The Seventh Lesson of Advent: Purity, Christ's Passion & Your Protection

Another divine lesson from the Sacred Heart of the Teacher who loves and values us more than we can ever imagine.  

Don't ever just be Catholic;  be PROFOUNDLY Catholic!  Especially during Advent, the time of year

when we prepare our hearts to celebrate the coming of our Lord and also during Christmas, when we welcome the One who just keeps coming and coming and coming and coming.

There is always so much more of His love to discover and then keep rediscovering.

Our Savior longs for our love in return;  accept His love!  He loves us all so lavishly.  Love Jesus lavishly in return.

Find yourself blissfully lost in His Divine embrace; be enveloped within love so great we just cannot even fathom It.  Christ's waiting, welcoming, loving, compassionate, and merciful arms are open wide, for you!

Go to Him, discover Him, then discover Him ever more intimately, and as you do so guide other precious, immortal souls to Christ. 

Bring Him everywhere. +

LESSONS FROM THE LORD DURING ADVENT JUST FOR YOU

Lesson 1: "Ascend Higher!"  

Lesson 2:  The Light of the World

Lesson 3:  A Present for You from Jesus. 

Lesson 4:  A Mother/Son Rescue and the Powerful Weapon in Your Hand.

Lesson 5:  Living Entirely for Jesus as He Guides Your Soul to Perfection.

Lesson 6:  On Determination: The Only Spiritual Defeats are the Ones We are Willing to Accept.


More than thirty meditations on Christ's Passion  to help guide you during Advent and Christmas into some serious Divine intimacy with the Love of your eternal life:  Meditating on Christ's Passion.

LESSON SEVEN:  ANOTHER REVEALING ASSAULT FROM THE DEVIL

For today's lesson, the Lord allows the devil to present himself and openly attack your family's purity.

"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"'  ~ St. Peter Julian Eymard

You may be surprised that it took this long for this lesson to be presented, because anyone's purity makes the devil absolutely furious but an entire family's purity makes him crazy with fury.  

"God desires from you the least degree of purity of conscience more than all the works you can perform."  ~St. John of the Cross
 

Our adversary knows the eternal value of purity and that is why he works unceasingly to destroy it.  Just look around you;  the evidence is everywhere.

The devil shouts vulgarities at us and tempts us in so many not-so-subtle ways and also subtle ways, while at the same time very few people are openly promoting and encouraging purity by word and by example.

You must be one of the people who openly promotes and defends purity. It is every Catholic's obligation, and we need you.

THE DEVIL'S POWERFUL WEAPON
 

Do you know what one of the most effective weapons satan has in his modern arsenal is, one which he is aggressively using to destroy humanity by attacking our dignity assaulting our purity? 

It may surprise you.  Perhaps you may not even believe it at first, but take a closer look through a very powerful, profoundly Catholic lens and you will see it very clearly.

Many, many well intended people have been enticed to help him accomplish his goal to destroy humanity, attack our dignity, and assault our purity and they have been lured into doing so by their insatiable pride and greed. 

"In temptations against chastity, the spiritual masters advise us, not so much to contend with the bad thought, as to turn the mind to some spiritual, or, at least, indifferent object. It is useful to combat other bad thoughts face to face, but not thoughts of impurity." ~St. Alphonsus Liguori 

SOMETHING WORTH NOTING 

Are you aware that when you return to your place in church while unified with Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament during Holy Communion, Jesus is not only within you, He is also next to you, and kneels by your side.

Next time you receive the Blessed Sacrament take a closer look through that spiritual lens and see that both He and you are wearing robes.  They are mock robes but nevertheless they are quite elaborate, and you are both crowned with thorns.

Each time you receive our Lord in the state of grace, He places His arm around your shoulders, holds you close, and protects you. He is there to protect your purity because you have asked Him to.

"[God] has assigned as a duty to every man the dignity of every woman." ~Pope John Paul II 

Jesus personally protects your purity through the power of two inseparable Sacraments of Divine Intimacy:  The Blessed Sacrament and the Sacrament of Reconciliation.

Avail yourself of His help, often. 

BACK TO TODAY'S LESSON 

To continue the lesson, you are shown the devil coming to your family and it is made very clear to you that he is very successfully using the medical profession, MODERN MEDICINE (as opposed to HEALTH CARE in imitation of Christ) as a means to accomplish his plan to destroy humanity by assaulting our dignity and attacking our purity.

Pride blinds us, while humility reveals things to us very clearly.   

GREAT PEACE

Even though you see the devil attempting to assault the members of your family one by precious one, knowing clearly that is his plan, the Lord floods your soul with great peace and you are surprised to find that at that moment, you are not at all disturbed by this grave evil.

"Don't say, 'That's the way I am—its my character.' It's your lack of character. Esto vir!—Be a man!"
--St. Josemaria Escriva 

Even though you have the very natural and holy desire to protect them, the Lord has you watch the events as they unfold.

THE DOCTOR

You are shown that the doctor the devil wants to use as his instrument of destruction is not harming them, but is properly caring for and protecting them instead! The doctor has dark curly hair and at first, you do recognize who he is.  

"When you decide firmly to lead a clean life, chastity will not be a burden on you: it will be a crown of triumph." ~ St. Josemaria Escriva

MORE ROBES

The next thing you know, the very peaceful doctor who had taken command of the situation calls you over to his desk where you see him speaking to several of your family members.  He has looked after them well and has outfitted them, robed them, with long doctor coats which you see offer them protection from the assaults of the devil.  The members of your family and the doctor are so comfortable together, it seems as if everyone knows the doctor intimately, and everyone is so incredibly happy.

"To be pure, to remain pure, can only come at a price, the price of knowing God and loving him enough to do his will. He will always give us the strength we need to keep purity as something as beautiful for him."  ~Blessed Mother Teresa 
  

THE DIVINE PHYSICIAN

You find yourself so attracted to the doctor's incredible peacefulness, the fact that his holy face radiates such joy, conviction, and protection, and are intrigued that He is capable of filling all of you with so much peace and joy. 

You find yourself asking the doctor with great curiosity and also delight, "What is your name?" 

He looks into your eyes and says with such great kindness, "My name is Dr. Cross."

As He tells you His name you look on his lab coat and see the name "Dr. Cross" embroidered on it, and then your eyes travel to the lab coats your family members are wearing and see that the caring doctor has outfitted them with his own personal lab coats which also have his name embroidered on them.

Our Divine Physician values our human dignity and protects our purity by clothing us with the power of His Cross.

EVERY SINGLE CHRISTIAN'S OBLIGATION

"To defend his purity, Saint Francis of Assisi rolled in the snow, Saint Benedict threw himself into a thornbush, Saint Bernard plunged into an icy pond . . . You . . . what have you done?" ~St. Josemaria Escriva

What have you done and what are you doing to protect the purity of others.  Doing so in imitation of Christ is every single Christian's duty.
   

Oh, so much more could be written about today's lesson.  What can you add to it?

The beginning.

Go for everyone in your family (don't confess for them, go for them) 
and ask the Lord in the confessional to protect your family's purity.

"Trust all things to Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament and to Mary, Help of Christians, 

and you will see what miracles are."  

~St. John Bosco

  © Joseph Karl Publishing /Michele Bondi Bottesi

Meditating on Christ's Passion, coming early 2014, for you.

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   Images taken at Ss. Cyril and Methodius Slovak Catholic Church,

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and at Joseph Karl Publishing, Rochester Hills, Michigan, U.S.A.

 

THE POWERFUL DEVOTION TO THE HOLY FACE OF JESUS

To learn more about the Work of Reparation through the Devotion to the Holy Face, 
which our Lord, Jesus Christ called  "the most beautiful work under the sun,"    
visit:  Work of Reparation Through the Devotion to the Holy Face of Jesus

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God is at work in you!!