St. Augustine and Martin Luther both see the individual's powers as limited.

I am not interested in power for power's sake, but I'm interested in power that is moral, that is right and that is good. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Saint Augustine is the Doctor of Grace. He was a genius, although a genius to God means nothing. However, a holy genius means everything to God's mystical body. Grace enabled him to become a great spiritual lover and teacher. His conversion reveals God's bountiful grace. One of his famous sayings is: "Lord, give me what you ask of me and ask me what you will."

He is called the Doctor of Grace because of his miraculous transformation out of sin to the service of God's creatures. He served the church in Africa for many years as bishop with genuine love. His mother, St Monica, never stopped praying for him; a great model.

Those addicted to sin, fleeing from the church or decent principles or associated with immoral people, have a marvelous example to learn from in this great sinner turned saint. He discovered through prayer, change of heart and the holy influence of St Ambrose and others, to capture authentic a life of love and service toward others instead of a selfish love of life for himself.

The sex drive is God's gift to us. The manner in which we function and control our feelings or experience our feelings--all our feelings, intellectual or physical, is our gift to God. It is perhaps our most powerful instinct next to our survival instincts. All are called to be chaste whether we are married or single. Being pure does not mean being celibate. It means being holy. All are called to different life styles and all are called to be holy, pure and chaste within that life style. Any life style that doesn't include purity, innocence and goodness, even with consenting individuals, is not pleasing to God because it doesn't lead to holiness, unselfishness and full honesty.

We do not have a right to indulge in sexual affairs even if it doesn't hurt anyone. There are right acts and wrong acts. Rightness means pleasing God. God has given us a choice to discern between right and wrong and we are often ignorant in this manner unless we are wholly sincere, honest and pure.

Despite Augustine's era which was decadent, are our times any less corrupt? To be innocence of heart and see with pure eyes can only be gained by God's grace. God can give that gift to some instantly or to others at the end of an entire life of struggle. That gift, in itself, is a major triumph. Only with prayer, modesty, fasting and other sound measures that the church recommends, or God provides, can purity of heart, mind and body be maintained and daily lived.

Others resources may also be needed to live chaste such as professional help and counseling by someone who is trained in that field. Is it a matter more psychological than physical? This difficult ...