"The Good News of Christ continually renews the life and culture of fallen man; it combats and removes the error and evil which flow from the ever-present attraction of sin. It never ceases to purify and elevate the morality of peoples. It takes the spiritual qualities and endowments of every age and nation, and with supernatural riches it causes them to blossom, as it were, from within; it fortifies, completes, and restores them in Christ." CCC 2527
In today's reading, the Catechism discusses battling for purity in our lives. It can be a constant struggle, but one that becomes easier with each step we take toward living modestly. In today's climate, however, the struggle can be difficult. We are assaulted daily by eroticism and temptation in every form of media, especially online.
The Catechism Compendium summarizes what the other requirements for purity are, besides purity of heart:
Purity requires modesty, which, while protecting the intimate center of the person, expresses the sensitivity of chastity. It guides how one looks at others and behaves toward them in conformity with the dignity of persons and their communion. Purity frees one from widespread eroticism and avoids those things that foster morbid curiosity. Purity also requires a purification of the social climate by means of a constant struggle against moral permissiveness, which is founded on an erroneous conception of human freedom. (#530)
The Catechism Companion Vol III has some good commentary on this:
There is something about our sins that makes us cling to them tightly. St. Augustine famously struggled with chastity, for instance. The internet makes the struggle for purity more challenging. We exist in a time when the battle for purity is different, and in some ways more intense, than at any other time. We live in a world where the most violent things, the vilest things, the most perverse things are accessible, affordable, and anonymous... At all times we must say, "I want to do your will, Lord God." (p. 166)
No comments:
Post a Comment