Outgrowing the carnal man

THIS is everyone’s war, a universal struggle. We all need to overcome our carnality and sensuality to allow reason and eventually our faith to take root and dominate in us. This is because we are meant to be spiritual men, not carnal men. Reason, will, faith, hope, charity—all these make up the spiritual character of our life.

We have to acknowledge the true dimensions of our life, the range and scope of our humanity. We are not meant to be animals only, ruled by instincts and the senses, nor even rational animals, which is how our classical philosophers define man to be. That’s already a lot, but not quite enough.

We have to be careful with the many ideological definitions and descriptions of man that can contain certain elements of truth but still miss the core point. Man is not just a social, economic or political being. He is a lot more than these.

Much less is he a purely material being, completely imprisoned in time, space and worldliness, and detached from God, the eternal, supernatural, perfect being, who created him to be God’s image and likeness, as what some Marxist doctrine teaches.

There is something spiritual in man, because he can think, judge, reason, love, etc., operations that transcend the material dimension of our life. Since operations are determined by nature (operare sequitur esse), then he must be spiritual because he is capable of spiritual operations.

Since our spirituality is not self-generated or self-created, then we must understand that it comes from an eternal spirit whom our reason alone can start to identify as God.

We actually have some inkling of God which we should try, with God’s grace, to develop and cultivate as fully as possible. That’s why we are said to be a naturally religious being that we should bring to maturity. That’s the natural consequence of being spiritual.

From God our spirituality can never be detached, although it can choose to cut away from its creator and preserver. In its objective reality, our spirituality is always bound up with God. It now depends on us to conform our spirituality in its subjectivity to this objective reality.

That’s the reason why St. Paul talks about the spiritual man which we should try to develop out of our being simply carnal man. This is the challenge and task for all of us. And we just have to help one another in this.

This will involve some war because our carnality and sensuality will resist the spirituality proper to us. Remember St. Paul saying, “I am delighted with the law of God according to the inward man, but I see another law in my members, fighting against the law of my mind, and captivating me in the law of sin, that is in my members.” (Rom 7,22-23)

In the school where I work, I try my best to help the young boys overcome their sensuality. With prayers and sacrifice, with the insights and lessons I get from my personal prayers and study as well as the experience of my own personal struggles, I give them tips, suggestions, pieces of advice, admonitions, etc. on how to wage this war.

I often tell them to pray and be generous with sacrifices, to link their mind with God and with others, not allowing them to go empty and idle but rather fired up in love and desire for the good. Chastity is more a matter of affirmative action of love than that of denying oneself.

I tell them to be wary of pride that can come from one’s privileges in looks, health, talents, intelligence, etc., things the young are most vulnerable to, as well as gluttony and laziness. These are where the devil can gain a foothold on us. Temptations should as much as possible be ignored, and if not, then tackled while still far from one’s heart.

I also tell them to be highly disciplined in their thinking and imagination, to keep close if discreet guard on their senses, especially the eyes and the touch, to minimize unnecessary “pa-cute and pa-charming” with the girls.

And when the sting of the flesh manages to come, then one has to do what comes naturally and supernaturally, including intense prayers and sacrifices. Saints have done extraordinary things like wrapping themselves with thorns, rolling on snow, whipping with spikes, etc. One can do what the Spirit inspires him.

Recourse to the sacraments and devotion to our Lady, Mother most chaste and Mother of Fair Love, helps a lot. Take it from the saints.