Quotes of the Day on Chastity

"Purity is not something negative; it is not just an unopened bud; it is not something cold; it is not ignorance of life. Is justice merely the absence of dishonesty? Is mercy merely the absence of cruelty? Is faith merely the absence of doubt? Purity is not merely the absence of sensuality; it is selflessness born of love and the highest love of all."

- Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen

This is an echo of what Chesterton said prior to that about virtue, which I happened to read today as well:

Virtue is not the absence of vices or the avoidance of moral dangers; virtue is a vivid and separate thing, like pain or a particular smell. Mercy does not mean not being cruel or sparing people revenge or punishment; it means a plain and positive thing like the sun, which one has either seen or not seen. 

Chastity does not mean abstention from sexual wrong; it means something flaming, like Joan of Arc. In a word, God paints in many colours;  but He never paints so gorgeously. . . as when He paints in white. [emphasis mine]

These brilliant and eloquent words are important, because these days, many try to downplay the virtue. And many are just all too happy to embrace any kind of reasoning that concludes chastity to be unnecessary. In fact, many already have. "It's too difficult", they say or "it's unrealistic", or "it's impossible". Well, it is tough, but nothing worthwhile ever comes easily. This virtue was important to pursue then. It's just as important now, no matter what the world tells us. The One who called us to chastity then still calls us to it now. The only thing that's changed is that somewhere down the line, many of us stopped listening.