Our need for purification

FEBRUARY 2 was the feast of the Presentation of the Lord, also known as the Purification of Mary. Saints and spiritual writers have commonly commented on how this event showed the profound humility of the Holy Family.

            There was actually no need for the Child Jesus to be presented, since he did not need to be consecrated. Nor was there any need for our Lady to be purified, since there can be no one purer than her.

            But just the same they followed the law at that time, rejecting any claim of entitlement or special treatment. And in the process, they have given us a poignant reminder of how great a need it is for us to be presented to God and to be purified, duties that we tend to take for granted.

            We have to highlight not only the objective need of our purification, but also its urgency and the massiveness, if not universality, with which it has to be undertaken. That’s because though previous eras also had their peculiar sticky problem in this area, ours now assume a very special character.

            We are practically wallowing nowadays in a mud hole of impurities. You have all kinds of scandals, the screaming ones and the hushed-up type, those that involve not only celebrities and politicians but also among men of the cloth who are supposed to be the preachers, guardians and models of chastity.

            These scandals are not anymore confined in some restricted places and environments. They are published in vivid details on broadsheets, broadcast over radio, shown and talked about on TV, and going viral in the Internet.

            I really pity those who are still young and innocent, who still don’t have the proper criteria for judging, much less the proper attitude and relevant skills to handle the situation. Obviously, there are also those who may not be young and innocent anymore but are helplessly trapped in this web of moral dirt just the same.

            We cannot imagine how much damage is inflicted on souls everyday by this continuing onslaught of filth that is stronger and more vicious than Yolanda and the Bohol earthquake.

            That’s why we all need to remind ourselves of this abiding need for purification. If in our physical life, we take a shower everyday or at least some regular washing, if in our professional life, we do some regular auditing of our performance, etc., we have to realize more deeply that we also need some regular deep and thorough cleansing in our spiritual and moral life.

            The way things are now, no one can claim that he is exempted from the wave of grime that we have around. The attack is indiscriminate, much like those natural calamities we have had. Pornography is just a click away. If not looked for, it just pops up, and if the viewer has no means to resist, then he gets it.

            We actually should not be surprised by this phenomenon anymore. We just have to acknowledge the reality the way it is now. But we also need to realize that no matter how grave the situation, there is always hope. Not only that, we can also derive a greater good from a graver evil that we now have to confront.

            We should always be optimistic and positive about the whole development, without denying that what we have before us is a tremendous challenge. There is now a greater need for us to talk about this topic more openly and with firmer desire to change.

            That’s right. We have to break loose from the grip of shame and embarrassment that this topic usually causes us and that leads to keep quiet, not to seek help and simply to cavalier about the whole affair. That kind of mentality should already belong to the past. We are not being updated if we still hold on to that attitude.

            We have to remember that in this effort, we need both spiritual and material techniques, human and supernatural means. We have to learn how to use our time well, how to fill up our mind and heart with good things, how to pray, how to appreciate the value of self-denial, the sacraments, etc.

            We have to realize that we also need to form some kind of network, with everyone working together in solidarity, to clean up our environment. A massive campaign of education and formation about chastity has to be done systematically.

            We should not be naive anymore to think that things will just fall into their places one way or another. We have to move!