Imperishable Wreaths (Day 14)

Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified. 1 Corinthians 9:24-27
According to Drug-Rehab's website,  exercise is an important part of any addiction recovery plan.  And it is crucial to the 33 Day Purity Boot Camp!  Exercise helps you cope with stress, develop self-discipline by sticking to your plan, increases  your focus because you have to plan your time and pay attention to your body, boost your confidence and fill your time with a positive activity. Exercise is powerful on it's own but it's strength intensifies when mixed with fasting, prayer, study, and acts of charity.
I like running- well I'm  stating too. Running helps me clear my mind and gives me  the mental and physical strength I need to overcome my addiction. I like running because it's painful. I can feel my addiction dying. My old worldly self is perishing with each gasp, step, mile, and drop of sweat.
But I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God. Acts 20:24
Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.  Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. John 12:24-25
Running with a partner is rewarding as well. It makes it seem less intense - almost like they are helping you bear the pain. I think that is a good example of how we are to be for each other as we run this race called life- running partners.
It feels great to set a goal and meet that expectation. My wife is a great example of that. She started running due to my new "fondness" for it. However, she has really taken to running like a fish to water. When she started,  she could hardly run for one minute without stopping, but now she's signed up for a 5k (me too by default). Check out her blog- she inspires me to be a better man. Here she is in her own words.
Here is her running advice:
Do's:
get fitted for running shoes
buy running clothes that don't ride up
listen to music that calms your breathing pattern, the longer you can stay calm, the longer you can run
eat a pre run snack: my favs are a bagel with peanut butter or 1/2 turkey sammie
run outside as much as possible because that is where you will be running your race, not on a treadmill
repeat workouts as necessary before moving on to the next challenge
get a C25K app on your phone- it will tell you when to walk and when to run. It plays in the background so you can listen to music still.
Don'ts
don't eat junk like I did, it makes it so hard to run in the afternoons!
don't run in random shoes like I did, because your feet are not secure
don't skip having water all day and expect to run successfully- I love me some DIET COKE :/
don't skip workouts or whole weeks at a time without repeating some workouts again
don't run everyday until you think you can handle it
don't expect to keep up the pace with your husband, you have shorter legs! (You're gosh darn right LOL)
don't give up.
PRAY:
Our Father,
Accept our gratitude for the opportunity to participate in this race and in the larger race of life. We accept with thankfulness the wholeness and well being which running contributes to our living. As running brings pleasure to our lives so may our efforts on this day bring pleasure to you, our Creator. We give thanks for physical bodies wonderfully made. Help us to exercise good stewardship of the health, energy, and clarity of mind provided for our use. Bless our efforts in training to develop these gifts to their full potential. Give us the strength to endure and the passion to persevere. Protect us from injury and illness. May we possess courage and character in adequate supply to meet the challenge before us. Grant each of us the integrity to do our best in the quest to finish well. We can do no more and desire no less. Thank you for the sense of community created by our common commitment to run. As we seek to realize personal goals help us to also celebrate the accomplishments of others. Grant that we may find joy not only in competition but also in the privilege of running together. Remind us on this day and through all of life that we never run alone. Amen.

How we Salute in the Militia (Day 13)

We do it before we eat. We do it as we walk into the sanctuary. We do it when we genuflect. We start Mass with it. We end Mass with it. We do it three consecutive times before we read the Gospel. We do it when we drive past a Catholic church. We do it before the game, before we go to sleep, and before we travel. In the west we do it with our right hand; in the East they do it with their left. Some do it with three fingers; some kiss it upon its completion. Martyrs did it as they were taken to their death. We are marked with it when we are baptized. You don’t have to be literate to do it because it requires no special knowledge or skill. It is our salute. In nómine Patris et Fílii et Spíritus Sancti. Amen. The sign of the cross. In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

It is our most simplistic prayer but it conveys and sums up the entire mystery of our faith. It’s a simple prayer but it is SO crucial to beat our battle with lust. Paul speaks of the cross in almost all his New Testament letters: “But far be it from me to glory except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world” (Gal 6:14). The earliest accounts suggest that Christians traced the cross with their thumb upon their forehead. My patron saint, Saint Francis de Sales explains it this way:

“We raise the hand to the forehead, saying ‘In the name of the Father’ to signify that the Father is the first person of the Most Holy Trinity, of whom the Son is begotten and from whom the Holy Spirit proceeds. Then saying, ‘And the Son,’ the hand is lowered to the breast, to express that the Son proceeds from the Father, who sent him down to the womb of the Virgin. The hand is moved from the left shoulder to the right, while saying, ‘and of the Holy Spirit’, as the third person of the Holy Trinity, proceeds from the Father and the Son, that he is the love that unites both, and that, through his grace, partake of the fruits of the passion. Accordingly the Sign of the Cross is brief declaration of our faith in the Blessed Trinity, in the passion of Christ, and in the forgiveness of sin, by which we pass from the left side of curse to the right side of blessing.”

There is no way of talking about the sign of the cross without talking about the Most Holy Trinity. Most catechists dread talking about this subject, and most priests only preach about it on Trinity Sunday. Why? Because as Saint Augustine says, “If you understand it, it’s not God.” No matter which way I go about this topic I’m sure to be a --heretic.

Once I went to a conference where it's theme was, “God is Love.” I believe that statement is what makes us Christians. A Jew or a Muslim would say God loves. The radical Christian difference is we say God IS Love. And I think that is the best way to explain the Trinity. If you say God is Love, then you have to mean that within the very being of God there is a play between a Lover, the Beloved, and the Love that they share. If God is not a Trinity, God is not love. For love requires three things: a lover, a beloved, and a relationship between them. One being- three persons. In the creed we say “We believe in one God.” That is our Catholic way of saying what the Jews have said for years “Hear, O Israel: the Lord is our God alone.” God is one but we know through the revelation of Jesus Christ that God has to shown himself to be One being three persons. The sender the sent and the love in which the sent was sent. Still think the sign of the cross is simple?

So how does this apply to us today? We are called to be men who invoke the Trinity. You say “sure I make the sign of the cross all the time”. But I tell you today that we have to be MEN of the triune God. Jesus gave us the perfect example. He held nothing back from the Father. That’s how we should love each other. That’s the principle for the Sacrament of Marriage. In marriage the two become one. So much so, that nine months later you have to name that love that was shared between the two. That is one reason why that Catholic Church condemns contraception (I didn’t say doesn’t like. I said condemn. Also note that contraception is the fule the porn industry runs on- no birthcontrol, no porn). It’s an anti-trinity mentality (Pornography is an anti-trinity mentality- it is selfish). The contraceptive mentality says “I’m going to give most but not all” but the mentality of the Trinity says “Have this mind among yourselves which was in Christ Jesus, who though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but EMPTIED himself, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even death on a cross (Philippians 2:4-7). Imagine for a moment if Jesus on the cross had a contraceptive mentality. What if he held back- just a little back up there on the cross? What if he just appeared to have died? (You know that’s an ancient heresy BTW) If Jesus had a contraceptive mentality there would be no salvation for you and me.

At the beginning of this post I named a lot of places that we invoked the Trinity. Some places I didn’t name were the bed room, computer room, office, and over a smart phone. And it’s a sad fact. Can you imagine what power would be released if we invoked God in the places where we fell often to lust? Can you imagine what power would be released into our marriages if we invoked God in the bedroom? You’re talking about a country that spends billions on pornographic material and millions on Viagra and other related medications. It’s food for thought-what if we prayed and called down the Trinity while we partook in the martial embrace – the very action that replicates the life of the Trinity? It’s no small thing we do when we make the Sign of the cross. It should take our breath away- but only so that we can be filled up with another breath: the spirit of God.

PRAY:

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

The PORN Effect (Day 12)

Sometimes, the only way I can keep my head above water in my own fight for purity is to help other men. So yesterday I brought some copies of "Taking Down Goliath" to my local parish. I really recommend anything that Matt Fradd puts out but especially this CD because he allows for you to burn and give away as many copies as physically possible. And you'll want to because his stuff is good! You cannot go wrong —from his blog, to his website, to his several talks on DVD and CD—  all great material. To be honest his site the Porn Effect is what inspired me to start this blog. And now hopefully many men are fighting the "porn effect" with the "P.O.R.N. Effect". Here is some great advice from Matt Fradd:

Step 1: Admit That There's A Problem
I recently heard that married men live from 5 to 10 years longer than those who don't marry. Apparently the reason is that their wives force them to go see a doctor when something is wrong. It seems that we as men can be so stubborn that we would rather lose a decade of our life than admit that we might not have it all together. But this first step is vital and if you are not willing to admit that you are not in control and that your lust, your use of porn, your masturbation is a problem then unfortunately this site has no more use for you.

Step 2: Set Yourself A Goal
If you own pornography, whether it be in the form of magazines, videos or websites. Trash them immediately. Don't just trash them so you can go back to them in a moment of weakness. Burn them, delete them, set up a porn filter on your computer. I know of one man, when he found out the truth of what porn was doing to him he took all his Porn DVD's and a sledge hammer and destroyed what was slowly destroying him. Set a realistic goal that you know you can reach, for me it began with "I will not look at porn or masturbate for 1 week". Once I made it through the week, I set another goal for myself.

Step 3: Prayer
I would fail in my mission if I did not address the nessecity of prayer, and by prayer I mean, repentance, surrender, trust. These are all exceptionally hard things to do, we don't like to repent because we don't like being wrong. We don't like to surrender because we have been taught to have complete control over our lives. We don't like to trust because we have been let down constantly by those we love and by those who have manipulated us. I can only speak from my own experience. You will not find a magical prayer, or a nice little list of rules to follow to become pure. Purity is not the destination, it is a lifestyle, a daily battle. Heaven is the destination and purity will help us get there. Personally I have found a devotion to the daily Rosary to be an incredibly powerful tool. After each Rosary I hold it up and say "Mary I have taken up your chain (the rosary), now take off my chains of lust"....

Step 4: Fasting
If I cannot say no to that next chip, chocolate bar, slice of pizza, beer, (fill in the blank). How will I be able to say no to the porn pop up site. Fasting strengthens our wills and our hearts. An alcoholic that cannot say no to his next beer is not free, he is enslaved. We need to deny our appetites not because food and drink and television are bad but so that we will be master of these things and not allow these things to have mastery over  us. It's easy to say that we are not enslaved by TV, but try giving it up for a week and see if you don't feel the burn! I would encourage you to join www.e5men.org e5 men is an growing army of men who are sick of the lust and the lies they've believed and are now taking a day a month to fast for a woman in their life.

Step 5: Replacing The Habit
Fr Laurence Freeman OSB suggests that to defeat a bad habit, it's important to develop a good habit, in order to displace the bad one.  Sitting around the house continually focused on "not masturbating or looking at porn" will cause you to become inverted and scrupulous. Get up off your tail and get involved in some physical exercise, be it football, jogging, lifting weights, (I wouldn't recommend draughts).As Christians we are not called simply to avoid evil, we are called to do good! do something productive such as helping the poor, becoming a member of an apostolic group in the parish, joining a prayer group, forming a group of young newly wed couples to assist with marriage preparation in a parish, becoming a regular visitor to refugees, homeless, mentally ill people, etc.

Step 6: The Importance Of A Accountability Partner & Confessor
Sorry if I am the first one to break this to you but you cannot do this alone. Check out this accountability software that shows your friends EXACTLY what you've been viewing.You are going to need solid brothers to fight beside. Find a fellow man that you trust and share with each other your struggles, your falls & your victories. I cannot stress enough how important the sacrament of confession is. If you are a Catholic and you fall into sin through porn or masturbation it is vital for your healing that you seek a good and holy priest out that you can confess to. There is no sin that God cannot forgive.The only sin that God cannot forgive is the one that you will not ask forgiveness for. And don't priest hop, by this I mean go to a different priest each time so they're unaware of how often you fall. The Priest is not there to judge you, and he has heard it all before. Again this is not something I have discovered from a nice little Catholic book. I have experienced time and again that the Sacrament of confession not only frees us from our sin but it also brings healing.

Step 7: Know Your Battle Field
You know  where you are likely to fall into lust. For me it was late at night on the computer when everyone else was in bed. You must know you're battle field and act accordingly. Jesus said "If your eye causes you to sin, tear it out" What is Jesus saying? He's warning us not to pussy foot around with sin. Allow me to give you a modern day translation "If your computer causes you to sin, get rid of it!, if your Television causes you to sin, throw it away!" And yes it is that serious.

Step 8: Mastery Over The Eyes
Basically the eyes are the gate way to the soul and what you choose to let in will affect you for better or for worse. Let me give you an analogy: Imagine the temptation to lust as a sumo wrestler. If you get into the ring with him he is going to knock you flat on your back. So what do you do? You starve the sumo! You starve the eyes. This means making the choice to look away from the porn rack in the petrol station, not taking that second gawk and the cashier's cleavage as she bends over. Our minds are like sponges, and if you dip it into a cesspool of filth, or The pure (living) water of Christ it will affect how you reason and act.

Step 9: Do Not Become Scrupulous
An easy trap to fall into when breaking free from porn is to become scrupulous, constantly examining yourself to see if you sinned or not. I remember one teenage guy telling me recently that he just saw a beautiful woman, and he wondered if he was lusting or not. Let's get this straight. If you are a man and you are not attracted to a good looking woman, please don't make the mistake of thinking that you are pure! There is something wrong with you! Women are beautiful! Recognizing this is not lusting, it is in fact giving glory to her Creator. But after seeing this woman do you think about all of the things you could do to her sexually? There's a big difference.

Step 10: Do Not Despair
One thing I have come to understand is that Jesus Christ did not come to earth and die on a cross to kick us while we are down. He does not come to condemn but to raise up and save. The Lord humbles, the Devil humiliates. The Lord corrects, the Devil accuses. You are not the enemy of God, you are his beloved son (daughter) in whom he is well pleased, he sees all of you, even the parts your ashamed of and he loves you. This love is a cleansing love, it burns, breaks and liberates. God is more eager to rescue you from this sin than a mother, her child from a burning house. Healing is possible. Healing is possible. While we will never be free from temptation in this life please don't fall into the trap of thinking that all men masturbate and look at pornography. They don't. I don't. God delights in you. As a father is not satisfied with his son addicted to alcohol, God is not satisfied with your sin.

Fight the Good Fight (Day 11)

Fighting the good fight means just that- fighting. I've seldom seen fights that were one sided knock outs. Usually even the champion comes out with war wounds. This fight with lust is no different.  Sometimes it is devastating when we fall- especially when we have been winning so many battles. Keep in mind that there is no dishonor in a soldier who falls fighting -only in a soldier who refuses to get up and keep fighting after he's fallen. This is a war. And just like all wars, we will not win every single battle. But just because you lose a battle it doesn't mean that you have lost the war. Fight! Get up. Dust yourself off. Ask for forgiveness. Go to confession. Make a firm resolution never to fall again. Do whatever it is takes to get back in the battle. Take a hard look at where you failed to follow your battle plan. Fix it and begin to conquer again!
Listen to the words of St. Josemaria Escriva:
Calmly, without scruples, you should think about your life, and ask forgiveness, and make a firm, specific and well-defined resolution to improve in one point and another: in that small detail which you find hard, and in that other one which usually you dont carry out as you should, and you know it.
'What a wretched man am I! Who will rescue me from this body doomed to death?' The cry is Saint Paul's.Courage: he too had to fight.
You are expecting victory, the end of the struggle... but it doesnt come—Thank God, as if you had already reached that goal, and offer him your feelings of impatience: "Vir fidelis loquetur victoriam", the faithful man will sing the joys of victory.
When we were little, we kept close to our mother in a dark alley or if dogs barked at us. Now, when we feel temptations of the flesh, we should run to the side of Our Mother in Heaven, by realising how close she is to us, and by means of aspirations—She will defend us.
May I give you some advice for you to put into practice daily? When your heart makes you feel those low cravings, say slowly to the Immaculate Virgin: Look on me with compassion. Don’t abandon me, my Mother! —And recommend this prayer to others. 
PRAY:
Remove, Jesus, that filthy crust of sensual corruption which covers my heart, so that I can feel and readily follow the touches of the Paraclete on my soul.

Positive Alternatives (Day 10)

Last year my wife and I attempted the Daniel fast. It was only 21 days long but the eating habits it built will last a lifetime (hopefully). The Daniel fast taught us to crave "clean food." Eating healthy food makes you feel...healthy. They say “you are what you eat.” Similarly, you are what you watch, listen to, talk about, and associate with. The old maxim "see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil" proves true.

Your eye is the lamp of your body. When your eye is healthy, your whole body is full of light, but when it is bad, your body is full of darkness. Luke 11:34

For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride in possessions—is not from the Father but is from the world. 1 John 2:16

As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, "You shall be holy, for I am holy." And if you call on him as Father who judges impartially according to each one's deeds, conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile, knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot. 1 Peter 1:14-19

This is why at P.O.R.N. Militia, we prescribe a total fast from secular media during the entire 33 days. Hollywood is infatuated with sex and the perversion thereof. Take a look at the movies, albums, and books that climb their way up the charts. You'll find that they are full of content that is opposed to purity and or Christianity itself. We cannot indulge in this type of entertainment and expect to remain pure men. It’s sad that even the “prime time” shows on the major networks have to be avoided, but they do. You might be feeling like this is very radical. Well, we are called to be radical. Christ was radical. We are called to imitate Him. Soooo how are we to entertain ourselves in a pure way?

I gave secular music up once for lent and never really went back to it. I didn’t even really miss it. This might not be a big deal to the average radio station grazer. But upon reflection it is to me.

Average Music Grazer

:  (av·er·age myoo-zik graz·er) Noun

1. One who has no specific taste in music

2. One who likes music because it is popular.

“I asked her what genre of music she preferred. She said, “a little of everything.” I think she is the average music grazer.”

You see, the years following college turned me into a (secular) music junkie. If it were a drug addiction- music would be the stuff you had to shoot up in-between your toes. And It made me brokeeeee because my collection grew faster than the Hulk when he was angry. I could care less about Fridays but instead awkwardly anticipated Tuesday (CD release day). So if I can find totally happiness with pure media- you can too!

How did I go from where I was to where I am now? Positive alternatives. How did I find healthier food when I preferred junk food? Positive alternatives. How did I find stuff to watch when everything on cable was smut? Positive alternatives. There are great PURE forms of music, movies, books etc. -it just takes time and effort to find them. Being a music lover, I always thought that Christian music was a little corny. In fact, I still do- especially “main stream” Christian bands. But here is the crux: Would I prefer great music that includes things militantly against my beliefs or would I settle for music of less caliber that is filled with a positive message? It is like saying: Would I prefer food that taste awesome, but is bad for me or food that is decent, but makes meal feel great? The logical choice for booth food and entertainment is obviously going to be the healthier choice. However, there are LOTS of great quality choices for pure entertainment (including some really cool bands). Just this week two great movies came out to DVD: For Greater Glory and October Baby.

Call it being a vegan, vegetarian, health-nut, WHATEVER- living extremely healthy and eating pure are the new fad among hipsters and athletes alike. Why can’t living pure be the new fad? It can if you and I start doing it!

Pray:

Dearest Jesus! I know well that every perfect gift, and above all others that of chastity, depends upon the most powerful assistance of Thy Providence, and that without Thee a creature can do nothing. Therefore, I pray Thee to defend, with Thy grace, chastity and purity in my soul as well as in my body. And if I have ever received through my senses any impression that could stain my chastity and purity, do Thou, Who art the Supreme Lord of all my powers, take it from me, that I may with an immaculate heart advance in Thy love and service, offering myself chaste all the days of my life on the most pure altar of Thy Divinity. Amen. -St. Thomas Aquinas

We believe, Lord--Help Our Unbelief (Day 8)

The 33 Day Purity Boot Camp has giving me a lot of time to think. Think about our over sexualized culture and the pornographic mentality that is choking all virtue out of it. Pondering this has made me wonder what direction our country is going. It makes me think of the men in our church. Its made me think long and hard about my own personal journey and struggles towards heaven. It has made ponder my own brokenness and how bad it feels to let God down by sinning repeatedly over and over with the same sins. My favorite writer C.S. Lewis had this to say (and its worth quoting at length because it hit’s the nail on the head) he writes:

“When a man is getting better he understands more and more clearly the evil that is still left in him. When a man is getting worse, he understands his own badness less and less. A moderately bad man knows he is not very good: a thoroughly bad man thinks he is all right. …make some serious attempt to practice the Christian virtues. A week is not long enough. Things often go swimmingly for the first week. Try six weeks. By that time, one will have fallen back completely or even fallen lower than the point one began from, one will have discovered some truths about oneself. No man knows how bad he is till he has tried very hard to be good. The main thing we learn from a serious attempt to practice the Christian virtues is that we fail.”

St John puts it a little more bluntly in his first letter:

“If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he also is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just, to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all iniquity. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.”

So there you have it. Just in case you didn’t know- we’re sinners. I would like to offer a solution to our problem. A medicine for our disease. I’m asking you to believe in a miracle. I’m asking you to believe in the Eucharist. I believe that the Eucharist is the greatest miracle that mankind has ever refused to witness.
The Catechism says in paragraph 1324 “The Eucharist is ‘the source and summit’ of the Christian life…the Eucharist is the sum and summary of our faith: Our way of thinking is attuned to the Eucharist, and the Eucharist in turn confirms our way of thinking."

So what does that mean? It means that we believe the Eucharist is really the body, blood, soul, and divinity of our Lord, Jesus Christ. It means that we believe the Eucharist is the 2^nd person of the blessed trinity. It means that we believe the Eucharist is God. It means that when we go to adoration and stare into that monstrance - we are gazing at purity Himself: JESUS. Think about this for just a second- all the hours we have looked at pornography have literally reshaped our brain and have distorted our view of women. Think about if we start staring at the Eucharist with the same daily effort that we used to stare at the computer screen. I think if we do so, He will heal our eyes, brains, and hearts. St. Josemaria Escriva recommends that you go to adoration and tell Jesus, “Domine!- ‘Lord!’ Si vis, potes me mundare.- ‘If you will, you can make me clean.’ What a beautiful prayer for you to say often, with the faith of the poor leper, when there happens to you what God and you and I know may happen. You won’t have to wait long to hear the Masters reply: Volo, mundare!- ‘I will! Be made clean!’”

All right, I know what you are thinking, “You are totally bonkers crazy to believe that visiting a piece of bread will cure your porn addiction.” Well, I challenge you to prove me wrong. What other options do you have? Or if you are a Catholic you are saying to yourself right now, “well sure I believe that” or “this is nothing new to me” or “I have heard this preached a million times before.”
But I don’t think we as Catholics really believe it. What I’m suggesting is that as a church in general, we do not truly believe in the miracle that happens on the alter. We don’t truly believe in the real presence. I’m not here accusing anyone. I myself am accused. I too have walk up in the Communion Line and responded to “the Body of Christ“ with a parrot like “amen.”

The teachings about the Eucharist are what make us Catholic but they are also difficult teachings to wrap our heads around. Even the disciples found the teachings about the Eucharist a little hard to swallow (no pun intended). We see an example of this in John 6:60, “then many of his disciples who were listening said, “This saying is hard; who can accept it?” I think our modern views echo that of the doubting disciples and the proof is in the pudding of our daily lives. If we as a Church really believed in the real presence of the Eucharist ¾ of Catholics wouldn’t ignore the third commandment (missing Mass on Sunday). If we as a Church really believed in the real presence of the Eucharist, 80% of Catholic’s wouldn’t use contraception. Because If we truly believed in the real presence, our lives would revolve around the mass and the mass would stop revolving around our lives. If we truly believed in the real presence of the Eucharist, our genuflections would take just a little longer. Our great amen would sound just a little greater. Our Gloria would be just a little more glorious. If we truly believed in the real presence of the Eucharist, our adoration chapels would be filled 24 hours a day. Our singing would be more joyful. Our collection plates would over-flow (my pastor told me to add that one). If we truly believed in the real presence, we would inspect ours hands after receiving- because that left over dust or partial is Jesus. Jesus will not have any more glory when he returns at the end of the world than he does as a spec of dust on your hand. So don’t wipe him on your pants. But that’s just dust right? NO we’re dust, that’s God. If we truly believed in the real presence, the Sunday line to communion would never be any longer than Saturdays line to the confessional. Point Blank if you think you’ve committed a mortal sin, you cannot receive the Eucharist until you go to confession. This is the infallible teaching of the Church. The Catechism of the Catholic Church explains it this way:

“The Lord addresses an invitation to us, urging us to receive him in the sacrament of the Eucharist: "Truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood, you have no life in you." To respond to this invitation we must prepare ourselves for so great and so holy a moment. St. Paul urges us to examine our conscience: "Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of profaning the body and blood of the Lord. Let a man examine himself, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For any one who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment upon himself."

Anyone conscious of a grave sin must receive the sacrament of reconciliation before coming to Communion. If you don’t like that, I‘m sorry. If you believe what you like in the gospels, and reject what you don’t like, it is not the gospel you believe, but yourself. The first step toward finding God, Who is Truth, is to discover the truth about ourselves: and if we have been in error, this first step to truth is the discovery of our error.
　
Here is my point and my final solution: What we pray is what we believe is how we live. If we pray like Eucharist is really God. Then we will believe that the Eucharist is really God . Therefore we will live like the Eucharist is really God. We will be made pure. If we believe in the real presence we will become the real presence for the others around us. It starts simple, when the priest lifts up the host, say to yourself “I believe lord--help my unbelief.” God will enlighten us and will never deny us knowledge about his son. I would like to close with a quote form a Saint who truly believed in the real presence in the Eucharist. So much so, that he was willing to die for his beliefs. Ignatius of Antioch wrote this in the year 110AD on his way to be executed, "I have no taste for corruptible food nor for the pleasures of this life. I desire the bread of God, which is the flesh of Jesus Christ, who was of the seed of David; and for drink I desire his blood, which is love incorruptible."
　
Pray:

I believe, Lord--help my unbelief!
　
　
　
　　

A Call to Bear Arms

Pornography addiction is the number one addiction in the United States. Many doctors say it’s easier to break an addiction to crack cocaine than to stop using porn. Pornography is THE silent epidemic and it is killing authentic manhood among many other things! Porn has a choke-hold on our society. In the past, a person would have to go out of his way to view pornography but now, one has to go out of his way NOT to be bombarded with porn. It's everywhere!  From the checkout line, to television ads, to the radio top 40; America could be described as "pornafide".

The statistics are truly staggering. More than 70% of men from 18 to 34 visit a pornographic site in a typical week. Almost half of all families report pornography is a problem in their home and the majority of divorces cite frequent porn use as a reason for divorce. Every second roughly $3,000 is being spent on pornography. Every second 30,000 Internet users are viewing pornography. In that same second 372 Internet users are typing adult search terms into search engines. Every 39 minutes a new pornographic video is being created in the U.S.

It’s a huge business. Last year the pornographic industry made more than the major networks combined!
Now your question might be, “So why fight back with a name like ‘P.O.R.N. Militia’"??? We are called to fight! The answer is: because it's time to fight back. It's time to embrace true manhood. It's time to form a militia.

What is a militia? A secular definition would be: a body of citizens organized for military service. We are not calling for "hand to hand" physical combat but more like what St. Paul is talking about in Ephesians 6:11-12 "Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil." Or in this reference:
"There is no holiness without renunciation and spiritual battle." 2015 CCC and finally this quote: “Labour as a good soldier of Christ Jesus.” 2 Timothy 2:3.

What do we do at P.O.R.N. Militia? First and foremost we pray for healing of all those who are hurt by the "adult industry" and we:

P.erpetually

O.ffer

R.osaries

N.ightly

• We form small men’s groups to provide support for men who struggle with purity.
• We reach out to women trapped in the "adult" industry.
• We educate the public on how harmful porn is, and we evangelize true sexuality.
• We encourage men to be men and embrace true masculinity—which is sainthood.
• We promote a 21 day purity "boot camp"
• We organize protests and take up legal action against in "adult industry"

The whole concept for the P.O.R.N. Militia can be summed up from the thoughts of  St. Josemaria Escriva:
"There is need for a crusade of manliness and purity to counteract and nullify the savage work of those who think man is a beast. And that crusade is your work."

That statement is a call to take arms! Purity is the new rebellious. Join the real sexual revolutionn today!