The Spirituality of St Philip 8: Chastity

The Spirituality of St Philip

Chastity

“Chastity is mentioned by St Paul as being one of the fruits of the Spirit. Chastity ought to be lived as the freedom of the heart, in a total giving of oneself to the Lord; not as a rejection of a human reality that was willed by God and sanctified by grace. Chastity is a foretaste of the Kingdom, which yearns for the fullness of love, and of making oneself available to a positive and serene intimacy; it is a spiritual richness which puts right all the possible deviations of egoism and immaturity” (Cittadini).

St Philip, “advised us to flee from every kind of singularity and showing oneself to be or to do more than the others,” knowing that humility is indispensable in preserving purity.

He said, “Be attentive to purity of heart because the Holy Spirit dwells in innocent and simple souls. One should fear carnal temptations and flee from them even in illness, in old age and for as long as one lives, because the spirit of incontinence exempts no place, nor time, nor person.”

Philip often said, “The young should beware of the temptations of the flesh, and the old should beware of avarice. Temptations of the flesh can be better overcome by flight than by fight. Be compassionate towards those who fall - that helps us not to fall. Always be vigilant and never trust oneself. He also said that he preferred a person tempted by the flesh who was able to flee from it than someone not tempted who had never had to escape difficulty. And he proposed five remedies; flee temptation, do not pamper the flesh, flee from idleness, pray frequently, and frequent Confession and the Most Holy Eucharist.”