"The debasement of noblest things is the worst." This famous apothegm is no more applicable than to matters of purity and impurity.

One of the most wide spread vices of our day and age is that of impurity. It is a vice so easy to fall into yet once it takes hold seems impossible to overcome. Part of the reason for this is that, as St. John Climacus says:

Our relentless enemy, the teacher of fornication, whispers that God is lenient and particularly merciful to this passion, since it is so very natural. Yet if we watch the wiles of the demons we will observe that after we have actually sinned they will affirm that God is a just and inexorable judge. They say one thing to lead us into sin, another thing to overwhelm us in despair.

Another reason why many are not victorious in battling this vice is that they do not value the opposing virtue of purity. They fail to realize that as there is no vice more loathsome and horrible than impurity, so the most charming and beautiful of all virtues is purity. But why is this so?

In the first place, purity is so highly valued because it is the crown of all other virtues. It presupposes the presence of many if not all other virtues. The pure of heart love prayer and have the virtue of piety. They must at all times consider their infirmity and pray for grace and strength thus practicing humility. They also love the virtues of penance, self-denial and charity and they must have the virtues of meekness, patience and zeal for the glory of God. They must also practice the virtues of Faith, Hope and Charity, in such a perfect manner that the other virtues find strength and support in them.

Another reason is that there is no virtue which demands greater sacrifice and more care than purity. St. Jerome calls this virtue a living martyrdom since it lasts for one’s entire life. We must guard not only one of our senses or faculties, but all of them. All of our senses and faculties are exposed to temptations against holy purity, and so we must keep them all under careful control. It is this constant watchfulness and self-denial which the Fathers of the Church regarded as a martyrdom.

Because of this self-denial, which purity demands, some may have the impression that the life of the pure is sad and gloomy; they are mistaken. The Garden of Paradise contained many trees but only one was forbidden to our first parents. The fruit they were allowed to eat was far more choice than that of the one forbidden to them. Because they chose to enjoy the forbidden fruit they were no longer able to enjoy the others. Likewise, the pure of heart know many more joys, pleasures and consolations that are withheld from those who give themselves up to impurity.

Purity is reflected in our bearing and character even though it be too subtle to analyze or explain. The pure young man or young woman will be of a happy mind having a cheerfulness that does not depend on the weather. Their eyes sparkle with a fire not of this world and they see beauty and charm where the sinful see only the commonplace. The mountains, trees and flowers, lawful gratification, labor and rest, all give to the pure a gratification of which the worldly minded have no idea. How much better it is to enjoy such peace and tranquility of mind, than to suffer the tortures of conscience living in fear that hidden sins will become known.

Nothing in all Creation is grander than the sight of a pure boy or girl growing up in all their strength and beauty of health, with an innocent look in their eyes. Purity ennobles and elevates our body, giving it a charm that is the delight of God and His angels. Even the wicked, who are unwilling to be pure themselves, are compelled to admire and respect purity in others.

Nor is it just the body of the pure that God in His infinite generosity adorns but He beautifies the soul far more. They that go to heaven upon the path of purity receive the choicest blessings and graces. Through these graces they receive warning beforehand of impending temptations and danger. Because of the greater and more pure love which purity gives they are able to undergo any sacrifice, even to suffer death, rather than forfeit the priceless jewel of purity.

Many saints were of the opinion that most people lose their salvation through impurity. If so, we may say that the virtue of purity is one of the safest marks of belonging to the elect. Our Savior has told us little about the joys and rewards of the world to come, but He did reveal that the pure will receive a special reward standing nearest to His Throne, where they will sing a song of praise that no one else will be able to sing.

Living in a world steeped in immodesty and impurity it may seem impossible to go unscathed. But we can preserve this precious jewel and pass through life unmarked if we rely on God’s grace and put forth the effort, following the example of the saints.

The saints were able to fight off temptation because they constantly lived in the presence of God. They had one thought uppermost in their minds —wherever they were, God was by their side. By constantly keeping God before their mind, they had the strength to suffer anything for love of Him and thus turned suffering into joy and trials into victories. When others were overwhelmed by even the smallest temptations because they had lost sight of God, the saints accepted and conquered even the fiercest assaults as a matter of course. The thought of God’s presence gave them strength, consolation, hope and happiness.

The saints were able to keep God before their minds because they lived in a spirit of prayer. They did not make the mistake of thinking prayer to be a merely formal affair; a few minutes set apart in a completely different atmosphere from the rest of their day. Rather they had the constant pious disposition to connect everything they did or saw with God. Every act became prayer for them. Every act of penance, self-denial and charity was nothing else than prayer. Their entire life was transformed into one constant prayer.

If sinners would go to Confession and Holy Communion as frequently and with the same zealous dispositions as the saints, they, too, would become saints. Generally speaking, however, those that need the Sacraments the most are the most negligent in receiving them.

Besides the presence of God, the saints also are shining examples of devotion to our Blessed Mother. True devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary is taken as a guarantee of eternal happiness. She does not fail to obtain favors and blessings for those who honor her. Hence it should not surprise us that her special admirers receive special benefits; as shown in the lives of the saints. Thus Mary can and will obtain for the children that love her most one of the greatest favors, the jewel and crown of all virtues.

The virtue of purity is, therefore, worth our every effort and its beauty cannot be over-rated. It is something so refined and heavenly that our weak human vision can scarcely grasp the greatness of its grandeur. We shall only fully appreciate it in heaven. But until then we must fight for it, and keep its beauty, as far as we can, before us.