the natural virtue of modesty was instilled in you by your mother during your childhood. This natural modesty then made it somewhat easier for you to be docile to the inspiration of the Holy Spirit in pursuing the supernatural virtue of modesty, made manifest, for example, in your deciding to wear the veil for God alone. Docility to the Holy Spirit’s inspirations has allowed you to realise that what matters the most is not the world’s customs, but God’s commandments. If you continue to follow these inspirations, the Gifts will become more and more operative in you and will soon produce fruit; then you will truly take delight in being modest; it will become second nature to you because it is the Holy Spirit in person who will be driving this spiritual growth. True modesty then is the sign that a woman is conscious of God Himself dwelling in her heart; it is the result of both natural and supernatural virtue and docility to the inspirations of the Holy Spirit. It makes her a profound edification for all those who see her. Modesty in dress and behaviour is, therefore, an indispensable way of making us more attentive to the obligations which we contracted at our Baptism. “Modesty protects the intimate centre of the person. It means refusing to unveil what should remain hidden. It is ordered to chastity to whose sensitivity it bears witness. It guides how one looks at others and behaves toward them in conformity with the dignity of persons”.14 Modesty and the Mutual Attraction of the Sexes Amanda, having just described to you the true definition of Christian Modesty and how it plays a key role in the safeguarding of the virtue of chastity, I must mention something about the key differences in how males and females can fall prey to sins against chastity. First, let’s consider how things happen in the sub-human world. In animals, the reproductive instinct is mainly moderated by seasons; the urge to reproduce is purely biological. When the female is fertile, she adopts an attitude that attracts the male and excretes hormones that entice the male to copulation. Neither of the animals “know” what they are doing, nor why they are doing it. God gave them an instinct so that each species would last upon the earth, but none of them has ever been able to perceive the link between copulation and the birthing that takes place a certain number of weeks or months later, depending on the species. With humans, things are very different. While it is true that fertile women also put out pheromones that attract males, it is usually the sight of the potential 38
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