The Struggle and the prize
"The flesh lusteth against the spirit; and the spirit against the flesh; for these are contrary one to another, so that you do not the things that you would" (Gal. v. 17).
LX. Your most precious treasure
1.Let us now direct our attention to the contest in which you must engage in behalf of holy purity. I desire with all the fervor of my soul, with all the earnestness at my command, with the most tender solicitude of a father, to arouse within your breast an enthusiastic love for this angelic virtue and to urge you on to struggle with valor and perseverance for its preservation.
It behooves me also to warn you against the opposite vice, to point out to you the varied forms which the enemy you have to encounter is wont to assume, and to describe the most efficacious means to protect and defend yourself against all attacks.
In God's name, go forth to do battle manfully on behalf of the virtue of purity, and to fight with courage and perseverance against your most terrible enemy, the vice of impurity. It may help you to fight this battle aright, if you consider with me and reflect earnestly upon the following points: namely, the
