Near the beginning of today’s men’s session, Jason Evert mentioned a rather staggering statistic – as of today, not one man born in the United States of America has been canonized a saint in the Catholic Church – and he speculates that perhaps it’s because we have been listening to the wrong voices.
According to Vatican II, “When God is forgotten, the creature itself becomes unintelligible.” We need to remember that it is God who reveals us to ourselves, especially through our bodies.
The church teaches that we are only three kinds of people in the world: divine persons, angelic persons, and human persons (men and women created in the image and likeness of God).
None of us were created by accident. Our identity is, primarily, that we are sons of God. Though sometimes we struggle, God is always with us.
God wants us to be strong. But it’s important that we understand that our strength is in our virtue; strength is not given to us to conquer women for the sake ourselves, but to conquer ourselves for the sake of women.
Jason offered some incredible advice for us to take to heart when we struggle with lust. We shouldn’t repress our sexual desire, but rather we should respond to the beauty that we see with love through prayer!
Here is a strategy that we can all implement:
- Gratitude: thank God for making her so beautiful. As we read in Psalm 84 “how lovely is your dwelling place…”
- Contrition: God, created in me a clean heart…have mercy on me for the ways I’ve been disrespectful.
- Intercession/Petition: Pray “May she be holy, as the virgin Mary was holy” And if she has a ring on her finger, pray for husband. If not, pray for her vocation.
- Adoration: As we read in Wisdom 13:5 “For from the greatness and the beauty of created things their original author, by analogy, is seen.” Realize that her beauty is a participation in the infinite beauty of God!
We closed our session in prayer, asking the Holy Spirit to teach us how to pray using the abbreviation ARRR
Acknowledge the current stirring of our heart
Relate that stirring to Jesus by telling him about it
Receive what the Lord wants to say to us or give to us
Respond to whatever God has placed on our hearts, regardless of whether he has asked us to embrace something or to let go of something.
I encourage you to listen to the entire talk, and enter into the closing prayer with us, by clicking on the audio link at the top of this post!
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