The opinion of this author is that most Christians do not believe in Jesus Christ as God.If they truly believed this, they would contemplate how he took human flesh, bore our sufferings and died for us --- contemplating to the extent of this proof:
Avoiding all impurity, or near occasions of impurity, or providing a near occasion of impurity unnecessarily for their neighbor.
The connection is simple: God took on flesh, human flesh and suffered. He humbled himself even being God. If someone says that they love Jesus, then shouldn't they wish to be like him? Since he is Goodness itself, was his dignity lessened because of his passion and death? No! The evils that were done to him were just that: evils, but they did not, and they could not, lessen who he is because he is God. We who are not gods, should pay attention. The stripes, the purple cloak, the crown of thorns, the nails, the cross, the mockery... these were evils. Then why would we look to make friends with evils? It is one thing to accept something in humility, when it is prudent as so far it is God's Holy Will, but befriending and glamourizing impurity includes us among those that sprung evil tortues upon the God-man. Impurity seeks to lessen the dignity of a man, making him less like God.
In some ways, he who says he loves Christ and enjoys impure thoughts, art, conversation, etc., is worse off than someone who knows little of Christ and says he dislikes him. One reason: the former is a greater scandal, both to the man himself and to other exposed to his hippocrasy. The despair and dispondency that comes from comes immediately, although it varying doses. It may come as a small, but steady root, that like a cancer invades the healthy tissues and in its hidden way begins to spread. Dispondency, a disease of the spirit, shows its first signs by one who prefers to be subjugated to his vices (and in this way also to the devil and the spirit of the world). "The norm" becomes the extent of his piety, as he continues to lose his sense and even appreciation of the sacred. It chips away first at the exterior and then the interior life* (*demonstrated by the fact that you could meet a man who favors pioius art, liturgical practice, etc., but detests and resists meditative prayer, yet you will not meet a man who has a sincere and authentic prayer life, yet has a distaste for higher sacred art, etc.). Any man who makes light of impurity sells out a portion of his faith (if not all of it) for less than the perverbial plate of lentils.
Such are men who pretend that mediocrity in the spiritual life is a virtue. They will twist the words of the Holy Ghost through St. Paul, touting, 'everything in moderation' as their slogan, as if St. Paul was promoting evils as long as they were not immediately idolized. (The modernist loves this.) Really such a philosophy is a product of spiritual dispondency, evident when one ignores the actual graces given to them over time, as they become slaves to their passions. They are slaves unwittingly, because in their free will they chose the lesser goods, or even the evils over the goods, because they trained themselves to be desensitized to the evils, namely to impurity. Eventually this leads to despair of spiritual goods lost, consciously or subconsciously. Pleasure is then no longer something that is a biproduct of the goods ordered to God, but it is pursued to its own end as if he who is not God is 'God'. When this occurs, the gift of supernatural faith is diminished even against the sanctifying graces of (a valid) Baptism, to the point of being commonly non-existent. This absence of grace is the absence of God, which causes the greatest loneliness a man can face, and more frequently than not, people today are fighting this. As a result, people in this society tend to busy themselves more and more with nonsense, and promote even the vice of impurity. License has, in this way, become the new "freedom".
ECCE HOMO! Behold the God-Man who suffered and died for love of you.
The question should be rather: Why spiritual despondency? Sin and despondency are ultimately fruits from the same bad tree: pride. However, thoughts of a despondent spirit are often from the fallen one, who especially urges those who in some ways religious, and yet have fallen by the world or the flesh. Whether they are bound by chains or by a single string, they are held back from the freedom God wishes for them in this life, then to foreshadow the eternal reward which is to come for those truly free from any affection to even venial sin.
A humble soul sees his fault, implores God's forgiveness and assistance, trusts that he will receive this assistance, then perserveres to overcome his fault, working as if all depended upon him, while in this way honors God's mercy. Such a man's main pursuit which drives him to think and act in this way is love of God born out of gratitude for what He has done, and desire to give with his being glory to God due to God alone. The prideful soul sees his fault and lacking himself in gratitude, he presumes upon God's goodness as if his path to salvation is already set, ignoring the honor he owes to God (and God alone). His faith is then small, and he puts his trust in himself, really, despite that he'd rather you think that he trusts in God, and therefore is casual about his pursuit for heaven. Since his faith in God is small, his faith in God's promise is really small, as proven by his making this life no longer a means to an eternal end, but an end itself.
A prideful soul avoids anything or any person that would remind him of his fault, allowing him to not feel badly about chosing to not give up a disordered attachment to a licit or even an illicit good. A humble soul welcomes prudent correction, and despises and seeks to avoid the spirit of falsity.
Let us seek Truth Incarnate, wherein true freedom resides.
O Jesus, meek and humble of heart, make our hearts like onto thine.
By thy holy and Immaculate heart, O Mary, make my body pure and my soul holy. Preserve me this day/night from mortal sin, and guide me that I may not commit one single, deliberate venial sin. Amen.+
APPEASED by this Sacrifice, O Lord, in which Thou hast nourished Thy Church on heavenly food, do Thou so guide her that she may be steered with a firm hand and, while enjoying more liberty, may persist in wholeness of faith. Through our Lord.
