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262. Be a person of Integrity! The Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) defines the Integrity of a Person, (§2338-9) as follows: "The chaste person maintains the integrity of the powers of life and love placed in him. This integrity ensures the unity of the person; it is opposed to any behavior that would impair it. It tolerates neither a double life nor duplicity in speech." The word "Integrity" is one that is often misunderstood in today's world. The best definition of this word is: "a steadfast adherence to a strict moral or ethical code." The virtue of chastity therefore involves the integrity of the person and the integrality of the gift. The CCC continues: "Chastity includes an apprenticeship in self-mastery which is a training in human freedom. The alternative is clear: either man governs his passions and finds peace, or he lets himself be dominated by them and becomes unhappy. "Man's dignity therefore requires him to act out of conscious and free choice, as moved and drawn in a personal way from within, and not by blind impulses in himself or by mere external constraint. Man gains such dignity when, ridding himself of all slavery to the passions, he presses forward to his goal by freely choosing what is good and, by his diligence and skill, effectively secures for himself the means suited to this end." There is a reason why I began to review these paragraphs in the CCC this week. It has to do with our culture run amuck. Every time, I turn on the television, there is a daily exposé of crime, promiscuity, pornography, etc. People's dress code - even the way some visit a church, is way off base. Given that the eyes are the windows of the soul, it is pretty hard not to notice people who dress poorly, and by that I mean, carelessly. Being "cool" in summertime in a hot climate, such as Florida, is one thing, but mode of dress sends a "social message" and all prudence seems to have gone out of the window. Many people aren't even aware that some of this is just plain wrong. Men and women may react differently to this daily barrage of temptation. I can only speak from a male viewpoint. And I can tell you, that the devil relentlessly attacks us, particularly those who try to stay close to Jesus. A vocation to chastity is very difficult to maintain. "Whoever wants to remain faithful to his baptismal promises and resist temptations will want to adopt the means for doing so: self-knowledge, practice of an ascesis adapted to the situations that confront him, obedience to God's commandments, exercise of the moral virtues, and fidelity to prayer. 'Indeed it is through chastity that we are gathered together and led back to the unity from which we were fragmented into multiplicity.'" (CCC § 2340, 41) "The virtue of chastity comes under the cardinal virtue of temperance, which seeks to permeate the passions and appetites of the senses with reason." It is a daily battle to remain chaste. Chastity can never be considered "acquired", I believe, until we are 6-feet under. Every moment in our lives, we struggle, struggle to discern, these images our eyes see - and we 'keep' what is wholesome, and 'dump' what is not. Chastity is a personal task, one that cannot be passed on to the next person. All people who attempt to live a life of integrity, a deep moral life, struggle from day to day with all of this. "Chastity is a moral virtue and a gift from God, a grace, a fruit of spiritual effort. The Holy Spirit enables one whom the water of Baptism has regenerated to imitate the purity of Christ." (CCC § 2345) "The sense of right and wrong . . . is so delicate, so fitful, so easily puzzled, obscured, perverted, so subtle in its argumentative methods, so impressionable by education, so biased by pride and passion, so unsteady in its course, that in the struggle for existence amid the various exercises and triumphs of the human intellect, the sense is at once the highest of all teachers yet the least luminous" (Newman) There is an excellent text on "A Catholic Response, Inc., website," A Primer on Catholic Morals. I'm not sure who authored this paper but it is sound Catholic teaching since it bears an Imprimatur. In contexts of this reflection, please take a moment to read the Primer. "Chastity is expressed notably in friendship with one's neighbor. Whether it develops between persons of the same or opposite sex, friendship represents a great good for all. It leads to spiritual communion." There last two paragraphs are very important to me, because my Franciscan friends and I are trying to live a deeper life in Jesus Christ by following and obeying the Rule of Saint Francis of Assisi. Getting back to what I've written a thousand times on this website: "Our best friend is Jesus!"
I cannot stress this enough. It is logical, that when our minds are filled with sensuous garbage, it just isn't possible to concentrate on Jesus, the Father, the Holy Spirit, Our Lady who was conceived without Sin, therefore a perfect Mother. Not perfect as defined by the world, but perfect as in Heaven! By studying the offenses that go against chastity in the Catechism of the Catholic Church (§§ 2351-2359) and the section of the Love of Husband and Wife (§§ 2360-2372), we have covered this entire difficult subject. Many Catholics who are "on the edge" ("on the fence?") and other people are quick to point at the faults and sins of the Catholic Church, especially on its laws on Chastity. Please do not judge this book by its cover. While the morals of the Church have taken a deep hit over the past 20-30 years, please do not throw your own moral values out of the window. Never let up your guard, "be sober and vigilant. Your opponent the devil is prowling around like a roaring lion looking for (someone) to devour. Resist him, steadfast in faith, knowing that your fellow believers throughout the world undergo the same sufferings. The God of all grace who called you to his eternal glory through Christ (Jesus) will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you after you have suffered a little." (1 Pet 5:8-10)
Be a person of Integrity!
God bless you, and keep you well!
Fred Schaeffer, SFO
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