Catholic during the Great Apostasy

Among all the virtues with which the Blessed Virgin Mary shone while living here on earth, one of the most beautiful, and one which we should most strongly encourage ourselves to imitate, was the virtue of chastity.

This virtue which in us is the beginning of the spiritual life, of the angelic life, which unites us so closely to God, which leads us into heaven, where nothing impure can enter; this virtue which consecrates our whole life and is one of the strongest foundations of family and national life and happiness.

Holy faith has ennobled man, and having supported and consecrated his weak forces with supernatural power, it has made him capable of the greatest perfection, and such it has a right to demand of him. We do not know our dignity, our vocation by living in the flesh, we live in the flesh. Being able to be angels on earth, we become animal during life, only to know hell after death.

One of the most beautiful, one of the most salutary virtues, which goes hand in hand with truth and love, is the virtue of chastity, great in itself, great by its influence and consequence. But this virtue can only develop and establish itself in a mighty struggle; in the struggle with the inner world. If we do not feel in ourselves enough strength to fight the world, we can avoid it, run away from it.

But we cannot escape from ourselves, because the inner world is man’s most devastating enemy, living in man, pursuing him like a shadow, and so many times trampled down, worn out, it constantly awakens to a new fight. He has at his command all the senses of our body, all the passions of our heart, all his charms and illusions, and against such a powerful force, under the guidance of the spirit of darkness, what resistance can we manage? Faith and love, prayer and suffering, humility and trust.

But alas! man, having learned his vocation, has fallen from his dignity. Having renounced God, he renounces the spirit; and not living by the spirit, he begins to live by the flesh. Like the stars in the sky, all his bright thoughts and feelings slowly fade away! Where sin, contrary to the virtue of chastity, has taken root, there it is dull, empty and dark in thought and heart! For it is no longer God, but Satan who rules over such thought and heart, blowing out that fire of hell, which does not warm, but burns, which does not enlighten, but darkens! – A man given over to such a sin, stupefied in spirit, slowly turns into a corpse and in body. This fire burns and soils him everywhere.

In his disgrace he seeks glory. Like a filthy insect, he crawls with filthy thoughts and feelings; and whatever he touches, he stains; his heart, every emotion, even the most sacred, he transforms into deadly venom, with which he poisons himself and others. Like a vulture of prey, he seeks out victims into which he can plunge the bloody claws of debauchery. Not bodies, but souls, the killer counts his victims with a devilish smile of satisfaction.

O! let us turn our gaze away from this hideous image, and let us rather look at her who appears to us as an example of this virtue in all its brightness. When dirty thoughts begin to swirl in our minds, let the memory of Mary disperse them; when dirty feelings begin to arise in our hearts, let the memory of Mary calm them. – Let us not admire her enough, let us strive to imitate her. Amen.

The May Devotion. From the manuscripts of Father Karol Antoniewicz S. J. Reprinted separately from the devotional book of the same author. Kraków. 1883.