Author: ks. Mieczysław Piotrowski TChr,
"Love One Another!" 16/2010 → True Love Waits - Pure Hearts
One of the signs of the current moral crisis in the world is the disappearance of the sense of sin in the area of human sexuality.
The sixth and ninth commandments and the teachings of Jesus emphasize to us that this area of our humanity is a special place of manifestation of God’s love, for it is precisely here that He calls new human beings into existence. Human sexuality is at once a special gift of God and a call to undertake the difficult daily task of so shaping our nature as to conform our sensuality and emotionality to the law of love as expressed in the commandments and teachings of Christ.
Jesus desires to purify and form our hearts to the point that we may love as He loves us: “This is the will of God, your holiness: that you refrain from immorality, that each of you know how to acquire a wife for himself in holiness and honor, not in lustful passion as do the Gentiles who do not know God; not to take advantage of or exploit a brother in this matter, for the Lord is an avenger in all these things, as we told you before and solemnly affirmed. For God did not call us to impurity but to holiness. Therefore, whoever disregards this, disregards not a human being but God, who also gives his holy Spirit to you” (1 Thess 4: 3-8).
Jesus tells us that sexual intimacy is reserved only for a man and a woman who are bound to each other as husband and wife in the sacramental union of matrimony (cf. Mat. 19: 3-9). If the married couple lead a deep spiritual life and remain in a state of sanctifying grace, then their sexual union–experienced as the total and unselfish lavishing of the spiritual and bodily abundance of the one upon the other–becomes the seal of the sacrament of marriage, i.e. a sign of the presence of God, who sanctifies the couple, uniting them in His love. Thus, God alone gives us the right to enjoy sexual intimacy, and He does this only in the sacrament of matrimony. In giving us the sixth and ninth commandments, God makes it clear that pre-marital, extra-marital, and homosexual sex constitute serious sins, since these acts destroy love and wreak terrible destruction in the spiritual sphere. In addition, every deliberate and freely willed arousal of sexual pleasure–through masturbation, petting, the consumption of pornography, etc.–destroys love, deepens selfishness, enslaves the soul, and is therefore also a grave sin. That is why St. Paul warns us: “The body is not for immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord is for the body….Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take Christ’s members and make them the members of a prostitute? Of course not!....Avoid immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the immoral person sins against his own body. Do you not know that your body is a temple of the holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you have been purchased at a price. Therefore, glorify God in your body” (1 Cor 6: 13b; 15; 18-20). We should also know that every interference with the sacredness of the sexual union through contraception or in vitro fertilization is a serious sin.
Authentic love, be it of spouse, God, or neighbor is attainable only by the pure of heart. To strive for love, then, is our supreme task in life. We must seek the gift of a pure heart by entrusting ourselves entirely to Jesus, that He may raise us from every sin of impurity and
dependence such as on pornography, narcotics, and alcohol, etc. To this end, Jesus invites us all to join the Movement of Pure Hearts. By doing so, we embark on the supreme and most important adventure of our life: the scaling of the highest spiritual peak–named Love.
Who can join MPH? Anyone who is willing to entrust his or her heart to Jesus for healing, and who desires to learn from Him how to love.
What are the requirements? A sincere readiness to make good all the promises contained in the Prayer of Consecration, in particular the promise to pray daily, to make a sacramental confession as soon as one commits a serious so as to remain in a state of sanctifying grace, and to work systematically on oneself by drawing up and conscientiously following a balanced daily plan that makes time for prayer, work, rest, and recreation.
When and how can one join MPH. Any time! First, go to confession and, after receiving Jesus in Holy Communion, say the following Prayer of Consecration:
“Lord Jesus, I am thankful that You love me with a love that rights the greatest wrongs and heals the most hurtful wounds. I offer You my memory, my mind, my soul, my body, my sexuality. I vow not to engage in sexual acts until I am united with my spouse in the Sacrament of Marriage. From this day forth, I will not read, buy, or watch pornographic materials. [Here, girls may wish to add: I vow to dress modestly and in no way to arouse lustful thoughts or desires in others.] I solemnly promise to meet You every day in prayer, scriptural meditation, frequent reception of Holy Communion, and Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. I also pledge to avail myself regularly of the Sacrament of Penance, not to give in to discouragement, and to pick myself up promptly every time I fall into sin. Dear Jesus, teach me the practice of self-discipline and to control my sexual desires and feelings. Give me the courage to resist the easy way in my daily walk through life. Help me to avoid everything that weakens and enslaves the will: nicotine, alcohol, and drugs. Teach me to place love at the very center of my life.
Mary, my Mother, guide me in my journey of faith. Lead me to the very source of Love–to Jesus, that I may trust and believe in Him alone. After the example of Servant of God John Paul II, I desire to entrust myself entirely to you: Totus Tuus, Mary! Blessed Caroline, procure for me the gift of a pure heart. Amen!”
Please consider sending LOA your personal testimony that we may publish it. In any case, inform us of your decision to join MPH, so that we may enroll you in our Register of Pure Hearts and send you our special blessing. Remember to pray the Prayer of Consecration every day.
We pray for you every day. Remember us also in your prayers. Christ’s blessings upon you all!
Fr. M. Piotrowski SChr & the LOA staff
The article was published with the permission from "Love One Another!" in June 2016.
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