Purity Is Indispensable In a Genuinely Catholic Home
Cultivating the virtue of purity is indispensable in a genuinely Catholic home. Without it, the family enters a downward spiral that could lead to its ultimate moral and material decay.
On the contrary, in homes where the angelic virtue of purity is cultivated, all the other virtues find fertile soil to flourish. Family bonds are strengthened, the atmosphere becomes harmonious, and socializing is pleasant. For this reason, many saints have said purity is the “queen of virtues.” Saint Francis de Sales used to say that “chastity is the lily of virtues,” which made people appear like angels.
Unfortunately, many media, especially TV networks, and the Internet dump tons of impure garbage into homes. They spread open immorality and pornography to destroy the innocence of children, dissolve families and marriages, corrode good morals, and even practice sexual perversion.
Here are some thoughts from great saints to help fathers and mothers raise their children by showing them the beauty of virginity and talking about the horror of the sins against chastity.
“Chastity, or cleanness of heart, holds a glorious and distinguished place among the virtues because she, alone, enables man to see God; hence, Truth itself said, ‘Blessed are the clean of heart, for they shall see God.’”—Saint Augustine
“Humility is the safeguard of chastity. In the matter of purity, there is no greater danger than not fearing the danger. For my part, when I find a man secure of himself and without fear, I give him up for lost. I am less alarmed for one who is tempted and who resists by avoiding the occasions than for one who is not tempted and is not careful to avoid occasions. When a person puts himself in an occasion, saying, I shall not fall, it is an almost infallible sign that he will fall, and with great injury to his soul.”—Saint Philip Neri
“We must be pure. I do not speak merely of the purity of the senses. We must observe great purity in our will, in our intentions, in all our actions.”—Saint Peter Julian Eymard
“The pure soul is a beautiful rose, and the three divine persons descend from heaven to inhale its fragrance.”—St. John Vianney
“Holy Purity, the queen of virtues, the angelic virtue, is a jewel so precious that those who possess it become like the angels of God in heaven, even though clothed in mortal flesh.”—Saint John Bosco.