Mary and our quest for chastity

“MOTHER most pure, Mother most chaste.” These are some of

the titles we attribute to our Lady, the Blessed Virgin Mary, in the

litany addressed to her. They tell us to whom we have to go and ask

for help in our lifelong search and struggle to live the virtue of

chastity.

  

            We cannot deny the fact that this virtue of holy purity

and chastity is so tricky and difficult that sometimes we have to have

recourse to extraordinary means to be able to live it.

  

            Opus Dei founder, St. Josemaria Escriva, once said in his

book, The Way, that “to defend his purity, St. Francis of Assisi

rolled in the snow, St. Benedict threw himself into a thorn bush, St.

Bernard plunged into an icy pond…You…what have you done?” (143)

  

            St. Paul has described to us the naked truth about the

difficulty of this virtue: “I see in my members another law at war

with the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin which

dwells in my members.” (Rom 7,23)

  

            The difficulty cannot be exaggerated. St. Augustine warned

us: “Of all the combats in which we are engaged, the most severe are

those of chastity. Its battles are of daily occurrence, but victory is

rare.”

  

            We have to be humble enough to acknowledge this reality

about ourselves. It hardly exempts anyone from it, no matter how

saintly we look and behave, or how calm, serene and strong we are by

temperament.

  

            There’s absolutely no use denying it. We are all made of

the same stuff that is weak and quite prone to temptations against

purity and chastity. We all have feet of clay.

             St. John in his first epistle already warns us about this:

“For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the

eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the

world.” (2,16)

  

            Mary, who with all her divine privileges has lived the

virtue of purity and chastity perfectly, is always there to help us.

As a mother to us, she takes care of us especially with respect to

this virtue. In this, she never grows tired and old. We, on our part,

should never be afraid nor ashamed to approach her.

  

            We should spend time developing an intimate relationship

with Mary our Mother. We should never ignore her for she plays a very

important and crucial role in our life. She truly helps us in our

struggles. She makes things easy for us.

  

             We should involve her always in all our struggles. She is

never scandalized by any dirt we produce in this area of purity. She

shows us the way to deal with the many difficulties and mysteries in

life that our human powers can hardly cope. She is always quick to

respond to our pleas.

  

            A Marian devotee once said that when it is she who leads

the way, we are sure to arrive at our destination. When it is she who

helps us, we will never get tired. The most vicious attacks of lust

can never find a foothold in us when we are close to her!

   

            With Mary our Mother, it is not just techniques that would

enable us to live chastity. It is the spirit of love.