KENNETH HENDERSON
I'm sure that
everyone reading this article knows someone, either a friend or family member
who struggles with sexual impurity. This problem is widespread and in a society
that is so preoccupied with sex and sexual pleasure, many people, even good
Catholics, can become ensnared in the trap of slavery to sex… through
addiction. Lust in all its forms, including masturbation, pornography,
promiscuity or adulterous relationships, is all a part of the attack on our
society in what I call the “Trinity of Evil.” It includes abortion,
homosexuality and sexual lust. All of these are intrinsically linked to the
preoccupation with sex and the selfish, contraceptive mindset of our modern
society; a mindset that is destroying our culture at the very foundation.
We have been
told by the spirit of the age, the Zeitgeist, predominately through the media,
that it's what you “get,” that makes you who you are. All human beings are born
into this world with certain innate needs that are instilled in us at birth.
However, because of the effect of Original Sin, our broken nature, these needs
can become twisted and disordered. We seek to fulfill these disordered needs
with “things.” However, these things -- money, material items, food or sex --
are only an attempt to fill the emptiness in our hearts where God should be.
Saint Augustine, who also struggled with promiscuity and lust before his
conversion, understood this when he finally came to know the Lord and said “You
have made us for Yourself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless, until they rest
in You.”
Lust is a
huge problem in our world and is probably the greatest contributor to the
destruction of marriages and families. With the abundance of technological
advances and media outlets, the selling of the human body has become big, big
business and it feeds on the brokenness of men and women. Lust is an inordinate
desire for sexual pleasure and involves engaging in the sexual act outside the
context of God’s intended purpose of marital communion. Saint Augustine teaches
us that when we indulge in the sins of the flesh, as with any mortal sin, the
intellect becomes darkened and God cannot be seen or recognized as Truth. In
fact, the allure of lust will lead people to commit a wide variety of
subsequent sins.
When a person
is lost in lust, they become enslaved to this obsessive desire and their
understanding of good becomes obscured. In his Summa Theologica, St. Thomas
Aquinas said “this act (simple understanding) is hindered by lust, according to
Daniel 13:56, ‘Beauty hath deceived thee, and lust hath perverted thy heart.’
In this respect we have ‘blindness of mind.’.” Because lust clouds even simple
understanding, this blindness will affect every aspect of a person’s life.
To illustrate
this point, people often wonder how anyone could commit the sin of sexually
abusing a child. But since lust cuts a person off from God and their intellect
becomes blinded, that person loses their ability to correctly judge right and
wrong. He (or she) acts out for one purpose -- that of sexual pleasure. As in
any addiction, the addict will often neglect family, job, and any other
responsibility in order to pursue the distorted desire, even when he recognizes
the destructive nature of his compulsion. Simply put, lust destroys a person’s
humanity.
It is
important to point out that a person enslaved to this sexual sin does not start
out to become as sexual addict nor do all who lust become sexual predators.
Yet, even a person who only indulges in lust occasionally can have his life and
relationships negatively affected.
To quote
Catholic Pro-life speaker, Barbara McGuigan, host of the show Voices on Virtue
on EWTN, “Satan, the master deceiver, loves to feed himself on the hearts of
children, as well as, the hearts of young people and adults. He knows the
intensity of the sexual appetite, and how sexual impurity can prevent us from
seeing the truth by clouding the intellect through sensuality. The deadly sin
of lust is deadly because it kills our ability to truly love. How Satan loves to
corrupt a soul by lust! He knows with his angelic intellect that lust causes a
blindness of understanding. Fr. John Hardon explained, ‘When man is brought
down to the level of a brute beast, he no longer possesses a sense of law, or
conscience, or honor, or gratitude, or fidelity or friendship. When lust
quenches the light of the soul, any advice, counsel, warning, or authority of
parents is disregarded. The heart becomes hardened. A person steeped in lust
has a hatred of all spiritual things, such as, prayer, sacraments, the Word of
God, Catholicism and all who teach how to be holy. A lustful person has a
hatred of all that is holy, which leads him to infidelity. He knows longer
believes in the God who loves him, in Heaven and Hell, and eternity. There is no
God to judge him’.
“It’s not hard to understand that darkness of
the mind, hardness of the heart, hatred of religion, and disbelief, lead to
despair and sometimes to final impenitence, which of course, is a serious sin
against the Holy Spirit. Could this be why our Blessed Mother at Fatima said
that ‘More souls go to hell for sins of the flesh than any other reason’?”
And I
couldn’t agree with more! The time is NOW for all True Knights to rise up and
spread the saving message of Jesus Christ and His Church. Only the Catholic
Church, as established by Jesus Christ himself, has the means that can truly
save marriages and families from the clutches of the devil. There is only one
thing that can fill the emptiness that resides in the hearts of all men and
women who struggle with lust… Jesus Christ, the Truth that sets all men and
women free.
Education is
the key. We cannot just sit by quietly and do nothing. Each and every Catholic
needs to do what they can to learn more about this issue and what we can do
about it. Just some suggestions, take a class on “The Theology of the Body” or
a class on how you can protect your family from internet pornography that your
diocese may offer. If no class exists, suggest it to your pastor or bishop. You
can also invite speakers who specialize in this issue, like Jason Evert, Steve
Wood, Christopher West or even me to come and speak to your parish, diocese, or
conference. Ask your pastor to address this issue more often from the pulpit. I
realize that many pastors may be uncomfortable with this, to which I would also
suggest that they too seek education on the severity of this concern.
Additionally, come to TrueKnights.org and learn of ways to get help. There are
many articles, resources, and materials available to help educate you.
If you suffer
from addiction to lust, the first thing you need to do is go to Confession… as
soon as possible. Then find an accountability partner, someone you can call for
help. At True Knights we have a recovery program available called Combat
Training which is personal confidential purity coaching that includes
accountability. However, space is limited for personal one-on-one purity
coaching. To help reach even more people who suffer from this issue we have our
Purity Corps recovery groups that are just in the beginning stages of being
placed in parishes around the country. Perhaps you are called to form a group
in your parish. Contact us to find out more.
The bottom
line is that in this world of great darkness, it is imperative for all Christians
to wake up, and by the grace of God, do what they can to bring the Truth of
Christ to the world. We are called to intercede for and inform this world, a
world that is so hungry for fulfillment, of God's divine and holy plan for
human sexuality and destroy Satan's perverse and twisted grip on humanity. Lust
is keeping many in the dark, perhaps even someone you know.
We must shine
the Light of Christ into this sick and dying world and send the devil running
for cover into the pits of hell… like the nasty cockroach he is! The first move
of any battle should always involve prayer. We are all called to pray, fast,
offer up our sufferings and ask the communion of Saints to intercede for the
lost souls of this world. Holy warriors, put on the Armor of God. Time is short
and we have much work to do! Pray for God's grace, mercy and holy power in this
War with eternal consequences!
https://catholicexchange.com/lust-kills-the-soul
1 comment:
Good reading your postt
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