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By Fr. Mieczysław Piotrowski S.Chr.,
God has written His law on the heart of every person (cf. Rom. 2:15), and it tells us what is good for us and what is bad.
St Thomas Aquinas explains that this is the “natural law”, which is “the light of understanding infused in us by God, whereby we understand what must be done and what must be avoided. God gave this light and this law to man at creation.” The “natural law” was expressed in the Ten Commandments, which show us the way to heaven, because Jesus says: “If you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments” (Matt. 19:17). Our faith and love for God should be expressed in our keeping the commandments: “If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love” (John 15:10). The way and condition of salvationThe greatest good for man is the belief in the existence of God, from whom all things come and who loves us with unconditional love. Receiving His love, obeying His commandments and walking humbly with Him guarantee us eternal life. Jesus says that we will gain eternal life only if we keep His commandments: “Do this and you will live” (Luke 10:28). “A close connection is made”, writes St Pope John Paul II, “between eternal life and obedience to God’s commandments: God’s commandments show man the path of life and lead to it. From the very lips of Jesus, the new Moses, man is once again given the commandments of the Decalogue. Jesus himself definitively confirms them and proposes them to us as the way and condition of salvation” (Veritatis splendor 12). Conscious and voluntary disregard for the commandments, lack of conversion and rejection of God’s mercy lead to the loss of salvation and the eternity of hell. At present, we are witnessing personal forces of evil at work in history, as they oppose the teaching of the Catholic Church with hatred and demoralise people by promoting contraception, pornography, masturbation, premarital sex, homosexuality, artificial insemination and other deviant behaviour.
The attack on marriage and family, and on the domain of human sexuality, is the work of demonic evil, leading people to absolute selfishness, which is hell. Sins of impurity, knowingly and voluntarily committed, boost egoism and kill love, and where there is no love, there is the beginning of hell. That is why God warns: “Do not be deceived! Fornicators, idolaters, adulterers, male prostitutes, sodomites, thieves, the greedy, drunkards, revilers, robbers – none of these will inherit the kingdom of God” (1 Cor. 6:9–10). You were called to freedomKeeping God’s commandments is the guarantee of freedom. “For you were called to freedom, brothers and sisters” (Gal. 5:13), writes St Paul. And he adds, “only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for selfindulgence, but through love become slaves to one another” (ibid). Someone who lives in the slavery of sins, or lives “in the flesh”, treats God’s commandments as a burden limiting their freedom. On the other hand, a person who “lives by the spirit”, that is, according to the Decalogue (cf. Gal. 5:16), perceives God’s law as the law of freedom and love of God and his neighbour.
The purpose of God’s commandments is to care for humans and to secure their good. They express – writes St John Paul II – “the ever urgent need to protect human life, the communion of persons in marriage, private property, truthfulness and people’s good name. The commandments thus represent the basic condition for love of one’s neighbour; at the same time, they are the proof of that love. They are the first necessary step on the journey towards freedom. ‘The beginning of freedom, St Augustine writes, is to be free from crimes […] such as murder, adultery, fornication, theft, fraud, sacrilege and so forth. When once one is without these crimes (and every Christian should be without them), one begins to lift up one’s head towards freedom. But this is only the beginning of freedom, not perfect freedom …’” (VS 13). St Augustine explains why at this stage freedom is still imperfect: “Because ‘I see in my members another law at war with the law of my reason’… In part freedom, in part slavery: not yet complete freedom, not yet pure, not yet whole, because we are not yet in eternity. In part we retain our weakness and in part we have attained freedom. All our sins were destroyed in baptism, but does it follow that no weakness remained after iniquity was destroyed? Had none remained, we would live without sin in this life. But who would dare to say this except someone who is proud, someone unworthy of the mercy of our deliverer? […] Therefore, since some weakness has remained in us, I dare to say that to the extent to which we serve God we are free, while to the extent that we follow the law of sin, we are still slaves” (VS 17). Freedom depends on the knowledge of the truth which is Jesus Christ and living according to His commandments. Jesus expressed it in these words: “and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free” (John 8:32). Therefore, every person has a moral obligation to seek the Truth, and when they find it, to abide in It. The Movement of Pure HeartsIn his first encyclical, St John Paul II wrote: “The man who wishes to understand himself thoroughly […] must with his unrest, uncertainty and even his weakness and sinfulness, with his life and death, draw near to Christ. He must, so to speak, enter into him with all his own self, he must ‘appropriate’ and assimilate the whole of the reality of the Incarnation and Redemption in order to find himself. If this profound process takes place within him, he then bears fruit not only of adoration of God but also of deep wonder at himself” (Redemptor hominis 10). The Lord Jesus invites you, with all your sinfulness and misery, to cling to Him, and in the community of the Movement of Pure Hearts, let Him heal all the wounds of your heart, free you from selfishness and from various addictions and teach you to love with pure and humble love. When and how can you join the Movement of Pure Hearts? Any time! First, go to confession, and when you receive Jesus in Holy Communion, give yourself to Him exclusively, saying the Prayer of Entrustment of the MPH. Let the editors of Love One Another! know that you have joined the MPH, so we can send you a blessing and put your name in the Book of Pure Hearts. Say the Prayer of Entrustment every morning, as soon as you get out of bed. During the day, remember the commitments which this prayer contains and put them into practice. The MPH is a community in which Jesus heals all the diseases of the spirit, frees people from all forms of bondage, shapes characters and teaches us to love with pure love. The condition for healing is to surrender to the treatment suggested by Jesus. How is it done? Allow Jesus to reach your heart with His love. You have to do it in daily persevering prayer. Pray the rosary and the Chaplet of Divine Mercy, read the Holy Scripture and, if possible, participate in the Eucharist and adore Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament every day. Go regularly to the sacrament of penance, and if you happen to commit a grave sin, then immediately go to confession, so that you are always in a state of sanctifying grace. Be demanding of yourself, work on your character; never get discouraged. Plan your timetable to incorporate time for prayer, solid work and rest. So rise early in the morning and go to bed early as well. Also, take up some kind of sport. If you undergo the healing treatment suggested to you by Jesus, you will surely experience the miracle of inner transformation, freedom of spirit and pure love. The formation magazine of MPH is the bimonthly Love One Another! (published in twentythree languages), so read it and use it in your evangelism. By reading this magazine, many people have been converted and entrusted their lives to Christ in the Catholic Church. Our editorial team are looking forward to reading your testimonies. Thus you will share the treasure of faith with others. In this holy time of Christmas, Baby Jesus, who is Emmanuel — God with us — reminds us that God’s love is helpless, because we can despise it and reject it. It becomes allpowerful when we accept it. May the joy of Christmas be yours in its fullness, when you receive our greatest treasure with faith and a pure heart: Jesus Christ present in the Eucharist. Assuring you of my remembrance of you in prayer, I bless you with all my heart Fr Mieczysław Piotrowski, S.Chr., The above article was published with permission from Miłujcie się! in September 2020.
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