The struggle against the capital sins: lust

"Your country and the world has given itself to lust, pleasures of the flesh, worship of satan, abominations in the House of God. These abominations and these offenses, My children, are far worse than in the time of Noe! You will burn! The world will be cleansed by a baptism of fire." - Our Lady, July 15, 1974

The following is an excerpt from the classic book, The Spiritual Life: A Treatise on Ascetical and Mystical Theology by the Very Reverend Adolphe Tanquerey, S.S., D.D.

II. Lust¹ 

#873. (1) The Nature of Lust. Just as God has willed to attach sense-pleasure to the nutritive functions in order to help man's self-preservation, so He has attached a special pleasure to the acts whereby the propagation of the human species is secured. 

This pleasure is permissible to married people, provided they use it for the purpose for which marriage was instituted; outside of this it is strictly forbidden. In spite of this prohibition, there is in us an unfortunate tendency, more or less violent, especially from the age of puberty or adolescence, to indulge in this pleasure even out of lawful wedlock. This is the tendency that is called lust and which is condemned by the sixth and ninth commandments: 

"Thou shalt not commit adultery." "Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's wife." 

It is not merely exterior actions that are prohibited, but also interior acts, fancies, thoughts, desires. And this rightly so, for if one deliberately dwells upon impure imaginations or thoughts, upon evil desires, the senses become excited, whilst an organic disturbance is produced, which is too often but the prelude to actions against purity. Therefore, if we wish to avoid such acts, we must fight against dangerous thoughts and fancies. 

n1. St. THOM., IIa IIae, q. 153-154; S. ALPHONSUS, 1. III, n. 412-485; CAPELMAN, "Medicina pastoralis;", ANTONELLI, "Medicina pastoralis," Romae, 1905; SURBLED, "Vit de jeune homme," Paris, 1900; "Vie de jeune fille," Paris, 1903; FONSSAGRIVES, "Conseils aux parents et aux maitres sur l'education de la purete;" MARTINDALE, S.J., "The Difficult Commandment;" GUIBERT, "Purity;" FOERSTER, "Marriage and the sex problem;" CATTERER-KRUS-VAN DER DONCKT, "Educating to Purity;" Mgr. DUGOURG, "Sixieme et neuvieme commandements; Apres la vingtieme annee." 

#874. (2) Gravity of faults against purity. A) When one seeks and directly wills the evil pleasure, there is always mortal sin, for to endanger the preservation and propagation of the human race is a grave disorder. Now, were the principle to be admitted that one may seek voluptuous pleasure in thoughts, in words, or in actions otherwise than in the right use of marriage, it would be impossible to restrain this passion, the demands of which increase with the satisfactions accorded, and soon the purpose of the Creator would be frustrated. This is what experience shows: there are but too many young people who render themselves incapable of transmitting life, because they have abused their bodies. Hence, as regards evil pleasure directly willed, there is no lightness of matter. 

B) There are cases in which this pleasure is not directly sought; it may follow from certain actions otherwise good or at least indifferent. If one does not consent to this pleasure, and has, besides, a reason sufficient to justify the performance of the action, there is no guilt and no cause for alarm. If, on the other hand the actions that give rise to such sensations are neither necessary, nor really useful, like dangerous readings, shows, conversations, lewd dancing, then it is evident that to perform such actions is a sin of imprudence, more or less grave, in proportion to the gravity of the disorder thus produced and of the danger of consent to the evil pleasure. 

#875 . C) From the point of view of perfection, there is, next to pride, no greater obstacle to spiritual growth than the vice of impurity. a) When it is question of solitary acts or of faults committed with others, it is not long before tyrannical habits are formed which thwart every impulse towards perfection, and incline the will towards debasing pleasures. Relish for prayer disappears, as does love for austere virtue, while noble and unselfish aspirations vanish. b) The soul becomes a prey to selfishness. The love once borne to parents and friends gradually dies out; there is but the desire which becomes a real obsession to indulge at any cost in evil pleasures. c) The balance of the faculties is destroyed: it is the body, it is lust that takes command; the will becomes the slave of this shameful passion and soon rebels against God, Who forbids and punishes these unholy pleasures. 

d) The sad effects of this surrender of the will are soon apparent: the mind becomes dull and weak because the vital forces are used up by the senses: taste for serious studies is lost; the imagination gravitates towards lower things; the heart gradually withers, hardens, and is attracted only by degrading pleasures. e) In some cases the physical frame itself is deeply affected: the nervous system, over-excited by such abuses, becomes irritated, weakened, and "incapable of fulfilling its mission of regulation and defence;"1 the various bodily organs function but imperfectly; nutrition is improperly accomplished, strength is undermined and the danger of consumption threatens. 

Evidently, a soul that has thus lost its balance, no longer thinks of perfection. It recedes from it daily, considering itself fortunate if it can gain control over itself at least in time to insure its salvation! 

n1. LAUMONIER, op. cit., p. III. 

#876. (3) The Remedies. To withstand so dangerous a passion, we need deep convictions, protection against dangerous occasions, mortification and prayer. 

A) Deep convictions bearing at once upon the necessity of combating this vice and upon the possibility of succeeding in the struggle. 

a) What we have said about the gravity of the sin of lust shows how necessary it is to avoid it in order not to run the risk of everlasting punishment. To this we may add two motives furnished by St. Paul:¹ 1) We are the living temples of the Holy Trinity, temples hallowed by the presence of an all-holy God, and by a participation in the divine life (97, 106). Nothing so defiles this temple as the vice of impurity which desecrates both the body and the soul of the Christian. 2) We are the members of Jesus Christ, into Whom we have been incorporated by Baptism. We must, therefore, honor our body even as Christ's own body. And we would profane it by acts contrary to purity! Would not this be a sort of sacrilege? And to think that we would perpetrate it just to relish a vulgar pleasure which lowers us to the level of the brute! 

n1. I Cor., III, 16; VI, 15-20. 

#877. b) Many say that continence is impossible. So thought St. Augustine before his conversion, but once converted to God and sustained by the example of the Saints and the grace of the Sacraments he realized that all things are possible once we know how to pray and how to fight. The truth is that of ourselves we are so weak and the evil at times so alluring, that we would finally yield; but as long as we lean upon divine grace and make earnest efforts, we emerge victorious from the severest temptations. Let no one assert that continence in youth is detrimental to health. Honorable and notable physicians have refuted this in the resolutions of the Brussels International Congress:¹ "Young men must above all, be taught that chastity and continence are not only not harmful, but even commendable from a purely medical and hygienic point of view." As a matter of fact, there is no known disease resulting from the practice of continence whilst many are found to originate in the opposite vice. 

n1. IIe Congres de la Conf. internationale, 1902. Examine many other testimonials in "Le probleme de la chastete au point de vue scientifique" by F. ESCLANDE, 1919, p. 122-136. 

#878. B) Avoidance of the occasions. That chastity is preserved chiefly by fleeing dangerous occasions is an axiom with spiritual writers. When we realize our frailty, we do not run useless risks. As long as such occasions are not necessary they must be carefully avoided: "He that loveth the danger shall perish in it."¹ When it is question of readings, visits, meetings, dangerous entertainments from which we can exempt ourselves without any considerable inconvenience, there is no reason for hesitation; instead of looking for these we must flee from them as we would from a dangerous reptile. When these occasions cannot be avoided, then we must strengthen the will by interior dispositions that make the danger more remote. Thus St. Francis de Sales declares that if dances cannot be avoided they should at least be indulged in with modesty, self-respect, and good intentions.² How much more necessary is this today, when so many indecent dances are in vogue! 

n1. Eccli. III, 27. 

n2. "Intro. to A Devout Life," III P., C. XXXIII. 

#879. C) There are, however, occasions that cannot be avoided. They are those we daily encounter, whether in ourselves or in our surroundings, and which we can overcome only by mortification. We have already said in what this virtue consists, and how it is to be practiced, n. 754-815. We can but recall a few points connected more directly with the virtue of chastity. 

a) The eyes should be especially guarded, for imprudent glances enkindle desires and these in turn entice the will. This is why Our Lord declares that "Whosoever shall look on a woman to lust after her has already committed adultery with her in his heart;"¹ and He adds that if our right eye is to us an occasion of scandal it must be plucked out,² that is to say, forcefully withdrawn from the object that scandalizes us. This modesty of the eyes becomes more imperative than ever today, since one is more liable to meet almost everywhere with persons and things apt to be a source of temptation. 

b) The sense of touch is fraught with even more danger, for it provokes sensual impressions which easily tend towards illicit pleasure. Hence, one must abstain from such bodily contact or caresses as cannot but excite the passions. 

C) As regards the imagination and the memory, let one follow the rules laid down in n. 781. As to the will, the task is to strengthen this faculty by a virile education according to the principles explained in n. 811-816. 

n1. Matth. V, 28. 

n2. Matth. V, 29. 

#880. d) The heart also must be mortified by struggling against whatever may be sentimental or dangerous in the domain of friendship (n. 600-604). Of course, a time comes when those looking forward to married life first fall in love. This love is lawful, but it must ever remain chaste and supernatural. Even engaged persons, then, should avoid all signs of affection that are not according to the rules of propriety and should bear in mind that their love, to be blessed by God, must be pure. 

With regard to those who are as yet too young to think of marriage, they must be on their guard against that sentimental and sensual affection, which, whilst enervating the heart, prepares for dangerous surrenders. One cannot play with fire and not be scorched. Besides, if one expects that the heart pledged in marriage be pure, must one not offer a heart equally pure? 

#881. e) Lastly, one of the most profitable forms of mortification is a constant and earnest application to the fulfillment of our duties of state. Idleness is an evil counselor; work, on the contrary, by engaging the whole of our activity keeps our imagination, our mind, and our heart away from dangerous objects. We shall speak of this again in n. 887. 

#882. D) Prayer. a) The Council of Trent tells us that God does not command the impossible, but that He requires us to do what in our power lies and to pray in order to obtain the grace of accomplishing that which, of ourselves, we are incapable of performing.¹ This injunction holds particularly in matters of chastity, with regard to which most persons, even those in the holy state of marriage, encounter special difficulties. To overcome these, frequent prayer and the consideration of the great truths of religion are necessary. Such oft-repeated elevations of the soul towards God gradually wean us away from sensual pleasures and make us rise to joys that are pure and holy. 

b) To prayer must be joined the frequent reception of the Sacraments. 1) When we approach frequently the tribunal of penance, making a frank avowal of faults and imprudences against purity, the grace of absolution, together with the counsels we receive, strengthen the will against temptation. 2) This grace is further increased through frequent Communion. The intimate union with Him Who is the God of all holiness cools the fires of concupiscence, awakens the soul to the reality of spiritual goods, and thus withdraws it from attachments to degrading pleasures. It was through frequent Confession and Communion that St. Philip Neri reclaimed youths addicted to the vice of impurity, and even to this day there is no more efficacious remedy either to preserve or to strengthen this virtue. If so many young men and young women escape contagion from vice, it is due to the fact that they find in religious practices an antidote to the temptations that surround them. No doubt, the use of these means of defense requires courage, earnestness and repeated effort, but with prayer, the Sacraments, and a determined will we can surmount all obstacles. 

n1. Sess. VI, De Justificatione, C. XI.  

"My children, I ask for victim souls. I ask as your God for penance and atonement. Avoid the occasions of sin. Protect your children. The time given in prayer and penance, the unity of the family will remain intact.
     "Take from your homes diabolical literature. It's an abomination in the eyes of your God for parents to have pornography in their homes. They warp the minds of the young and shut the Kingdom of Heaven from them; the doors remain closed." - Jesus, July 25, 1979

The amazing Bayside Prophecies... http://www.tldm.org/directives/directives.htm 

These prophecies came from Jesus, Mary, and the saints to Veronica Lueken at Bayside, NY, from 1968 to 1995:

PROTECT YOUR CHILDREN
"Mothers and fathers of the world, will you not protect the souls of your children? You must take action against those who are propagating the evil. Parents, have you examined what your children have been reading? Their eyes, which are the mirror of the soul, are being polluted--their souls being destroyed by the pornography being sold for profit and gain. Why is there no action, My children, to safeguard your children? Many parents will cry bitter tears of anguish, but too late, too late!" - Our Lady, August 14, 1975

SET UP TASK-FORCE TO STOP PORNOGRAPHY
"My child, you must set up a task-force to stop the waves of evil in pornography that is engulfing your country and the world. Action is needed! There are many true spirits who will help you in this fight. It is truly a battle of the spirits!" - Our Lady, August 14, 1975

A  WAY  OF  LIFE
"I ask that a task force be set upon the world to eliminate the products of the forces of evil that seek to debase, destroy the souls of your children. Remove from your homes the corrupters of souls: the pornography, the infernal box—your television—and the destructor of souls, modesty and purity—the nakedness of the body.
   "Parents, you shall be judged for the destruction by permissiveness, of your children's souls. Clothe them in goodness, holiness, and piety, and make modesty a way of life for the young." - Our Lady, August 21, 1975 

EXAMPLE  OF  QUEEN  OF  HEAVEN
"The world must follow the example of the Queen of Heaven. Modesty, purity of heart and purpose." - St. Michael, December 7, 1973 

SACRED TEMPLE  OF  GOD
"Impress, My child, upon your world the existence of hell that man seeks to deny. There are fires of hell. These fires will be felt on those who have lost their modesty to modernization, who expose the sacred temple of God, placed when their spirit entered their body—expose them to ridicule! The flames will burn every inch of that which is exposed." - Our Lady, November 20, 1971 

AS  BEFITS  A  WIFE  AND  MOTHER
"Women shall not approach the sacred Body dressed as pagans, exposing the temples of their spirit to shame! Cover yourselves, My children, or you will burn!
   "I repeat: women will dress as befits a wife and mother, clothing themselves with modesty and holiness. Children will follow the example of their parents. Therefore, if your example is poor, your children will be your thorns. The sins of the parents are surely visited upon the children." - Our Lady, March 18, 1975 

ARE  YOU  PAGANS?
"Parents, how dare you allow your daughters to be looked upon with lustful eyes! Have you no shame? What is your example? Are you pagans?" - Our Lady, May 30, 1972

Directives from Heaven...  http://www.tldm.org/directives/directives.htm 

D28 - Hell   PDF
D89 - Sin   PDF

D128 - Modesty   PDF
D200 - Lust    PDF
D201 - Vanity    PDF

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