When temptation begins

You must resist temptations and reject the voice of the devil the moment it begins. The longer you delay the weaker you become and the stronger it becomes, for it has gained a foothold in your soul.

If the devil knocks and you open the door, then immediately slam the door back in his face. Preferably, look through the peephole to see who is knocking, and bolt the door should you see it is him! If you let him into your home and hear him out, you will have to fight him in hand-to-hand combat to throw him out, and you likely will not succeed.

Always appeal to your God for His mercy, that He will rescue you from your enemy. But if you have let the enemy into your home, then you have acquiesced to the devil and may have closed your heart to God. If you have reached a point where your heart was given to the devil and his temptations, then it may not be open to receive God's grace when you finally call to Him.

How much better to never open the door!

True prayer

You have fallen again? Good. God is teaching you to pray. He wants for you true prayer, not the prayer of the hypocrites. He will allow you to fall in order to keep your prayer, which is your relationship with Him, pure. He wants to give you prayer that seeks Him and knows your deep need for Him. You must know you are nothing, or He cannot give you everything.

Filter

The point of a water filter is to remove imperfections. We must have a filter on our hearts and minds and body to remove impurities.

Filters take time. If you would like a glass of water you must wait for the water to drip through the filter before you can pour it and drink it. Likewise, it will take time, effort and waiting to allow the movements of our hearts and minds and bodies to be filtered before we pour them and enjoy them. Do not become lazy! Or you will contaminate yourselves and your love with impurities.

Vocation

Your vocation is to love God with all your heart, all your mind, and all your soul.

'But I cannot!' you say.

Little soul, this is your vocation- it will be the journey of your life, which cannot begin in earnest until you have taken your vows. You must spend your time when you are single asking God which path He is asking you walk to unite with Him.

If you have been chosen for marriage, then it is through your spouse that God will teach you. If you are masculine, you will learn to give completely, selflessly and without reserve to your wife, and thus to God. If you are feminine, it is through your husband's love that you will learn to open and receive completely, selflessly, and without reserve to conceive and bear forth life. Through learning to give he will be able to receive, and through learning to receive she will be able to give.

If you are one of the few chosen souls, God Himself will teach you. Through the special graces received in the Holy Orders, God will teach the masculine soul to give of himself completely, selflessly, without reserve, to lay down his life for Him. God will teach the feminine soul to open and receive completely, selflessly, and without reserve His divine life within.

Engaged spirituality

Once you are engaged, you must allow God to bring closure to your single life and enter preparation to be a spouse and parent. Ask Him to transform your relationship with Him, that you may enter smoothly into your vocation upon taking your vows.

Your enemy at your feet

"In this kind of battle, the victory will be won by him who has the courage not to throw down his arms or put aside his confidence in God. His assistance is always present for those that fight His battles, though He may sometimes permit them to be wounded. Persevere to the end. Victory depends on this. There is a swift and effective remedy for the wounds of anyone who fights for God's cause and who places his entire trust in Him. When he least expects it, he will see his enemy at his feet." --Dom Lorenzo Scupoli

No matter your wounds, no matter the frenzy of battle, do not lose your confidence in your Commander. He will send reinforcements and subdue your enemy.

When we reach heaven, how glorious to see the battle wounds of the saints!

Purity does not remove vulnerability

Purity's purpose is not to avoid vulnerability. The purpose of purity to give of yourself totally to another and receive another totally, that you may see God.

Saving your body for your spouse is not about withdrawing or barricading your heart. You are not loving with a pure heart if you are not vulnerable to the other. You cannot love another while thinking selfishly. If his hands start to wander, do not be an ice queen and coldly brush them away. Take his hands in yours and hold them. If your hands want to wander, take his hands and hold them. Your striving to be pure and chaste must come from loving the other, from a yes to unveiling yourself completely to your husband on your wedding night, to him giving of himself totally to his wife on his wedding night.