VATICAN CITY, DEC. 10, 2007 (Zenit.org).- Those unable to say no to themselves in sin, will not be able to say yes to their neighbor in love, says Father Raniero Cantalamessa.
Capuchin Father Cantalamessa, Pontifical Household preacher, said this in the first Advent sermon delivered Friday in the presence of Benedict XVI and members of the Roman Curia in preparation for Christmas.
Father Cantalamessa said that he hoped his remarks would "help us make Advent a time of conversion and spiritual reawakening."
The Pontifical preacher said: "Today, there is a tendency to oppose sins against purity and sins against our neighbor and it is the sin against our neighbor that is thought to be the real sin; sometimes scorn is cast upon the excessive homage that was paid in the past to the 'beautiful virtue.'
"This attitude is in part understandable; the morality of the past emphasized too unilaterally the sins of the flesh, to the point sometimes of creating real neuroses at the expense of attention to our neighbor and at the expense of the virtue of purity itself which was thus impoverished and reduced to an almost entirely negative virtue, the virtue of knowing how to say no.
"The spiritual life is not of course reduced to chastity and purity alone but it is certain that without them every effort in other directions will be impossible. It is truly, as Paul says in the text we cited, 'armor of light': a condition for the light of Christ to radiate about us and through us.
"Now, however, we have gone to the other extreme and there is a tendency to minimize sins against purity to the advantage (often only in theory) of attention to our neighbor."
Authentic service
Father Cantalamessa continued: "It is an illusion to believe that we can put authentic service to our brothers -- which always demands sacrifice, altruism, forgetfulness of self and generosity -- together with a disordered personal life, entirely directed toward gratifying ourselves and our own passions. We end up, inevitably, using our brothers, just as we use our own bodies and the other sex. He who does not know how to say no to himself does not know how to say yes to his brothers.
"One of the 'excuses' that contributes most to encourage the sin of impurity in the popular mindset is the discharging of any responsibility, the claim that it hurts no one, that it does not violate anyone's rights unless, it is said, we are talking about physical violence. But apart from the fact that it violates the basic right of God to give a law to his creatures, this 'excuse' is false even in regard to our relations to our neighbor. It is not true that the sin of impurity ends with those who commit it. "
"In the Jewish Talmud there is an apologue that illustrates quite well the connection that exists between sin and the damage that every sin, even personal sin, does to others," said the preacher. "Some people found themselves on a boat. One of the passengers took a drill and began to make a hole beneath his seat. The others seeing this said to him: 'What are you doing?' He answered: 'What is it to you? Am I not making a hole under my seat?' But they replied: 'Yes, but water will come in and we will all drown!'"
Father Cantalamessa asked: "Is this not what is happening in our society? The Church too knows something of the evil that can be done to the whole body by personal mistakes of the clergy in this sphere."
The preacher said in conclusion: "In these last months one of the spiritual events that has gotten much press was the publishing of the 'private writings' of Mother Teresa of Calcutta. The title chosen for the book in which they are gathered is the words Jesus spoke to her when he called her to her new mission: 'Come, Be My light.'
"These are words that Jesus addresses to each of us and that, with the help of the Most Blessed Virgin and the intercession of Blessed Teresa of Calcutta, we would like to welcome with love and try to put into practice this Advent."
