must he therefore do, who wishes to decline from evil? He must "deny ungodliness and worldly desires." Ungodliness turns us away from God, and "worldly desires" turn us to creatures. As to doing good, we shall then fulfil the law when we live "soberly, justly, and piously" that is, when we are sober towards ourselves, just towards our neighbour, and pious towards God.

But we will enter a little more into detail, in order to reduce more easily to practice this most salutary precept. What, then, is ungodliness? A vice contrary to piety. What is piety? A virtue, or gift of the Holy Spirit, by which we regard God, and worship Him, and venerate Him as our Father. We are therefore commanded so to deny ungodliness, that we may "live piously in this world;" or, what amounts to the same thing, so to live piously in this world, that we may deny all ungodliness. But why are these two mentioned, since one would be sufficient? The Holy Spirit was thus pleased to speak, in order to make as understand that if we wish to please God, we must be so in love with piety as to admit of no impiety. For there are many Christians who seem pious by praying to God, by assisting at the adorable sacrifice, by hearing sermons but, in the meanwhile, they either blaspheme God, or swear falsely, or break through their vows. And what else is this, but to pretend to be "pious" towards God, and yet be impious at the same time?

Wherefore, it behoveth those who desire to live well that they may die well, so to worship God as to deny all ungodliness .yea, even the very shadow of it. For it will be of little profit daily to hear mass, and to adore Christ in the holy mysteries, if, in the mean time, we impiously blaspheme God, or swear by His holy name. But we must also carefully remark, that the apostle does not say, "denying ungodliness" but "all ungodliness" that is, all kind of impiety; not only the more heinous sort, but even the slightest. And this is said against those who hesitate not to swear without necessity; who in sacred places gaze at females in an unbecoming, though not lascivious manner; who talk during mass, and commit other offences, as if they believed God was not present, and did not observe even the slightest sins. Our God is a jealous God, "visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me: and showing mercy unto thousands to them that love me, and keep my commandments." This the Son of God Himself has taught us by His own example, who, although meek and humble of heart, "when he was reviled, did not revile; when he suffered, he threatened not;" but when he saw in the temple "them that sold oxen, and sheep, and doves, and the changers of money sitters," being inflamed with great zeal, He made a scourge of little cords, and the money of the changers he poured out, their tables he overthrew, saying: "My house is a house of prayer, but you have made it a den of thieves" And this He did twice once in the first year of his preaching, according to St. John; and again in the last year of his ministry, according to the testimony of three Evangelists.

Let us now proceed to the second virtue, which directs our actions towards our neighbours. This virtue is justice, of which the apostle speaks, that, " denying worldly desires, we live justly." Here that general sentence, "Decline from evil, and do good," is included; for there cannot be true justice towards our neighbours, where worldly desires prevail. But what do worldly desires mean but "the concupiscence of the flesh, the concupiscence of the eyes, and the pride of life?" These are not from God, but of the world. Wherefore, as justice cannot be unjust, so also "worldly desires" cannot in any manner be united with true justice. A child of this world may indeed affect justice in words; but he cannot possibly do so in deed and in truth. The apostle then most wisely said, not only that we should live justly, but he premised "denying worldly desires," that he might make us understand the poisonous root of concupiscence must first be plucked up, before the good tree of justice can be planted in our heart. No one can question what is meant by living "justly;" for we all know that justice commands us to give each one his due; the apostle saith: " Render therefore to all men their dues. Tribute, to whom tribute is due: custom, to whom custom: fear, to whom fear: honour, to whom honour." (Epist. to Romans xiii. 7.) Tribute is due to a prince; honour to parents- fear to masters. Thus the apostle speaks by the prophet Malachy: "If then I be a father, where is my honour? And if I be a master, where is my fear?" To the seller is due his just price, to the workman his just wages, and so of all other employments. And with much greater reason ought those to whom belongs the distribution of the public property, confer it on the most deserving, not being influenced by any exception of persons, however related or dear to him they may be. If, then, we wish to learn well the Art of dying well, let us hear the wise man crying out unto us: "Love justice, you that are the judges of the earth;" hear St. James also lamenting in his Epistle: " Behold the hire of the labourers, who have reaped down your fields, which by fraud has been kept back by you, crieth: and the cry of them hath entered into the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth." (chap. v. 4.)

There now remaineth the third virtue, which is called sobriety, to which "worldly desires" are no less contrary than to justice. And here we not only understand by sobriety the virtue contrary to drunkenness, but the virtue of temperance or moderation in general, which makes a man regulate what regards his body according to reason, not according to passion. Now this virtue is very rarely found among men; "worldly desires" seem to possess nearly all the rich of this world. But those who are wise should not follow the example of the foolish; although they arc almost innumerable, they should imitate only the wise. Solomon was certainly the wisest of men, and yet he besought God, saying-: "Two things I have asked of thee, deny them not before I die. Give me neither beggary nor riches, give me only the necessaries of life." (chap. xxx. 7, 8.) The apostle Paul was wise, and he said: "For we brought nothing into this world, and certainly we can carry nothing out; but having food and where with to be covered, with these we are content." (Epist. to Tim. vi. 7.)

These words are very wise, for why should we be solicitous for superfluous riches, when we cannot take them with us to that place, towards which death is hurrying us. Christ our Lord was not only wiser than Solomon and St. Paul, but He was wisdom itself, and yet He also hath said, "Blessed are the poor, and woe to the rich;" and of Himself, "The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air nests, but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head." (St. Luke ix. 58.). If then "in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word shall stand," how much more shall every word be true in the mouth of three most wise men? And if to this we add, that our unnecessary riches are not our own, but belong to the poor, (as is the common opinion of the holy fathers and scholastic writers,) are not those foolish men, who carefully hoard up that by which they will be condemned to hell? If then we wish to learn the Art of dying and living well, let us not follow the crowd who only believe and value what is seen; but Christ and his apostles must we follow, who by word and deed have taught us that present things are to be despised, and " the hope and coming of the glory of the great God and the Saviour Jesus Christ," alone desired and expected. And truly, so great is that which we hope for at the glorious coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all the past glory, and riches, and joys of this world, will be esteemed as if they had not been; and those considered most unwise and unhappy, who in affairs of such importance, trusted rather to the foolish than to the wise.

taken from the Art of Dying Well, by Saint Robert Bellarmine
Photo taken from Wikimedia Commons

CHAPTER IV. The Fourth Precept, Containing Three Evangelical Counsels

The Fourth Precept, Containing Three Evangelical Counsels

ALTHOUGH what we have said on faith, hope, and charity, may seem sufficient to enable us to live well and die well; yet, in order to effect these two objects more perfectly and more easily, our Lord Himself has deigned to give us three counsels in the Holy Scriptures: thus He speaks in St. Luke: "Let your loins be girt, and lamps burning in your hands. And you yourselves like to men who wait for their lord, when he shall return from the wedding; that when he cometh and knocketh, they may open to him immediately. Blessed are those servants, whom the Lord, when he cometh, shall find watching." (chap. xii. 35, 36.) This parable may be understood in two ways: of preparation for the coming of our Lord at the last day, and for His coming at the particular death of each one. This latter explanation which is that of St. Gregory on this gospel (Homily xiii) seems more adapted to our subject: for the expectation of the last day, will chiefly regard only those who will then be alive: our Lord seems to have intended it for the apostles, not for all Christians, although the apostles and their successors were many ages distant from this day.

Moreover, many signs will precede the last day, that will terrify men, according to the words of our Lord: "And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars: and upon the earth distress of nations Men withering away for fear, and expectation of what shall come upon the whole world." But no certain signs will precede the particular death of each one: and such a coming do those words signify, which are so frequently repeated in the Holy Scripture, that the Lord will come like "a thief" that is, when He is least expected.

We will, therefore, briefly explain this parable, understanding by it that preparation for death, which above all things is so absolutely necessary for us. Our Lord commands us all to observe three things:

The Lenten Fast an Opportunity for Restoring our Purity

The Lenten Fast an Opportunity for Restoring our Purity

In proposing to preach this most holy and important fast to you, dearly beloved, how shall I begin more fitly than by quoting the words of the Apostle, in whom Christ Himself was speaking, and by reminding you of what we have read : behold, now is the acceptable time, behold now is the day of salvation. For though there are no seasons which are not full of Divine blessings, and though access is ever open to us to God's mercy through His grace, yet now all men's minds should be moved with greater zeal to spiritual progress, and animated by larger confidence, when the return of the day, on which we were redeemed, invites us to all the duties of godliness: that we may keep the super-excellent mystery of the Lord's passion with bodies and hearts purified. These great mysteries do indeed require from us such unflagging devotion and unwearied reverence that we should remain in God's sight always the same, as we ought to be found on the Easter feast itself. But because few have this constancy, and, because so long as the stricter observance is relaxed in consideration of the frailty of the flesh, and so long as one's interests extend over all the various actions of this life, even pious hearts must get some soils from the dust of the world, the Divine Providence has with great beneficence taken care that the discipline of the forty days should heal us and restore the purity of our minds, during which the faults of other times might be redeemed by pious acts and removed by chaste fasting.

Lent must be used for removing all our defilements, and of good works there must be no stint

As we are therefore, dearly-beloved, about to enter on those mystic days which are dedicated to the benefits of fasting, let us take care to obey the Apostle's precepts, cleansing ourselves from every defilement of flesh and spirit 2 Corinthians 7:1: that by controlling the struggles that go on between our two natures, the spirit which, if it is under the guidance of God, should be the governor of the body, may uphold the dignity of its rule: so that we may give no offense to any, nor be subject to the chidings of reprovers. For we shall be rightly attacked with rebukes, and through our fault ungodly tongues will arm themselves to do harm to religion, if the conduct of those that fast is at variance with the standard of perfect purity. For our fast does not consist chiefly of mere abstinence from food, nor are dainties withdrawn from our bodily appetites with profit, unless the mind is recalled from wrong-doing and the tongue restrained from slandering. This is a time of gentleness and long-suffering, of peace and tranquillity: when all the pollutions of vice are to be eradicated and continuance of virtue is to be attained by us. Now let godly minds boldly accustom themselves to forgive faults, to pass over insults, and to forget wrongs. Now let the faithful spirit train himself with the armour of righteousness on the right hand and on the left, that through honour and dishonour, through ill repute and good repute, the conscience may be undisturbed in unwavering uprightness, not puffed up by praise and not wearied out by revilings. The self-restraint of the religious should not be gloomy, but sincere; no murmurs of complaint should be heard from those who are never without the consolation of holy joys. The decrease of worldly means should not be feared in the practice of works of mercy. Christian poverty is always rich, because what it has is more than what it has not. Nor does the poor man fear to labour in this world, to whom it is given to possess all things in the Lord of all things. Therefore those who do the things which are good must have no manner of fear lest the power of doing should fail them; since in the gospel the widow's devotion is extolled in the case of her two mites, and voluntary bounty gets its reward for a cup of cold water. For the measure of our charitableness is fixed by the sincerity of our feelings, and he that shows mercy on others will never want for mercy himself. The holy widow of Sarepta discovered this, who offered the blessed Elias in the time of famine one day's food, which was all she had, and putting the prophet's hunger before her own needs, ungrudgingly gave up a handful of grain and a little oil. But she did not lose what she gave in all faith, and in the vessels emptied by her godly bounty a source of new plenty arose, that the fullness of her substance might not be diminished by the holy purpose to which she had put it, because she had never dreaded being brought to want.

As with the Saviour, so with us, the devil tries to make our very piety its own snare

But, dearly-beloved, doubt not that the devil, who is the opponent of all virtues, is jealous of these good desires, to which we are confident you are prompted of your own selves, and that to this end he is arming the force of his malice in order to make your very piety its own snare, and endeavouring to overcome by boastfulness those whom he could not defeat by distrustfulness. For the vice of pride is a near neighbour to good deeds, and arrogance ever lies in wait hard by virtue: because it is hard for him that lives praise-worthily not to be caught by man's praise unless, as it is written, he that glories, glories in the Lord 1 Corinthians 10:17 . Whose intentions would that most naughty enemy not dare to attack? Whose fasting would he not seek to break down? Seeing that, as has been shown in the reading of the Gospel , he did not restrain his wiles even against the Saviour of the world Himself. For being exceedingly afraid of His fast, which lasted 40 days and nights, he wished most cunningly to discover whether this power of abstinence was given Him or His very own: for he need not fear the defeat of all his treacherous designs, if Christ were throughout subject to the same conditions as He is in body. And so he first craftily examined whether He were Himself the Creator of all things, such that He could change the natures of material things as He pleased: secondly, whether under the form of human flesh the Godhead lay concealed, to Whom it was easy to make the air His chariot, and convey His earthly limbs through space. But when the Lord preferred to resist him by the uprightness of His true Manhood, than to display the power of His Godhead, to this he turns the craftiness of his third design, that he might tempt by the lust of empire Him in Whom the signs of Divine power had failed, and entice Him to the worship of himself by promising the kingdoms of the world. But the devil's cleverness was rendered foolish by God's wisdom, so that the proud foe was bound by that which he had formerly bound, and did not fear to assail Him Whom it behooved to be slain for the world.

The perverse turn even their fasting into sin

This adversary's wiles then let us beware of, not only in the enticements of the palate, but also in our purpose of abstinence. For he who knew how to bring death upon mankind by means of food, knows also how to harm us through our very fasting, and using the Manichæans as his tools, as he once drove men to take what was forbidden, so in the opposite direction he prompts them to avoid what is allowed. It is indeed a helpful observance, which accustoms one to scanty diet, and checks the appetite for dainties: but woe to the dogmatizing of those whose very fasting is turned to sin. For they condemn the creature's nature to the Creator's injury, and maintain that they are defiled by eating those things of which they contend the devil, not God, is the author: although absolutely nothing that exists is evil, nor is anything in nature included in the actually bad. For the good Creator made all things good and the Maker of the universe is one, Who made the heaven and the earth, the sea and all that is in them.  Of which whatever is granted to man for food and drink, is holy and clean after its kind. But if it is taken with immoderate greed, it is the excess that disgraces the eaters and drinkers, not the nature of the food or drink that defiles them. For all things, as the Apostle says, are clean to the clean. But to the defiled and unbelieving nothing is clean, but their mind and conscience is defiled Titus 1:15 .

Be reasonable and seasonable in your fasting

But you, dearly-beloved, the holy offspring of the catholic Mother, who have been taught in the school of Truth by God's Spirit, moderate your liberty with due reasonableness, knowing that it is good to abstain even from things lawful, and at seasons of greater strictness to distinguish one food from another with a view to giving up the use of some kinds, not to condemning their nature. And so be not infected with the error of those who are corrupted merely by their own ordinances, serving the creature rather than the Creator Romans 9:26, and offering a foolish abstinence to the service of the lights of heaven: seeing that they have chosen to fast on the first and second days of the week in honour of the sun and moon, proving themselves in this one instance of their perverseness twice disloyal to God, twice blasphemous, by setting up their fast not only in worship of the stars but also in contempt of the Lord's Resurrection. For they reject the mystery of man's salvation and refuse to believe that Christ our Lord in the true flesh of our nature was truly born, truly suffered, was truly buried and was truly raised. And in consequence, condemn the day of our rejoicing by the gloom of their fasting. And since to conceal their infidelity they dare to be present at our meetings, at the Communion of the Mysteries they bring themselves sometimes, in order to ensure their concealment, to receive Christ's Body with unworthy lips, though they altogether refuse to drink the Blood of our Redemption. And this we make known to you, holy brethren, that men of this sort may be detected by you by these signs, and that they whose impious pretences have been discovered may be driven from the society of the saints by priestly authority. For of such the blessed Apostle Paul in his foresight warns God's Church, saying: but we beseech you, brethren, that you observe those who make discussions and offenses contrary to the doctrine which you learned and turn away from them. For such persons serve not Christ the Lord but their own belly, and by sweet words and fair speeches beguile the hearts of the innocent Romans 16:17-18 .

Make your fasting a reality by amendment in your lives

Being therefore, dearly-beloved, fully instructed by these admonitions of ours, which we have often repeated in your ears in protest against abominable error, enter upon the holy days of Lent with Godly devoutness, and prepare yourselves to win God's mercy by your own works of mercy. Quench your anger, wipe out enmities, cherish unity, and vie with one another in the offices of true humility. Rule your slaves and those who are put under you with fairness, let none of them be tortured by imprisonment or chains. Forego vengeance, forgive offenses: exchange severity for gentleness, indignation for meekness, discord for peace. Let all men find us self-restrained, peaceable, kind: that our fastings may be acceptable to God. For in a word to Him we offer the sacrifice of true abstinence and true Godliness, when we keep ourselves from all evil: the Almighty God helping us through all, to Whom with the Son and Holy Spirit belongs one Godhead and one Majesty, for ever and ever. Amen.

By Saint Leo the Great

Photo taken from Wikimedia Commons

Blessed are the Pure in Heart

On the words of the Gospel, Matthew 5:3-8 
Blessed are the poor in spirit: ... but especially on that, Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.

1. By the return of the commemoration of a holy virgin, who gave her testimony to Christ, and was found worthy of a testimony from Christ, who was put to death openly, and crowned invisibly, I am reminded to speak to you, beloved, on that exhortation which the Lord has just now uttered out of the Gospel, assuring us that there are many sources of a blessed life, which there is not a man that does not wish for. There is not a man surely can be found, who does not wish to be blessed. But oh! If as men desire the reward, so they would not decline the work that leads to it! Who would not run with all alacrity, were it told him, You shall be blessed? Let him then also give a glad and ready ear when it is said, Blessed, if you shall do thus. Let not the contest be declined, if the reward be loved; and let the mind be enkindled to an eager execution of the work, by the setting forth of the reward. What we desire, and wish for, and seek, will be hereafter; but what we are ordered to do for the sake of that which will be hereafter, must be now. Begin now, then, to recall to mind the divine sayings, and the precepts and rewards of the Gospel. Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. The kingdom of heaven shall be yours hereafter; be poor in spirit now. Would you that the kingdom of heaven should be yours hereafter? Look well to yourself whose you are now. Be poor in spirit. You ask me, perhaps, What is to be poor in spirit? No one who is puffed up is poor in spirit; therefore he that is lowly is poor in spirit. The kingdom of heaven is exalted; but he who humbles himself shall be exalted.

2. Mark what follows: Blessed, says He, are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. You wish to possess the earth now; take heed lest you be possessed by it. If you be meek, you will possess it; if ungentle, you will be possessed by it. And when you hear of the proposed reward, do not, in order that you may possess the earth, unfold the lap of covetousness, whereby you would at present possess the earth, to the exclusion even of your neighbour by whatever means; let no such imagination deceive you. Then will you truly possess the earth, when you cleave to Him who made heaven and earth. For this is to be meek, not to resist your God, that in that you do well He may be well-pleasing to you, not you to yourself; and in that you suffer ill justly, He may not be unpleasing to you, but you to yourself. For no small matter is it that you shall be well-pleasing to Him, when you are displeased with yourself; whereas if you are well-pleased with your own self, you will be displeasing to Him.

3. Attend to the third lesson, Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted. The work consists in mourning, the reward in consolation; for they who mourn in a carnal sort, what consolations have they? Miserable consolations, objects rather of fear. There the mourner is comforted by things which make him fear lest he have to mourn again. For instance, the death of a son causes the father sorrow, and the birth of a son joy. The one he has carried out to his burial, the other he has brought into the world; in the former is occasion of sadness, in the latter of fear: and so in neither is there consolation. That therefore will be the true consolation, wherein shall be given that which may not be lost, so that they may rejoice for their after consolation, who mourn that they are in exile now.

4. Let us come to the fourth work and its reward, Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled. Do you desire to be filled? Whereby? If the flesh long for fullness, after digestion you will suffer hunger again. So He says, Whosoever drinks of this water shall thirst again. If the remedy which is applied to a wound heal it, there is no more pain; but that which is applied against hunger, food that is, is so applied as to give relief only for a little while. For when the fullness is past, hunger returns. This remedy of fullness is applied day by day, yet the wound of weakness is not healed. Let us therefore hunger and thirst after righteousness, that we may be filled with that righteousness after which we now hunger and thirst. For filled we shall be with that for which we hunger and thirst. Let our inner man then hunger and thirst, for it has its own proper meat and drink. I, says He, am the Bread which came down from heaven. Here is the bread of the hungry; long also for the drink of the thirsty, For with You is the well of life.)

5. Mark what comes next: Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy. Do this, and so shall it be done to you; deal so with others, that God may so deal with you. For you are at once in abundance and in want— in abundance of temporal things, in want of things eternal. The man whom you hear is a beggar, and you are yourself God's beggar. Petition is made to you, and you make your petition. As you have dealt with your petitioner, so shall God deal with His. You are at once full and empty; fill the empty with your fullness, that your emptiness may be filled with the fullness of God.

6. Mark what comes next: Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. This is the end of our love; an end whereby we are perfected, and not consumed. For there is an end of food, and an end of a garment; of food when it is consumed by the eating; of a garment when it is perfected in the weaving. Both the one and the other have an end; but the one is an end of consumption, the other of perfection. Whatsoever we now do, whatsoever we now do well, whatsoever we now strive for, or are in laudable sort eager for, or blamelessly desire, when we come to the vision of God, we shall require no more. For what need he seek for, with whom God is present? Or what shall suffice him, whom God suffices not? We wish to see God, we seek, we kindle with desire to see Him. Who does not? But mark what is said: Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. Provide yourself then with that whereby you may see Him. For (to speak after the flesh) how with weak eyes do you desire the rising of the sun? Let the eye be sound, and that light will be a rejoicing, if it be not sound, it will be but a torment. For it is not permitted with a heart impure to see that which is seen only by the pure heart. You will be repelled, driven back from it, and will not see it. For blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. How often already has he enumerated the blessed, and the causes of their blessedness, and their works and recompenses, their merits and rewards! But nowhere has it been said, They shall see God. Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted. Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after righteousness, they shall be filled. Blessed are the merciful, they shall obtain mercy. In none of these has it been said, They shall see God. When we come to the pure in heart, there is the vision of God promised. And not without good cause; for there, in the heart, are the eyes, by which God is seen. Speaking of these eyes, the Apostle Paul says, The eyes of your heart being enlightened. At present then these eyes are enlightened, as is suitable to their infirmity, by faith; hereafter as shall be suited to their strength, they shall be enlightened by sight. For as long as we are in the body we are absent from the Lord; For we walk by faith, not by sight. Now as long as we are in this state of faith, what is said of us? We see now through a glass darkly; but then face to face.

7. Let no thought be entertained here of a bodily face. For if enkindled by the desire of seeing God, you have made ready your bodily face to see Him, you will be looking also for such a face in God. But if now your conceptions of God are at least so spiritual as not to imagine Him to be corporeal (of which subject I treated yesterday at considerable length, if yet it was not in vain), if I have succeeded in breaking down in your heart, as in God's temple, that image of human form; if the words in which the Apostle expresses his detestation of those, who, professing themselves to be wise became fools, and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man, have entered deep into your minds, and taken possession of your inmost heart; if you do now detest and abhor such impiety, if you keep clean for the Creator His own temple, if you would that He should come and make His abode with you, Think of the Lord with a good heart, and in simplicity of heart seek for Him. Mark well who it is to whom you say, if so be ye do say it, and say it in sincerity, My heart said to You, I will seek Your face. Let your heart also say, and add, Your face, Lord, will I seek. For so will you seek it well, because you seek with your heart. Scripture speaks of the face of God, the arm of God, the hands of God, the feet of God, the seat of God, and His footstool; but think not in all this of human members. If you would be a temple of truth, break down the idol of falsehood. The hand of God is His power. The face of God is the knowledge of God. The feet of God are His presence. The seat of God, if you are so minded, is your own self. But perhaps you will venture to deny that Christ is God! Not so, you say. Do you grant this too, that Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God? I grant it, you say. Hear then, The soul of the righteous is the seat of wisdom. Yes. For where has God His seat, but where He dwells? And where does He dwell, but in His temple? For the temple of God is holy, which temple you are. Take heed therefore how you receive God. God is a Spirit, and must be worshipped in spirit and in truth. Let the ark of testimony enter now into your heart, if you are so minded, and let Dagon fall. Now therefore give ear at once, and learn to long for God; learn to make ready that whereby you may see God. Blessed, says He, are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. Why do you make ready the eyes of the body? If He should be seen by them, that which should be so seen would be contained in space. But He who is wholly everywhere is not contained in space. Cleanse that whereby He may be seen.

8. Hear and understand, if haply through His help I shall be able to explain it; and may He help us to the understanding of all the above-named works and rewards, how suitable rewards are apportioned to their corresponding duties. For where is there anything said of a reward which does not suit, and harmonize with its work? Because the lowly seem as it were aliens from a kingdom, He says, Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Because meek men are easily despoiled of their land, He says, Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the land. Now the rest are plain at once; they are understood of themselves, and require no one to treat of them at length; they need only one to mention them. Blessed are they that mourn. Now what mourner does not desire consolation? They, says He, shall be comforted. Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after righteousness. What hungry and thirsty man does not seek to be filled? And they, says He, shall be filled. Blessed are the merciful. What merciful man but wishes that a return should be rendered him by God of His own work, that it may be so done to him, as he does to the poor? Blessed, says He, are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy. How in each case has every duty its appropriate reward: and nothing is introduced in the reward which does not suit the precept! For the precept is, that you be poor in spirit; the reward, that you shall have the kingdom of heaven. The precept is, that you be meek; the reward, that you shall possess the earth. The percept is, that you mourn; the reward, that you shall be comforted. The precept is, that you hunger and thirst after righteousness; the reward, that you shall be filled. The precept is, that you be merciful; the reward, that you shall obtain mercy. And so the precept is, that you cleanse the heart; the reward, that you shall see God.

9. But do not so conceive of these precepts and rewards, as to think when you hear, Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God, that the poor in spirit, or the meek, or they that mourn, or they who hunger and thirst after righteousness, or the merciful, will not see Him. Think not of those that are pure in heart, that they only will see Him, while the others will be excluded from the sight of Him. For all these several characters are the self-same persons. They shall all see; but they shall not see in that they are poor in spirit, or meek, or in that they mourn, and hunger and thirst after righteousness, or are merciful, but in that they are pure in heart. Just as if bodily works were duly assigned to the several members of the body, and one were to say for example, Blessed are they who have feet, for they shall walk; blessed are they that have hands, for they shall work; blessed are they that have a voice, for they shall cry aloud; blessed are they who have a mouth and tongue, for they shall speak; blessed are they that have eyes, for they shall see. Even so our Lord arranging in their order the members as it were of the soul, has taught what is proper to each. Humility qualifies for the possession of the kingdom of heaven; meekness qualifies for possessing the earth; mourning for consolation; hunger and thirst after righteousness for being filled; mercy for the obtaining mercy; a pure heart for seeing God.

10. If then we desire to see God, whereby shall our eye be purified? For who would not care for, and diligently seek the means of purifying that eye whereby he may see Him whom he longs after with an entire affection? The Divine record has expressly mentioned this when it says, purifying their hearts by faith. The faith of God then purifies the heart, the pure heart sees God. But because this faith is sometimes so defined by men who deceive themselves, as though it were enough only to believe (for some promise themselves even the sight of God and the kingdom of heaven, who believe and live evilly); against these, the Apostle James, incensed and indignant as it were with a holy charity, says in his Epistle, You believe there is one God. Thou applaudest yourself for your faith, for you mark how that many ungodly men think there are gods many, and you rejoice in yourself because you believe that there is but one God; You do well: the devils also believe, and tremble. Shall they also see God? They shall see Him who are pure in heart. But who can say that unclean spirits are pure in heart? And yet they also believe and tremble.

11. Our faith then must be different from the faith of devils. For our faith purifies the heart; but their faith makes them guilty. For they do wickedly, and therefore say they to the Lord, What have we to do with You? When you hear the devils say this, do you think that they do not acknowledge Him? We know, they say, who You are: You are the Son of God. This Peter says, and is commended; the devil says it, and is condemned. Whence comes this, but that though the words be the same, the heart is different? Let us then make a distinction in our faith, and not be content to believe. This is no such faith as purifies the heart. Purifying their hearts, it is said, by faith. But by what, and what kind of faith, save that which the Apostle Paul defines when he says, Faith which works by love. That faith distinguishes us from the faith of devils, and from the infamous and abandoned conduct of men. Faith, he says. What faith? That which works by love, and which hopes for what God does promise. Nothing is more exact or perfect than this definition. There are then in faith these three things. He in whom that faith is which works by love, must necessarily hope for that which God does promise. Hope therefore is the associate of faith. For hope is necessary as long as we see not what we believe, lest perhaps through not seeing, and by despairing to see, we fail. That we see not, does make us sad; but that we hope we shall see, comforts us. Hope then is here, and she is the associate of faith. And then charity also, by which we long, and strive to attain, and glow with desire, and hunger and thirst. This then is taken in also; and so there will be faith, hope, and charity. For how shall there not be charity there, since charity is nothing else but love? And this faith is itself defined as that which works by love. Take away faith, and all you believe perishes; take away charity, and all that you do perishes. For it is the province of faith to believe, of charity to do. For if you believe without love, you do not apply yourself to good works; or if you do, it is as a servant, not as a son, through fear of punishment, not through love of righteousness. Therefore I say, that faith purifies the heart, which works by love.

12. And what does this faith effect at present? What does it by so many testimonies of Scripture, by its manifold lessons, its various and plentiful exhortations, but make us see now through a glass darkly, and hereafter face to face. But return not now in thought again to this your bodily face. Think only of the face of the heart. Force, compel, press your heart to think of things divine. Whatsoever occurs to your mind that is like to a body, throw it off from you. If you can not yet say, It is this, yet at least say, It is not this. For when will you be able to say, This is God? Not even then, when you shall see Him; for what you shall then see is ineffable. Thus the Apostle says, that he was caught up into the third heaven, and heard ineffable words. If the words are ineffable, what is He whose words they are? Therefore as you think of God, perchance there is presented to you the idea of some human figure of marvellous and exceeding greatness, and you have set it before the eyes of your mind as something very great, and grand, and of vast extension. Still somewhere you have set bounds to it. If you have, it is not God. But if you have not set bounds to it, where can the face be? You are fancying to yourself some huge body, and in order to distinguish the members in it, you must needs set bounds to it. For in no other way but by setting bounds to this large body, can you distinguish the members. But what are you about, O foolish and carnal imagination! You have made a large bulky body, and so much the larger, as you have thought the more to honour God. Another adds one cubit to it, and makes it greater than before.

13. But I have read, you will say. What have you read, who hast understood nothing? Yet tell me, what have you read? Let us not thrust back the babe in understanding with his play. Tell me, what have you read? Heaven is My throne, and the earth is My footstool. I hear you; I have read it also: but it may be that you think yourself to have the advantage, in that you have both read and believed. But I also believe what you have just said. Let us then believe it together. What do I say? Let us search it out together. Lo! Hold fast what you have so read and believed; Heaven is My throne (that is, my seat, for throne, in Greek, is seat, in Latin), and the earth is My footstool. But have you not read these words as well, Who has meted out the heaven with the palm of His hand? I conclude that you have read them; you acknowledge them, and confess that you believe them; for in that book we read both the one and the other, and believe both. But now think a while, and teach me. I make you my teacher, and myself the little one. Teach me, I pray you, Who is He that sits on the palm of His hand?

14. See, you have drawn the figure and lineaments of the members of God from a human body. And perhaps it has occurred to you to think, that it is according to the body that we were made after the Image of God. I will admit this idea for a time to be considered, and canvassed, and examined, and by disputation to be thoroughly sifted. Now then, if it please you, hear me; for I heard you in what you were pleased to say. God sits in heaven, and metes out the heaven with His palm. What! Does the same heaven become broad when it is God's seat, and narrow, when He metes it out? Or is God when sitting, limited to the measure of His palm? If this be so, God did not make us after His likeness, for the palm of our hand is much narrower than that part of the body whereon we sit. But if He be as broad in His palm as in His sitting, He has made our members quite unlike His. There is no resemblance here. Let the Christian then blush to set up such an idol in his heart as this. Wherefore take heaven for all saints. For the earth also is spoken of all who are in the earth, Let all the earth worship You. If we may properly say with regard to those who dwell on the earth, Let all the earth worship You, we may with the same propriety say also as to those who dwell in heaven, Let all the heaven bear You. For even the Saints who dwell on earth, though in their body they tread the earth, in heart dwell in heaven. For it is not in vain that they are reminded to lift up their hearts, and when they are so reminded, they answer, that they lift them up: nor in vain is it said, If you then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sits on the right hand of God. Set your affections on things above, not on things on the earth. In so far therefore as they have their conversation there, they do bear God, and they are heaven; because they are the seat of God; and when they declare the words of God, The heavens declare the glory of God.

15. Return then with me to the face of the heart, and make it ready. That to which God speaks is within. The ears, and eyes, and all the rest of the visible members, are either the dwelling place or the instrument of some thing within. It is the inner man where Christ does dwell, now by faith, and hereafter He will dwell in it, by the presence of His Divinity, when we shall have known what is the length, and breadth, and depth, and height; when we shall have known also the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that we may be filled with all the fullness of God. Now then if you would enter into the meaning of these words, summon all your powers to comprehend the breadth, and length, and height, and depth. Wander not in the imagination of the thoughts through the spaces of the world, and the yet comprehensible extent of this so vast a body. Look for what I am speaking of in your own self. The breadth is in good works; the length is in long-suffering and perseverance in well-doing; the height is in the expectation of rewards above, for which height's sake you are bidden to lift up your heart. Do well, and persevere in well-doing, because of God's reward. Esteem earthly things as nothing, lest, when this earth shall be smitten with any scourge of that wise One, you say that you have worshipped God in vain, hast done good works in vain, hast persevered in good works in vain. For by doing good works you had as it were the breadth, by persevering in them you had as it were the length; but by seeking earthly things you have not had the height. Now observe the depth; it is the grace of God in the secret dispensation of His will. For who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been His counsellor? and, Your judgments are as a great depth.

16. This conversation of well-doing, of perseverance in well-doing, of hoping for rewards above, of the secret dispensation of the grace of God, in wisdom not in foolishness, nor yet in finding fault, because one man is after this manner and another after that; for there is no iniquity with God; apply this, I say, if you think good, also to the Cross of your Lord. For it was not without a meaning that He chose this kind of death, in whose power it was even either to die or not. Now if it was in His power to die or not, why was it not in His power also to die in this or the other manner! Not without a meaning then did He select the Cross, whereby to crucify you to this world. For the breadth is the transverse beam in the cross where the hands are fastened, to signify good works. The length is in that part of the wood which reaches from this transverse beam to the ground. For there the body is crucified and in a manner stands, and this standing signifies perseverance. Now the height is in that part, which from the same transverse beam projects upward to the head, and hereby is signified the expectation of things above. And where is the depth but in that part which is fixed in the ground? For so is the dispensation of grace, hidden and in secret. It is not seen itself, but from thence is projected all that is seen. After this, when you shall have comprehended all these things, not in the mere understanding but in action also (for a good understanding have all they that do hereafter), then if you can, stretch out yourself to attain to the knowledge of the love of Christ which passes knowledge. When you have attained to it, you will be filled with all the fullness of God. Then will be fulfilled the face to face. Now you will be filled with all the fullness of God, not as if God should be full of you, but so that you shall be full of God. Seek there, if you can, for any bodily face. Away with such trifles from the eye of the mind. Let the child cast away his playthings, and learn to handle more serious matters. And in many things we are but children; and when we were more so than we are, we were borne with by our betters. Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see God. For by this is the heart purified; for that in it is that faith which works by love. Hence, Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

by Saint Augustine

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On The Soul Should Be Beautiful

On The Soul Should Be Beautiful

For since our God is pure, or rather the highest light, he comes to the pure, and as he has placed a pure soul in us, he will also ask it from us pure. For since it has been made according to God's image and likeness, that is to say as a figure of the divine beauty, it has also shared in that beauty. And knowing this the poet speaks thus, "Lord, by your will you granted power to my beauty" [Psalm 29,8], that is to say to the beauty of the soul, lest, having turned away towards the ugly passions of sin and become disfigured, it fall from God and his divine rewards.

Since therefore it is agreed that our soul should be like this, lovely and beautiful, and that we should give it back to God like a pledge on the last day, the day of resurrection, I beg and urge that we love this beauty and carefully guard this loveliness, not turning back to the fair things of the present age or to the beauties of flesh and blood. They are not beauties, but idols of beauty; they are rather corruption and change. And this we can learn from the end of things, for one who today is outstandingly beautiful and fair of face is tomorrow cast into a tomb, stinking and abhorrent.

So there is nothing fair and loveable but exemplary virtue, which should be our chief pursuit, my brothers. But if admittedly it frequently happens that the soul grows slack and is defiled by unseemly thoughts -- for who will boast that they have a pure heart? -- let it be quickly made clean again and brought back to its former condition, lest by delaying in evil it gives birth to death.

And let no one ever say that they cannot be made clean again, stained as they are by many sins, when they listen to the One who said, "Though your sins are like scarlet, I will make them white as snow. Though they are like crimson, I will make them white as wool" [Isaias 1,18]. Do you see God's ineffable love for humankind? Not only has he promised to purify, but to bring the one who repents to the pinnacle of loveliness.

St. Theodore the Studite
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Purity is Not Known

Purity is Not Known

Alas, my dear brethren, how little purity is known in the world; how little we value it; what little care we take to preserve it; what little zeal we have in asking God for it, since we cannot have it of ourselves.

No, my dear brethren, it is not known to those notorious and seasoned libertines who wallow in and trail through the slime of their depravities, whose hearts are .... roasted and burned by an impure fire .... [sentence incomplete - Trans.] Alas, very far from seeking to extinguish it, they do not cease to inflame it and to stir it up by their glances, their desires, and their actions. What state will such a soul be in when it appears before its God! Purity!

No, my dear brethren, this beautiful virtue is not known by such a person whose lips are but an opening and a supply pipe which Hell uses to vomit its impurities upon the earth and who subsists upon these as upon his daily bread. Alas! That poor soul is only an object of horror in Heaven and on earth! No, my dear brethren, this gracious virtue of purity is not known to those young men whose eyes and hands are defiled by glances and .... (sentence incomplete - Trans.) Oh God, how many souls does this sin drag down to Hell! .... No, my dear brethren, this beautiful virtue is not known to those worldly and corrupt girls who make so many preparations and take so many cares to draw the eyes of the world towards themselves, who by their affected and indecent dress announce publicly that they are evil instruments which Hell makes use of to ruin souls -- those souls which cost so much in labours and tears and torments to Jesus Christ! ....

Look at them, these unfortunates, and you will see that a thousand devils surround their heads and their breasts. Oh, my God, how can the earth support such servants of Hell? An even more astounding thing to understand is how their mothers endure them in a state unworthy of a Christian! If I were not afraid of going too far, I would tell those mothers that they are worth no more than their daughters.

Alas! This sinful heart and those impure eyes are but sources of poison which bring death to anyone who looks at or listens to them. How do such monsters of iniquity dare to present themselves before a God Who is so holy and so set against impurity! Alas! Their poor lives are nothing but an accumulation of fuel which they amass to increase the flames of Hell through all eternity.

But, my dear brethren, let us leave a subject which is so disgusting and so revolting to a Christian, whose purity should imitate that of Jesus Christ Himself, and let us return to our beautiful virtue, which raises us to Heaven, which opens to us the adorable Heart of our Lord and draws down upon us all sorts of spiritual and temporal blessings....

St. James tells us that this virtue comes from Heaven and that we shall never have it unless we ask it of God. We should, therefore, frequently ask God to give us purity in our eyes, in our speech, and in all our actions....

Finally, we should have a great devotion to the Blessed Virgin if we wish to preserve this lovely virtue; that is very evident, since she is the queen, the model, and the patron of virgins....

By Saint John Vianney

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How God Makes Use of Purgatory to Complete the Purification of the Soul

How God Makes Use of Purgatory to Complete 
the Purification of the Soul

How God makes use of purgatory to complete the purification of the soul. That she acquires therein a purity so great that if she were yet to remain after her purification she would cease to suffer. 

"From that furnace of divine love I see rays of fire dart like burning lamps towards the soul; and so violent and powerful are they that both soul and body would be utterly destroyed, if that were possible. These rays perform a double office; they purify and they annihilate. 

"Consider gold: the oftener it is melted, the more pure does it become; continue to melt it and every imperfection is destroyed. This is the effect of fire on all materials. The soul, however, cannot be annihilated in God, but in herself she can, and the longer her purification lasts, the more perfectly does she die to herself, until at length she remains purified in God. 

"When gold has been completely freed from dross, no fire, however great, has any further action on it, for nothing but its imperfections can be consumed. So it is with the divine fire in the soul. God retains her in these flames until every stain is burned away, and she is brought to the highest perfection of which she is capable, each soul in her own degree. And when this is accomplished, she rests wholly in God. Nothing of herself remains, and God is her entire being. When he has thus led her to himself and purified her, she is no longer passable, for nothing remains to be consumed. If when thus refined she should again approach the fire she would feel no pain, for to her it has become the fire of divine love, which is life eternal and which nothing mars.

Taken from Saint Catherine of Genoa Treatise on Purgatory
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Prayer to St. Joseph for Purity

Prayer to St. Joseph for Purity

Guardian of virgins and holy father St. Joseph, 

to whose faithful custody Christ Jesus, innocence itself, and Mary, 

Virgin of virgins, were committed: I pray and beseech You, 

by these dear pledges, Jesus and Mary, 

that being preserved from all impurity, I may with spotless mind, 

pure heart, and chaste body, ever most chastely serve 

Jesus and Mary all the days of my life. Amen.

Image Credit Waiting for the Word

Chastity Quotes

Chastity Quotes

More souls go to hell because of sins of the flesh than for any other reason. - Our Lady of Fatima

Holy Purity, the queen of virtues, the angelic virtue, is a jewel so precious that those who possess it become like the angels of God in heaven, even though clothed in mortal flesh. - St. John Bosco

To be pure, to remain pure, can only come at a price, the price of knowing God and loving him enough to do his will. He will always give us the strength we need to keep purity as something as beautiful for him.  - Blessed Mother Teresa

We must practise modesty, not only in our looks, but also in our whole deportment, and particularly in our dress, our walk, our conversation, and all similar actions. - St. Alphonsus Maria de Liguori

You carry your snare everywhere and spread your nets in all places. You allege that you never invited others to sin. You did not indeed, by your words, but you have done so by your dress and your deportment. ... When you have made another sin in his heart, how can you be innocent? Tell me, whom does this world condemn? Whom do judges punish? Those who drink poison or those who prepare it and administer the fatal potion? You have prepared the abominable cup, you have given the death dealing drink, and you are more criminal than are those who poison the body; you murder not the body but the soul. And it is not to enemies you do this, nor are you urged on by any imaginary necessity , nor provoked by injury , but out of foolish vanity and pride. - Saint John Chrysostom

Some complain that mankind will fail if so many are consecrated virgins. I desire to know who ever wanted a wife and could not find one? The killing of an adulterer, the pursuing or waging war against a ravisher, are the consequences of marriage. The number of people is greatest where virginity is most esteemed. Enquire how many virgins are consecrated every year at Alexandria, all over the East and in Africa, where there are more virgins than men in the country. - Saint Ambrose, Father and Doctor of the Church

The state of grace is nothing other than purity, and it gives heaven to those who clothe themselves in it. Holiness, therefore, is simply the state of grace purified, illuminated, beautified by the most perfect purity, exempt not only from mortal sin but also from the smallest faults; purity will make saints of you! Everything lies in this! - St. Peter Eymard

God bestows more consideration on the purity of the intention with which our actions are performed than on the actions themselves. - St. Augustine

Far be it from Christians that to do such deeds [as our done by pagan sinners] should enter their mind; for temperance dwells with them, self-restraint is practiced, monogamy is observed, chastity is guarded, injustice is exterminated, sin is rooted out, righteousness is exercised, law is ministered, reverence is preserved, God is acknowledged: truth controls, grace guards, peace protects, the holy word guides, wisdom teaches, life directs, God reigns. - Saint Theophilus of Antioch

He alone loves the Creator perfectly who manifests a pure love for his neighbor. - Saint Bede the Venerable

Chastity is the lily of virtues, and makes men almost equal to Angels. Everything is beautiful in accordance with its purity. Now the purity of man is chastity, which is called honesty, and the observance of it, honor and also integrity; and its contrary is called corruption; in short, it has this peculiar excellence above the other virtues, that it preserves both soul and body fair and unspotted. - Saint Francis of Sales, Doctor of the Church

What is more comely than chastity, which makes one generated from impure seed pure; an enemy, a friend; and a man, an Angel? There is a difference, indeed, between a chaste man and an Angel, but in happiness, not in virtue; the Angel's chastity is more happy; but man's is more proved. - Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, Father and Doctor of the Church

Chastity, or cleanness of heart, holds a glorious and distinguished place among the virtues, because she, alone, enables man to see God; hence Truth itself said, ‘Blessed are the clean of heart, for they shall see God.” - -Saint Augustine, Father and Doctor of the Church

There is no remedy so powerful against the heat of concupiscence as the remembrance of our Savior’s Passion. In all my difficulties I never found anything so efficacious as the wounds of Christ: In them I sleep secure; from them I derive new life. - Saint Augustine, Father and Doctor of the Church

If you desire to be chaste, be retired, be modest, be mortified. - Saint Leonard of Port Maurice

We take vows of chastity to love Christ with undivided love; - Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta

A clean heart is a free heart. A free heart can love Christ with an undivided love in chastity, convinced that nothing and nobody will separate it from his love. Purity, chastity, and virginity created a special beauty in Mary that attracted God’s attention. He showed his great love for the world by giving Jesus to her. - Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta

A pure soul is like a fine pearl. As long as it is hidden in the shell, at the bottom of the sea, no one thinks of admiring it. But if you bring it into the sunshine, this pearl will shine and attract all eyes. Thus the pure soul, which is hidden from the eyes of the world, will one day shine before the Angels in the sunshine of eternity. - Saint John Marie Vianney

The pure soul is a beautiful rose, and the Three Divine Persons descend from Heaven to inhale its fragrance. - Saint John Marie Vianney

Like a beautiful white dove rising from the midst of the waters, and coming to shake her wings over the earth, the Holy Spirit issues from the infinite ocean of the Divine perfections, and hovers over pure souls, to pour into them the balm of love. The Holy Spirit reposes in a pure soul as in a bed of roses. There comes forth from a soul in which the Holy Spirit resides a sweet odor, like that of the vine when it is in flower.” - Saint John Marie Vianney

We must be pure. I do not speak merely of the purity of the senses. We must observe great purity in our will, in our intentions, in all our actions. - St. Peter Julian Eymard

God desires from you the least degree of purity of conscience more than all the works you can perform. - St. John of the Cross

Those whose hearts are pure are the temples of the Holy Spirit. - St. Lucy

God demands great purity of certain souls, and so He gives them a deeper knowledge of their own misery. Illuminated by light from on high, the soul can better know what pleases God and what does not. (112) - St. Faustina, Divine Mercy in my Soul

Only the chaste man and the chaste woman are capable of true love. - Pope John Paul II

Holy Purity is granted by God when it is asked for with humility.  - St. Josemaria Escriva

Humility is the safeguard of chastity. In the matter of purity, there is no greater danger than not fearing the danger. For my part, when I find a man secure of himself and without fear, I give him up for lost I am less alarmed for one who is tempted and who resists by avoiding the occasions, than for one who is not tempted and is not careful to avoid occasions. When a person puts himself in an occasion, saying, I shall not fall, it is an almost infallible sign that he will fall, and with great injury to his soul. - Saint Philip Neri

Never talk of impure things or events, not even to deplore them. Look, it's a subject that sticks more than tar. Change the conversation, or if that's not possible, continue, but speaking of the need and beauty of holy purity--a virtue of the men who know what their souls are worth.  - St. Josemaria Escriva

Chastity is a difficult, long term matter; one must wait patiently for it to bear fruit, for the happiness of loving kindness which it must bring. But at the same time, chastity is the sure way to happiness. - Pope John Paul II 

In the realm of evil thoughts none induces to sin as much as do thoughts that concern the pleasure of the flesh. - St. Thomas Aquinas 

In temptations against chastity, the spiritual masters advise us, not so much to contend with the bad thought, as to turn the mind to some spiritual, or, at least, indifferent object. It is useful to combat other bad thoughts face to face, but not thoughts of impurity. - St. Alphonsus Liguori

Deep within yourself, listen to your conscience which calls you to be pure . . . a home is not warmed by the fire of pleasure which burns quickly like a pile of withered grass. Passing encounters are only a caricature of love; they injure hearts and mock God's plan. - Pope John Paul II 

The man of impure speech is a "person whose lips are but an opening and a supply pipe which hell uses to vomit its impurities upon the earth. - St. John Vianney

"That conversation . . . was as dirty as a sewer! It is not enough for you to take no part in it. You must show your repugnance to it strongly!"  - St. Josemaria Escriva

I have never talked about impurity. . . . But I have spoken many times, as I have to do, about chastity, purity, and the joyful affirmation of love. - St. Josemaria Escriva

Either we must speak as we dress, or dress as we speak. Why do we profess one thing and display another? The tongue talks of chastity, but the whole body reveals impurity. - St. Jerome

Lust indulged became habit, and habit unresisted became necessity. - St. Augustine

There is need for a crusade of manliness and purity to counteract and nullify the savage work of those who think man is a beast. And that crusade is your work. - St. Josemaria Escriva

Many live like angels in the middle of the world. You, … why not you? - St. Josemaria Escriva

When you decide firmly to lead a clean life, chastity will not be a burden on you: it will be a crown of triumph. - St. Josemaria Escriva

When you have sought the company of a sensual satisfaction, what loneliness afterward! - St. Josemaria Escriva

To defend his purity, Saint Francis of Assisi rolled in the snow, Saint Benedict threw himself into a thornbush, Saint Bernard plunged into an icy pond . . . You . . . what have you done? - St. Josemaria Escriva

Don't say, 'That's the way I am—its my character.' It's your lack of character. Esto vir!—Be a man! - St. Josemaria Escriva

Purity is the fruit of prayer. - Blessed Mother Teresa 

Purity prepares the soul for love, and love confirms the soul in purity. - --John Henry Cardinal Newman

O virgins, know you this, that while you retain your Virginity you are ever accompanied with Angels. Not so is it with her who is married, and is joined in matrimony. Knowest thou not that the merit of the virgin is said to be one hundred, and the merit of the married woman thirty, and of the widow sixty? Seest thou by how much the virgin doth exceed the other estates? O virgins be wise to maintain yourselves as you are; flee the sight of man! - St. Bernardine of Siena

What then did the Lord, the Truth and the Light, accomplish on coming down to the world? He preserved His flesh incorrupt in virginity with which he had adorned it. And so let us too, if we are to come to the likeness of God, endeavor to aspire to the virginity of Christ. - St. Methodius of Olympus

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