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Hi Emmanuel,
You said:
- How can Christian youth guard
themselves against this sex crazy world?
- How can you organize the youth
effectively in the Church?
First we have to remember, due to the effects of
original sin, we will always struggle with concupiscence.
The only time we won't struggle, is when we are six
feet in the ground : - )
That is why regular Confession, without being
scrupulous, can be our biggest help.
[Presence in front of | Visits to] the Blessed Sacrament
are also highly recommended.
An important key is the person's surroundings and
what Christian youth watch and don't watch on both
T. V., but especially on the internet.
At the advice of a priest-friend, I say 3 Hail
Mary's every day for purity. What matters is that
we are striving for the goal. Sacramentals
can be a big help as well.
Internet pornography is a big demonic problem we
have in our culture today. Someone that has no spiritual
life who is addicted to pornography, is like a man
in plain clothes with no weapons being dropped in
the middle of a war zone. In this type of demonic
warfare you at least need:
| a set
of rocket launchers for the week |
spiritual
equivalency |
Sunday
and, if possible, daily Mass on a regular basis
in a state of grace
(most damaging weapon)
|
a Kriss Super V
sub machine gun
(with high stopping power)
Good for CQSC
Close Quarters Spiritual Combat |
spiritual equivalency |
(praying) the Holy
Rosary daily
(second most damaging weapon) |
An Interceptor Vest
lined with dragon
skin and Abrams Kevlar |
spiritual equivalency |
a blessed St. Benedict
medal and a blessed Brown Scapular around the
body and neck
|
| a pack of impact
grenades |
spiritual equivalency |
blessed pictures
and statues of saints around the house with a
holy water font at the entrance
|
| a pack of partial
and full med-kits |
spiritual equivalency |
Saying the Act of
Contrition; and receiving the sacrament of Confession
on a regular basis |
If you are asking, where did I get this idea from:
My nephews got me addicted to their military
video games and the analogy was a perfect fit.
I watched a few shows on the Military channel
as well.
In a related
posting my colleague Eric said:
There is an excellent tape series you may want
to listen to called Naked Without Shame (www.nakedwithoutshame.com).
It is cheap so you have no excuse to not order
a copy. ;-) It talks about the Catholic
view of marriage and I guarantee it's stuff you
never heard before about what Catholicism teaches.
It's dynamic, even riveting. There is a shorter,
more focused CD set called Winning the Battle for
Sexual Purity: Straight Talk with Men about Love
and Life by the same author, Christopher West (www.LuminousMedia.org).
Maybe you could start a group within your parish
and:
- develop a plan to get some funds for sacramentals:
- Blessed Rosaries
- Blessed Brown Scapulars
- Holy Water Fonts and bottles of holy water
- blessed pictures of the:
- Sacred Heart of Jesus,
- Immaculate Heart of Mary
and
- Divine Mercy picture are
tops.
- and watch some of the CD's my colleague has recommended
in the lower Church.
Hope this helps,
Mike
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