“…When I was young, I tried things the world’s way. It was a total disaster….” 

Wow, this guest post is chock full of wisdom!  Like me, this woman is able to look back upon her life and see the path in which the Lord has led her.  Some footsteps on the path have been lamentable yet, due to the grace of God, these steps did not lead her down the path of destruction.

“…Holy Mother Church and Her beautiful sacraments provided me with tremendous healing…” 

There is significant benefit in avoiding these missteps and by no means is she saying that healing from them has been easy.  Spousal abandonment is extremely painful. Instead, her goal in sharing this with you is to encourage you in the virtue of Chastity now instead of learning it the hard way.  And, to not be afraid to turn toward the Lord for strength and healing at any point along the path.

“…Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name: you are Mine….”  Isaiah 43:1

In my conversations with her, I feel that she has also witnessed both Superabundance and a lack of Superabundance in marriages.  The Superabundance, from her perspective, is a direct result of the virtue of Chastity in marriage.  And, the lack of Superabundance unfortunately abounds in marriages where the virtue of Chastity is not present.  

Check out the Blessed are the pure of heart paragraph where she provides a list of the beautiful fruits of Chastity.

Thank you, dear Guest Poster, for sharing your heart and your wisdom!

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In Him we move, in Him we live, in Him we have our being:  I have learned, the hard way, that chastity fills our lives with a great deal of freedom~ mentally, physically and spiritually.  I am a divorced single mom who made the decision not to have a relationship with another when my marriage ended. Well meaning loved ones attempted to introduce me to prospective suitors. However, when my husband abandoned me, I felt very strongly that my job was to raise my children and continue to work as hard as I could in the spiritual realm to fight for my former husband’s soul. I had the distinct impression that for the rest of my life, Jesus wanted me all to Himself. As time went on, I could see that there was tremendous freedom in this. I continued to fight the battle for the integrity of my family. By the world’s standards, I lost. My former husband “moved on”. At first, I was crushed. Holy Mother Church and Her beautiful sacraments provided me with tremendous healing. I must say that I am glad that there are no “divorced/single support groups” in our parish. Another relationship would not have been what I needed. When I was young, I tried things the world’s way. It was a total disaster. Contemplating the way in which Jesus lived and died, I am daily learning about forgiveness and repentance. This will take the rest of my life. Through this process, my heart has endless room to receive blessings and graces from Jesus and his Mother.  Certainly, there are frightening, lonely moments, but God always blesses us with events that are unmistakably miraculous. There is an abundance of solitude yet very little loneliness in my life. 

To Jesus through Mary: If measured by the world’s yardstick, I am a complete failure. I have no career outside of my home. Materially, our life is very simple. Our Lord has, through miraculous home based work, allowed me to continue to be a homemaker for my children. Caring for them and praying for their father keep me quite busy. Inspired by the woman who fed the prophet Elijah with her last meal, I chose emotional fidelity to our Blessed Lord. Additionally, Our Lady always keeps her promises to families who practice devotion to her through the Rosary.  We experience a peace in our lives that defies human understanding. Trying our best to imitate Mary makes Jesus the center of our lives. 

Blessed are the pure of heart for they shall see God: Purity of heart extends far beyond refraining from extramarital intimate relations. There are so many benefits from modesty in dress, conversation, and choice of reading, music and movies. These benefits are daily gifts from God. Our Heavenly Father blesses us with a distinct awareness of His spiritual and emotional protection, peace of mind, healthy self-esteem, inner joy, tranquility during trials, enhanced enjoyment of the beauty of His creation, energy to serve others with charity, increasing willingness to follow the Holy Spirit (this will also take a lifetime!), and a constant awareness of the loving presence of Jesus, Mary and the entire Celestial Court. 

I am so grateful for the gifts that God blesses us with when we choose chastity as a way of life. The world could never give what Our Lord gives to those who love and serve Him!