Ideas for increasing in purity and chastity

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Sorry if this is the wrong section. Anyways, I’ve been struggling for about a year and a half with sins against purity and chastity (impure thoughts and masturbation; mostly impure thoughts - thankfully I’ve been able to cut down on the masturbation). I’ve heard that one of the best way to combat sin is to grow in the virtue opposite of the vice; any ideas on how I could go about cultivating purity and chastity?

I’m already praying the Rosary just about every day with a couple of family members, as well as some other prayers I do myself, but it’s tough; every time I fall, I feel really bad about it and I have very little motivation to bring myself out of that rut. Any other ideas on things I could do to improve would be much appreciated. Thanks for any help that can be offered.
 
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You know what triggers this behavior. Do whatever you can to eliminate those triggers from your life. If that means getting rid of your TV, so be it. Cancel newspapers and magazines and learn to take custody of your eyes. Men in particular, are visually stimulated. Thus, retrain yourself to look others directly in their eyes. Would you check the Lord’s body out if He stood before you? No different in anyone else.

I mentioned triggers. A gun will not fire without a trigger.
 
Praying to the Holy Spirit when thoughts keep hassling you,get out and walk .I wear my scapular all the time and kiss it often,think of Our Lady’s protection.
Remembering our body as a temple.
 
I know the feeling. You are not alone OP.
 
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TheCatholicGryphon said:
Sorry if this is the wrong section. Anyways, I’ve been struggling for about a year and a half with sins against purity and chastity (impure thoughts and masturbation; mostly impure thoughts - thankfully I’ve been able to cut down on the masturbation). I’ve heard that one of the best way to combat sin is to grow in the virtue opposite of the vice; any ideas on how I could go about cultivating purity and chastity?

I’m already praying the Rosary just about every day with a couple of family members, as well as some other prayers I do myself, but it’s tough; every time I fall, I feel really bad about it and I have very little motivation to bring myself out of that rut. Any other ideas on things I could do to improve would be much appreciated. Thanks for any help that can be offered.
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Thankfully you are making progress . May you keep progressing , but when you fall don’t feel dirty or somehow rejected by God .

Have you any Catholic friends whom you can confide in ? Once a married male friend told me that he was having problems of this nature . He was feeling riddled with guilt , dirty , ashamed , and thought he was an oddball . How relieved he was when I told him of how many male Catholics struggle with this .

Keep up with the Rosary , and remember it is the Holy Spirit producing His fruit within you which will make you pure and chaste . Rely on Him more and obey His promptings .

Talk the matters over with a priest in the Sacrament of Confession . Just tell him in your own words , similar to the words you have posted , and follow the advice of the priest .

Cheer up .

Have a good day .

And never think that God stops loving you .
 
Wear a blessed scapular at all times. If you have a thought or see something that may lead you into sin, remember that you have it on. You will think to yourself, “am I really going to sin wearing my scapular?” It will be there as both a blessing and a shield to help you avoid temptation.
 
  1. Wear a blessed scapular
  2. Indulge yourself in the catholic faith and be inspired (this one helped me personally)
  3. Appreciate the gift of sex for what it is (union between man and woman) and appreciate the beauty of the human body which god has created in an un-perverted way.
  4. Pray your heart out
Good Luck!
 
  1. Fast. Take cold showers, sleep on the floor, reduce your intake of carbohydrates and fats.
  2. Pray, especially the Rosary. Develop a daily scriptural prayer life.
  3. Relieve the Sacraments, especially Confession and the Holy Eucharist, as frequently as possible.
Above all else, never never never give up. God will always take you back
 
I just read this article on ways to improve on purity. It may help you, it’s a sort of sum up of what the others have said I think. I am not sure if we are allowed to put links but if not someone will take it down… God bless you

catholicexchange.com

Ten Ways to Win the Battle for Purity

Flashy billboards, provocative dress and apparel, Hollywood fashions spread far and wide, suggestive innuendos, off-colored jokes, indecent movies, and the ever-present danger of the internet to visit the numerous and poisonous websites — all of these and a plethora of other temptations can trap...
catholicexchange.com catholicexchange.com
 
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Thanks for all the encouraging words and all the ideas, everyone! I’ll definitely adopt some of these ideas to help myself get out of the pit of impurity even faster. Reading all this stuff makes me want to stay closer to God as well, so again, thanks a lot, everybody.

Last night was really great; I rarely had any impure thoughts or inclinations, and when I did, I was able to stay the course. It’s always the toughest at night, so the fact that I was able to keep from sinning last night is pretty big.

Any other ideas or advice would be welcome. Again, thanks for the help, everyone.
 
Some good ideas are listed above. I would recommend in addition the following.

Avoid the near occasion of sin. If you know that something gives you impure thoughts then don’t even go near it if at all possible.

I would also encourage you to strategically place holy images around you, especially at or near places or things that give you impure thoughts. For example wherever you commit the sin (like your bedroom or bathroom) places a picture or statue or Jesus Christ or the Blessed Virgin. Seeing this when you are about to give into the sin may help you avoid it.
 
I agree with the above post. Something that really helps me is thinking about what I need to do to avoid the near occasion of sin. Maybe like yourself, it is hard for me to resist when temptation shows up.

I try to pray the rosary every day and I have the brown scapular but this is a hard habit to break so stacking the deck to minimize the opportunities when I might be able to sin in that way is helpful.

For instance, I only get on the web in public spaces like family areas or at the local coffee shop or at work, etc.

Do what works for you but that is something that my priest really emphasizes with me.
 
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