Dear Reader, 

There is no doubt that the tide of sin prevalent in this age makes you groan everyday, asking of God's powerful right hand salvation, chastity, and purity, for you as well as for all creation.  There is also no doubt that you have experienced, by the grace of Christ, many times that you have spent in  the joy of the Lordand in His light and His holiness. If  you have not had this experience, I urge you to make haste to read the experiences of the saints on this subject.  You will have noticed from your own experience as well as from the experiences of the saints that purity is a treasure of great price which radiates joy and serenity in body, soul, and spirit.  Let us long for purity and pursue it through grace.  We will find that a chaste youth is always: 

1.  A Successful Youth:
 "The Lord was with Joseph, and he was a successful man;" (Gen. 39: 2).
 There is no doubt that a chaste youth retains his physical powers, which in turn develops his mental powers, which helps him to concentrate and study, and these are the two basic components of academic and professional success.
+  The chaste youth is  not distracted and his powers are not dispersed, but you always find that he is sound and healthy, mentally alert, with constructive and holy enthusiasms, all of which necessarily contribute to preserving his purity and to forming a successful personality.
+  A chaste youth exercises control in everything: in food, rest, sleep, leisure, and interests; he is instinctually and emotionally well-balanced.

2.  A Courageous Youth:
 The addiction to sin engenders an "inner cowardice" in the spirit, as well as a buried fear of situations where truth and witnessing are required. "The wicked flee when no one pursues, but the righteous are bold as a lion." (Pr. 28: 1).
 "For Herod feared  John,  knowing that he was a just and holy man;" (Mk. 6: 20).   The ascetic isolated  John the Baptist used to lift the voice of truth in the face  of  the adulterous king ,  "It is not lawful for you.."!

 There is a foolish reckless courage whose motive is injustice to others and glorifying of the self, and there is a Christian courage, which takes powerful positions and utters fiery words, supported by a loving heart and by a lowly and humble spirit.
+  A chaste youth always forges ahead;   he fears  nothing  because he
desires nothing:  "I stood at the summit of the world the day I felt that I feared nothing and desired nothing" (St. Augustine).
+  He is not lax about the truth and is not timid about witnessing; he does not submit to sin either in his private life or in his public life.

3.  A Free Youth:
 There is no doubt that sin impresses the soul with the stamp of slavery, for "whoever commits sin is a slave of sin." (Jn. 8: 34).

The  pure heart has broken its bonds and is free from its habits and its bondage.  It has escaped the enemy's captivity to walk in the way of the Kingdom with steady steps, neither looking behind nor fearful of what is ahead.  The enemy has been crushed beneath its feet through grace, and the bonds on its hands and within it have been broken, and it has  been set truly free.

One day, the Lord said to the Jews, "if the Son makes you free, you shall be  free  indeed"  (Jn. 8:36); they rebelled and objected saying that they were "Abraham's descendants and have never been in bondage to anyone" (Jn. 8: 33).

 While they were groaning under the yoke of bondage to the Romans, they were boasting of a spurious liberty.  History is repeating itself.  For here are the atheists of this age singing of their freedom and ignoring the fact that their liberty is only a dangerous fake.  They are slaves to their pleasures. We defy them  to  be  free  of  them   without Christ!
 Genuine liberty is when a human chooses between two options, but for him to pursue sin and corruption is the very essence of  slavery.

4. A Youth that is Open to Others:
A pure youth has escaped from the captivity of self and is open to others.  It is obvious that impurity is the direct and rapid expression of the   love  of  a   human   being  for himself.  That is why the saints have connected impurity to pride.  An immoral   youth   despises himself and extends this contempt to others through a morbid personality.  A chaste youth, however, listens to the Lord's witness in his life, humbles himself and attributes everything to God.  He opens his heart to everyone in a welcome that is devoid of selfishness or self-interest.

The pure youth forgets himself in  God  and in  his  neighbor, whereas the immoral  youth forgets God and his neighbor for the sake of self.

Probably the most successful way of achieving chastity is for the young person to emerge from his egotism and go forward towards others, sharing their pain and joys and serving them in love and humility.

5.  A Joyful Youth:
 This    means   a   serene personality that has no complexes and no deviousness. It has no need for morbid introversion or for a passive humility in society.  It does not suffer from the depression that follows a fall, but rather his body, heart and actions  radiate the hope of grace.  Whenever you meet him, his joy and peace overflow to you and that is why you love to encounter him.

The deviant youth is torn apart with anxiety, and he destroys his potential with repressed desires.  He  becomes a   slave  to   different wrong types of enjoyment which inevitably affect his psychological and spiritual life.

 The life of the pure youth is filled with stable and profound joy because he feels that his sins are forgiven in the blood of Christ and that his heart is still in the presence of God all the time.

6.  A Youth with Well-defined Traits:
 It is clear that a young person who is tossed by the currents of sin always hesitates in making decisions or in taking the appropriate steps in any given situation.  He is weak in the face of the currents of evil and the opportunities for sin in society in general as well as in his inner life.

The young person who has not decided on his way and has not defined his traits is always falling away; he feels that he is less than those who are evil.

The chaste  youth,  however, has well-defined traits.  He knows his way and makes the decision to keep away from sin and transgression  quickly and willingly.  He is therefore esteemed by good and evil alike, is socially successful and loved by all.

7.  A Fruitful Youth:
 + The deviant soul is barren and without fruit:  "What fruit did you have then in the things of which you are now ashamed? (Rom. 6: 21).

The pure  spirit is   occupied with God and bears fruit in the life of union; it is occupied with souls and bears fruit in the life of service; and it is occupied with holy interests and so is fruitful in the life of example.

 + The pure soul obtains the fruits of the spirit through the Holy Spirit:  "love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control." (Gal.5: 22).
 A pure soul is productive and effective and has visible influence on others, contributing to their salvation and  working for the glory of Christ.
And now, dear reader,

 I invite you to spend a few quiet moments in the presence of God during which you examine yourself and submit your life and give yourself to the Lord totally without reservations.  Then start to strive in the way of holiness without hesitation, looking back, or despair, but rather with joy, perseverance and strength, confident that heaven watches your struggles and rejoices in them.  The blood of Christ is sufficient for  daily cleansing and  complete purification.

Listen to the great Anthony:  "Make an effort to read what will save you from impurity."  St. John Chrystotem says: "The face that has been sanctified by the sign of the cross should not bow before Satan." St. Ambrose says: "The cross heals lust."

"The Lord's hand is not too short to save", "let us lay our lives at his feet with lowliness and joy, confident that our God is with us and that victory is form the Lord."

The Lord be with you.

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