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A testimony
I am an only child who always got his way. When I turned eleven, my parents bought me my own TV. From then on, in the privacy of my room, I had access to every channel available on cable television — including pornographic movies. As a result, I fell into the habit of masturbation. It was only at the age of nineteen, when I met a girl and began to experience the joys of love, that I felt motivated to work on overcoming this bad habit. At the same time, I began to open myself up to matters of faith. Unfortunately, our relationship was not solidly grounded in Christ. As a result, after a year of abstinence, I returned to my bad habits, even though I clearly remember assuring the priest in confession that this was a thing of the past. The year 2000 proved to be a time of special grace for me. It was then that I discovered the efficacy of prayer. If I prayed and read Scripture in the evening, I would go to bed and enjoy a a good night’s sleep. If I did not do this, I would end up watching TV into the wee hours of the morning. Fortunately, thanks to God’s grace, whenever I fell into sin, I would always turn to Him in prayer — embarrassed but repentant. A good honest confession also helped me considerably. A breakthrough occurred during the Christmas season of 2000, when my girlfriend and I agreed that we would abstain from physical intimacy throughout the holidays. This was a true inspiration of the Holy Spirit. As a result, we began to feel less constrained in our relationship. This in turn enabled us to discern that ours could not be a lasting relationship, and so, in a spirit of friendship, we broke up. Would we have reached such an important decision, if we had continued living an impure life, blinded by conflicting emotions? I am now twenty-five years old. In a few months I will have been chaste for five years. This does not mean that I am no longer tempted. But now every time temptation arises, I call on the name of Jesus, and the evil quickly passes away. My years at university, when I learned to kick my bad habit, also proved to be a time of learning about God, about myself, about the Church and its organizations. I also learned to love and serve my neighbor. Spiritual direction, daily Mass, and prayer are now the bedrock of my life. I thank God that He reveals His will to me every day and enables me to carry it out. My wish is that all young people will seek out and find Jesus, that He may teach them how to live a good life. Michael The above article was published with permission from Miłujcie się! in November 2010
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