As I have studied the proportions of man and woman, finding therein the divine geometry of creation itself, so must thou honor the mystery whereby two become one flesh (Genesis 2:24; Matthew 19:5-6). Nature herself intended this union for the continuation of the race and for mutual joy, yet she hath set stern guardians around it: disease, jealousy, and the wrath of God against adultery.
3-1. Be thou faithful to thy spouse, for the Lord hath said:
“Thou shalt not commit adultery” (Exodus 20:14),
and again, “Whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart” (Matthew 5:28).
Unfaithfulness is a sword that pierces both the betrayer and the betrayed; it hath toppled kingdoms and rent families asunder. The jealous husband or wife, once aroused, is more terrible than a bear robbed of her whelps (Proverbs 17:12).
Even the pagans of old knew this: the Romans punished adultery with death, and the Church Fathers before the year 1200 (St. Jerome, St. Augustine, St. John Chrysostom) unanimously declared it a mortal sin that bars the soul from the Kingdom unless repented.
3-2. Flee promiscuity and all uncleanness.
The holy councils of Elvira (c. 306) and Ancyra (314), and the penitential books of the early centuries, imposed long and severe penances upon fornicators. St. Paul is explicit:
“Flee fornication… he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body” (1 Corinthians 6:18),
and again, “Neither fornicators, nor adulterers… shall inherit the kingdom of God” (1 Corinthians 6:9-10).
Present plagues and incurable maladies are but the natural echo of divine judgment, as the leprosy that struck the house of the unfaithful in the Law (Leviticus 14).
Wherefore, then, is delight?
It is found only within the sacred covenant of marriage, blessed by God and the Church, where love is ordered, fruitful, and enduring.
4. Love and Raise Up the Little Ones
Children are not accidents of nature, but arrows in the hand of a mighty warrior (Psalm 127:4-5).
To cast them into the world unprepared is to hurl them into the den of lions.
4-1. Give them tender affection and firm instruction.
“Train up a child in the way he should go” (Proverbs 22:6).
The fathers before 1200 (St. Basil, St. Benedict, St. Anselm) taught that the rod and reproof give wisdom, yet love must temper discipline, for “Fathers, provoke not your children to anger, lest they be discouraged” (Colossians 3:21).
4-2. Teach them the fear of the Lord from infancy, for “the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom” (Proverbs 9:10).
Let them learn the Creed, the Our Father, and the Ten Commandments before the vanities of the world seduce them.
4-3. Protect their innocence.
Woe to him through whom scandal cometh (Matthew 18:6-7).
Guard their eyes, ears, and company as jealously as thou wouldst guard the Ark of the Covenant.
In loving and guiding children thou dost prepare citizens for the City of God and secure thine own place in the age to come, for “whoso shall receive one such little child in my name receiveth me” (Matthew 18:5).
Say “next” to continue with the following precepts.
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