Fornication is carnal union between a man and a woman who are not validly married although they are free to marry. It is an act which is against God and it is contrary to the dignity of human sexuality which is naturally ordered to the good of spouses and the raising of their children. The example of it corrupts the young.

The sin of fornication is against the sixth and ninth commandments of God. ” Thou shalt not commit adultery.” “Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s wife.” Each commandment mentions specifically one of the most serious sins against the virtue to be practiced but others are grouped in which are also against that virtue. For example, not only is it a sin to kill; it is a sin to fight and hate. Not only is it a sin to commit adultery-carnal intercourse when one or both of the participants is married to someone else; it is also a sin to commit fornication-sexual intercourse between two unmarried persons.

Moral permissiveness rests on a lying conception of human freedom. The necessary precondition for the development of true freedom is to let oneself be educated in the moral law.

We as humans have the inclination to seek sense-pleasures contrary to the dictates of reason and God’s law. Basic passions and tendencies are necessary and good. They come from God. They become sinful only when they are exercised or enjoyed in ways which are forbidden by God.

The tendency of our lower nature is a result of the proud rebellion of Adam’s and Eve’s wills against God, with the consequent loss of the gift of easy self-control. God in His great mercy restored to us the possibility of reaching our supernatural goal together with the means of striving for it. God, however, did not will to return to us the gift of perfect control over our bodies. He wills that we achieve control over our bodies and their tendencies by the slow process of difficult and oft-repeated efforts.

Self control is always possible with God’s helping grace. The will may be weakened but is still free to resist and reject temptations and invitations to sin which come from our lower nature. God gives us the necessary actual graces which enlighten the mind and strengthen the will to refuse to consent to sin. We will have no excuse before God if we choose to be ruled by our lower nature.

Do not forget the dangerous foe whose name is Satan. He tempts us to do what is against God in his hatred of God and us. The devil cannot tamper with our human intellect or will. But he can see what goes on in the imagination and memory. He can work on these two powers. That is, he can call up and suggest evil ideas and pictures. He can work on the body and the senses. He knows our weaknesses from watching our actions and he selects weapons against us. But he is like a chained dog. He cannot bite us unless we get too close to him.

When the devil speaks a lie he does so from his very nature, for he is a liar and the father of the lies. ( John 8:44)There are so many lies being told right now. Lies are being told and believed more than at any other time. The counterfeit spirit is loved by many over the Holy Spirit. Resist the devil. Know that this is his last stand.

Things are bad. It is hard to embrace the truth as good is being called evil and evil is being called good. Those of us who choose God and His truth will suffer. We will be persecuted.

The racist who is for the killing of the unborn is not called a racist by many and is often called good. While the God fearing man who is against murder of the innocent is called evil by many.

It is the same with those of us who oppose fornication and sodomy. We are considered by many to be the troublemakers. But the God of all grace will sustain us to be the salt of the earth that we must be.

Beware of the depraved men and women who are drunk on pleasures of the flesh and the senses, who are drunk with pride, hate and lust for power, who are being guided by the powers of hell in their attacks on God and His Holy Church( Those of us bearing the mark of Christ and who are still with God in this time of lies winning out with the many),and on religion and pious education and thinking. Do not join with them in any way. Discern with sound doctrine and not unsound doctrine.

Beware of Fake News which can shape your thinking to the point you are comfortably in the wrong camp which is against God.

Beware of that which is false and those who speak it. If you are with God then you will believe it when you are told that lust sends more young people to hell than any other vice.

We live in a world now where modernism plagues us. Professors and so-called psychologists who believe in naturalism tell us to do everything we feel like doing. They tell us that any kind of sex is good. We are to follow our impulses and enjoy pleasure to the full. They also tell us that to curb and control our passions is unnatural and injurious to health. This is false.

False also are those men of God who have gone down the same path of modernism.

There are so many, many false teachers and prophets and leaders of every kind. These are terrible times. ( 2 Timothy 3:1-8) These are times of love of pleasure ruling the day rather than love of God.

Beware the false teachers and prophets! Beware of those of them who are teaching your classes. Beware of those of them on TV spouting in a loud and pompous voice with great force the evil agenda as they believe their lies. Beware of those of them in the pulpit doing the same.

Those of you claiming today a right to a trail marriage where there is an intention of getting married later are committing fornication. Rejection of marriage , inability to make long-term commitments, this destroys the very idea of family and weaken the sense of fidelity. As a couple planning marriage who have succumbed to your passion for each other you may not be trapped in evil forever, but living together in sin does have you trapped for the moment in grave danger of eternal damnation.

We are meant by nature to control our bodies according to reason and God’s law. We must mortify our senses if we wish to have God save our souls. Our bodies are members of Christ! (1 Corinthians 6: 15-20) When we yield to our passions contrary to reason and God’s laws we are acting like animals. It is noble for man’s higher faculties to control and command the body. It is ignoble and shameful to allow them to be controlled by the body.

We who belong to Christ have crucified our flesh with its passions and desires. We live by the spirit. and not the flesh. (Galatians 5: 16-26)

The self-discipline or crucifixion spoken of by Saint Paul describes the efforts of the Christian soul struggling to control and govern the body and its tendencies to pleasure. It is us training as Christian soldiers to fit us to combat the enemies of our soul. Read what Saint Paul has to say in His first epistle to the Corinthians. ( 1Corinthians 9: 24-27)

God knows our frailties and our entire dependence upon Him and He will always give us the necessary grace and strength to combat our weaknesses. But we must do our part. We must co-operate with God. Therefore pray for control over your senses and always turn to God in difficulties and temptations with humble, confident and persevering prayer.

God will not let any of us down who are truthful about our lives and how we must live them before Him. With God’s grace we will live as we should loving God above all else. We will overcome. With God we will beat the devil and sin.

Your brother who follows the lead of Christ, Eddie