For those who disagree

Once I saw on PBS an interview of a very prominent and respected American evangelist by David Frost. It was a long time ago. But I still remember that part of the interview where the preacher was asked if he ever committed adultery. He said no. Now, the Bible defines adultery in a very broad sense. So, I assume, the preacher being a man of God would also instinctively define adultery in the same scope and range as the biblical definition. It is hard for a healthy natural man not to have entertained sexual thoughts even if it lasted a brief moment. Therefore, under the biblical definition, most of us mortals would definitely have committed at least one act of adultery (a conservative estimate) before the week ends. Therefore, modern man tries to console himself with such saying as “One can not prevent a bird from flying over one’s head, but one can certainly prevent it from making its nest on one’s head.” I heard this saying from someone wise and it made a lot of sense. Also, it gave me a tremendous sense of relief. However, to temper the biblical definition with practical logic is meant only for common man. But a man of God has to meet a much higher standard in his observance of the words of God. So, I began to wonder if God grants a certain grace of chastity to certain people so that they are free from the sin of adultery. And if he does, is it mentioned somewhere in the Bible? So, I did some research and this is what I found. Here, our Lord is discussing with His disciples.

Mathew 19 (NKJV)
9 And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another woman, commits adultery; and whoever marries her who is divorced commits adultery.
10 His disciples said to Him, “If such is the case of the man with his wife, it is better not marry.”
11 But He said to them, “All can not accept this saying but only those to whom it has been given.”
12 For there are eunuchs who were born thus from their mother’s womb, and there are eunuchs who were made eunuchs by men, and there eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven’s sake. He who is able to accept it, let him accept it. Catholic saints and mystics were able to maintain chastity. It is true all of them faced temptation of the flesh at one time or another. Even St. Francis of Assisi himself was known to have fought against such temptations. But all of them triumphed over the flesh. On their own, they might have succeeded for first time, second time or third time, but eventually desires of the flesh will get the better of them. Here again, I quote our Lord Himself, “All can not accept this saying but only those to whom it has been given.” So, it is actually grace of God which encourages these men and women mystics and saints to reject such temptations and fight and triumph over them.

When I think of God’s grace and being filled with it, I think of St. Mary. After all, she was the one who carried Him for nine months in her womb, nursed Him, bathed Him, changed His diapers, sang lullaby to Him. She was there with Him at birth and she was there at the foot of the Cross at death. He lived with her all His life. Therefore, who on earth would be more filled with grace of God if not Mary? Honestly, I can not think of anyone. If Mother Teresa was preserved in her virginity by the grace of God, how much more wouldn’t our Lord do for His own mother? That is why I believe St. Mary was virgin all her life.