“Bear in mind that your flesh is weak and that no worldly thing can comfort or strengthen your spirit, for what is born of the world is world and what is born of the flesh is flesh. The good spirit is born only of the Spirit of God, who communicates himself neither through the world nor through the flesh.”
“The One who is not reborn in the Holy Spirit will be unable to see the kingdom of God, which is the state of perfection. To be reborn in the Holy Spirit during this life is to become most like God in purity, without any mixture of imperfection.” ~ St. John of the Cross
Sadly, the world of today is completely embroiled within the realm of the material: the world, the flesh, and the devil. Physical beauty, strength, and endurance are prized possessions. Man relies solely upon the tangible for happiness: large homes, sports cars, and designer clothes. In the homosexual community, this phenomenon is intensified as boys who go into the gay lifestyle invariably throw off all that symbolized their traumatic past: religion, family, and home, in favor of an all new set of paradigms – symbolized by the worship of Hollywood film and music stars as their latest gods. And, with porn addiction, the victim ties his mind to the wires and circuitry of the hard drive and keyboard; often spending hours at a time – trying vainly to push his way into the computer screen; currently embodied by the contemporary popularity of interactive porn/sex toys. Ultimately, these things are shallow and transitory; fading, falling into disrepair, and vanishing from sight. Yet, the more these false idols fail us - the more we tend to depend upon them. We become desperate. Strangely enough, the answer is always with us: for the Lord never leaves our side; even when we fall away from Him; as Our Lord said to St. Faustina: “I pursue sinners along all their paths, and My Heart rejoices when they return to Me.” Therefore, you will continuously find our Lord where Heaven touches the Earth: in the Sacraments, in Scripture, and in prayer. He is waiting for you there; all you have to do is call out to Him.
Once you have asked for the guidance of Jesus Christ, you will be reborn through the Fire of the Holy Spirit. As at Pentecost, your heart will be filled - and you’re deepest longings will be satisfied. As Peter said during his speech at the Descent of the Holy Spirit: “…and it shall be that everyone shall be saved who calls on the name of the Lord.” Then, your attachment to all the useless things of this life will be loosened, you will Trust in the Lord, and will seek your solace in Him alone. Only the Saints have reached this apex of human potential; and, only through hard work, perseverance, and humility. In the end, they understood their limitations and inherent frailty, confessed their failings, and forever strived towards perfection. And, because of their closeness to Christ, they understood that this could only be achieved by embracing the Cross. John of the Cross wrote: “If individuals resolutely submit to the carrying of the cross, if they decidedly want to find and endure trials in all things for God, they will discover in all of them great relief and sweetness.”
At first, that might seem a bizarre proposition: to look for the Cross; to embrace suffering. But, we must always remember that only those whom were closest to the Lord He deemed fit to stand with Him as He died on Calvary. They were: His Most Holy Mother, Mary Magdalene - the woman once possessed of seven demons, and John - the youngest and most pure of the Apostles. This is never any easy endeavor: as we must forcibly turn our heads upward and look at the Savior hanging on the Cross. One thing I constantly noticed, in the gay lifestyle and in porn, is that everyone’s heads were always twisted downwards – to the ground, the earth, and to the base of humanity. Men, lined across the wall of a sex club, were forever gazing downward, endlessly looking and admiring their genitals; porn addicts straining their necks, staring down at the glowing monitor. It was a posture of egotism, depression, and surrender. A constant looking inward at the flesh for satisfaction, a sudden and horrifying crash when the physical pleasure instantaneously dissipated, and a sapping of the will and eventual slavery in service to our grossest whims and appetites. This sorrowful state will often brings us down low; sometimes even to the point of death. But, then, God has shown us the way. For, we are now broken. He called the humble and the faithful, those that He had healed, and the boy who remained unafraid. We must strive to be all of these things; for, one day, we may hear the words: “Well done, good and faithful servant…”