Purification

AS we begin a new year, let’s remind ourselves about our need for purification. Let’s not fool ourselves and remain in a state of denial with respect to this need.

Even without doing anything scandalous, just the passage of time and the exposure to the daily usual things would be enough for us to accumulate dirt not so much on the physical side as on the spiritual and moral aspect.

Our heart, the center and engine of our life, cannot help but gather some dust, in amounts big or small, as we go along in life. We need to clean it up, tune it up and hopefully put it in tiptop condition for another year of living and struggling.

We cannot actually be casual about this issue anymore. We are living in very complicated times and environment. Gone now are the pristine air of our grandparents in the provinces. The pollution upon us today is much more harmful, much more treacherous, much more inescapable.

The media, the Internet, the billboards, etc., seem to produce a lot more of moral dirt and smog collateral to their legitimate purposes. We need to study this issue more thoroughly and systematically and act accordingly.

Consider the following observations that indicate the extreme of impurity we in general have fallen into:

- For example, the number of vocations to the priesthood and the religious and consecrated life has plummeted drastically;

- Of those who enter, a high percentage do not persevere. There are a lot of defections;

- And of those who persevere so far, a noticeable number are into some trouble and irregular situations, as in having illegitimate affairs with corresponding problematic fruits as a result.

That’s only speaking of the clerical population. The situation is, of course, far worse in the general populace.

There can be many causes and factors for these phenomena, but one of them that figure prominently is the problem in purity. Many are badly handicapped by it, their situation already so compromised that sorting it out to order or to some acceptable terms would require heroic effort.

At the moment, we can safely presume that an average young guy today has already seen if not participated in far worse sexual experiences compared to his peers in the previous generation. One would be naïve to think otherwise. Even the so-called “good guy” already has quite a load in this department.

Pornography is just a click away in the Internet, and that’s only the tip of the iceberg. Sexual deviancy has become more rampant. The other day, I read that in the States, it’s not only the men who are having affairs. The women are doing it also at a rate that can be considered as widespread and common.

Impurity makes quite a mess in our life. It threatens our spiritual life. It weakens our faith and turns charity into self-indulgence. It dashes simplicity to the ground and spawns deceit and hypocrisy, leading us to lead double lives that can deteriorate into Jekyll-and-Hyde syndrome. It distorts our vision of things.

This is our world today. We cannot stop at lamenting. We have to do the slow and agonizing process of cleaning the environment spiritually and morally, and of helping persons affected one by one. There’s always hope. God is always merciful, and where sin abounds, his grace abounds even more.

For this, we can get some inspiration from the Blessed Virgin. She, who was immaculate from conception to death, submitted herself to purification even if she had to no need for it. She’s more than willing to help us. We all need to go through purification ourselves. Today, this need is urgent.

We have to know how to handle and protect our heart. We have to help one another in finding ways, both practicable and accessible, of filling our heart with true love for God and souls. This love should be immediately felt. It should not remain in the theoretical level.

Personal spiritual direction and confession are a must, but have to be done with utmost respect for personal freedom. Clear doctrine has to be constantly given. Pious acts of prayer, mortification and self-discipline have to be learned and spread.

We need to foster an atmosphere of sincerity and transparency, precisely because these are the first victims of impurity. We have to discover the right mix of things that would make these virtues attractive again and easy and enjoyable to live.

This crusade for purification has to be pursued without stop. Without purity, we cannot go far in life.