The Will and Sensuality ~ A Classical Reflection on Freedom and Strength, Fr. E. Boyd Barrett, 1917

This article is about will-training, which will help to overcome habitual sin. We may not be caught in the web of chronic impurity, but as you will see in the “Call to Action” we must all work toward our training of the will no matter what part of the journey we are on. It is where peace and sanctity can be found.

by Father E. Boyd Barrett, 1917

THE WILL AND SENSUALITY

The subject of sensuality is not an easy nor an agreeable one to treat of, yet it would be affectation and not modesty to pass over it in silence when writing about will-training.

Sensuality, whatever form it takes, means the triumph of the flesh over the spirit. It means weakness and softness of character, and is the direct antithesis of that spiritual strength and virility which accompanies will-power.

To give way habitually to sensuality means the abandonment of self-control and the death of the will. It means that concupiscence usurps the throne of the will; that sense and not the soul is master.

Of the more common form of sensuality, to which the wide term immorality is often restricted, M. Jules Payot well describes the consequences.

“The health is seriously impaired by such excesses; the young people who commit them get an oldish look. They have a feeling of weakness in the back, muscular debility, and a sensation of pressure in the spinal cord, slight symptoms which pass unnoticed in the excitement of physical, animal exuberance.

They lose their colour and freshness, their eyes look dull and heavy, and have dark rings under them. Their faces have a depressed look.

 Everything indicates a fatigue which, if frequently experienced, soon saps the very springs of life; it, to a certain extent, prepares the way for gastralgias, neuralgias, hypertrophy of the heart, and weakness of sight, all of which begin at about thirty years of age to make life miserable for those who have not been keen enough to foresee the consequences of indulgence.

But the body is not the only thing to feel the disastrous influence of sensuality, the memory becomes astonishingly weak, and the mind loses all its buoyancy and vigor. It begins to feel dull and to move sluggishly, as if overcome by torpor.

The attention is weak and wandering. The days slip by in apathetic indifference, accompanied by a feeling of listlessness and disheartening laziness. Above all there is that loss of virile joy in work, and it becomes a bore the moment it lacks its material recompense.

“Finally the habit of physical pleasure substitutes coarser and more violent emotions for the gentler but more lasting emotions of the mind. Their excitement and agitation destroy the joy that is to be found in calmer pleasures.

And as sensual pleasures are short in duration, and are followed by fatigue and disgust, the character becomes habitually despondent and morose, with a sense of depression which drives one to find relief in violent, boisterous, brutal pleasures. It is a discouraging vicious circle.”

That this picture is not overdrawn we know only too well. Every great Catholic preacher has at one time or another to paint it.

It is not necessary to dwell further on the evil consequences, whether personal or social, of sensuality. Our point of view is entirely practical, and our sole duty is to consider how far will-psychology can aid religion in its work of fortifying the souls of the young against evil.

As we have pointed out before, religion by itself affords a most effective training ground for character. Religion can and does supply means for safeguarding the young against sensuality.

By the practice of religion in using the sacraments, in praying, in assisting at Mass, abundant grace is obtained for fighting evil instincts, and not a few Catholic youths in every country, and perhaps very many, for we cannot tell how many, pass through the fire unburned.

Professor Förster, a non-Catholic, thus writes: “Religion is so fundamental and indispensable that without it the young, especially those of strong temperament, will strive in vain to live continently and—if we except a few rare cases—to banish and overcome violent temptations.”

In grace men find their chief ally. That fact is certain, though of course some non-Catholics deny it. However, it is no less true that human means can also help to prepare the young for the battle against sensuality, and among these means the training of the will takes a foremost place.

We must now refer briefly to that problem which confronts educationalists as to the best method of “educating to purity.”  Very diverse views are held on this matter, nevertheless German and American writers, Catholic and non-Catholic, on the whole seem to favor a methodical, though of course very prudent, instruction in “moral hygiene.”

Such instruction must as far as possible have religion as its mouthpiece, and it must aim at inculcating the need of moral strength. For knowledge of good and evil, unaccompanied by the power and grace to choose good and avoid evil, is unquestionably a danger.

“Education to Purity” must of course be adapted to the special circumstances of a country. If, as it seems in Germany, there is a veritable anti-purity propaganda, no doubt a more complete instruction is possible and is called for. Such a state of things appears to prevail, at least, in some parts of Germany.

I quote a passage from Professor Paulsen’s work already referred to: “It appears as if all the devils were let loose at present to lay waste the domain of German social life. There is an organized traffic promoting horrible crimes.

Raving women proclaim in pamphlets and novels ‘the right to motherhood,’ twaddling poets preach to ripe youth the necessity and the right to pursue the pleasures of which some people seek to deprive them.

The newspaper world, theaters, novels, lectures by men and women, would seem to force upon the public as the foremost question, “must not all obstacles to free sexual life be driven from the earth?”

There is no doubt that in many cases “sex-education” is overdone. Some men have a morbid anxiety to treat the question on all possible occasions, and often with infinitesimal discretion. Fr. Van der Donckt in his book, “Educating to Purity,” refers to such folk.

“A further special danger of corruption lies in the craze for sexual enlightenment which—as if the easily excited imagination of children still needs violent stimuli—consists in the most heedless exposition and description of the merely physiological side of sexual matters, whereas the material side ought to be kept in the background through the emphasizing of the moral.”

Professor Förster, while admitting the necessity of a certain judicious instruction, recommends as the best type of indirect enlightenment instruction on the building up of will-power.

He himself when asked to give a conference to a school on the sex-problem chose as his subject: “The Gymnastics of the Will.” In so doing he pointed out what appears a very good solution of this difficult problem. His solution appears to be this—in the course of a lecture on the need and importance of strength of will, and self-control, to point out in a prudent way the attacks which are delivered by passion against the dominion of the soul.

The nature of these attacks may be described with some reference to physiology, but emphasis should be laid on the force and holiness of grace, coming from the use of the sacraments, whereby man remains lord of himself, and the image of God.

For Catholics, the confessional is naturally the place for more delicate and more detailed instruction. And it is certainly within the scope of Catholic teachers to urge their boys to seek, in Confession, whatever instruction may allay their doubts and troubles of mind.

Instruction in the confessional also has the advantage of avoiding that chief difficulty which educationalists experience of speaking to an audience of several persons on such matters. For with such an audience it is inevitable that what may be good and salutary for some may be unwholesome for others.

We cannot refrain from quoting, at this point, from a paper read at the “International Congress of Moral Education,” held at The Hague in 1912, by Mlle. E. Simon, on the question of training the will in childhood.

Instruction for Catholics will, of course, recommend as “special safeguards” against sinful forms of sensuality,

(1) Frequent Communion,

(2) Devotion to the Blessed Virgin,

(3) Hard Work and Penance.

It will inculcate the need of high ideals and self-sacrifice for fellow-men. It will insist on a “fight to the finish,” in spite of falls and lapses, and will show, on sound bases of history and physiology, the possibility of chastity and its great physical, intellectual, and moral blessings.

It will propose, too, the examples of heroic virtue to be found in great number among the Saints of the Church, and will record the wise sayings of good men.

 “I have never,” wrote a Swedish professor, Dr. Ribbing, “in my twenty years’ experience with young and old, come across a single one who declared self-mastery in sexual matters impossible, provided, of course, there be good will.”

We have dwelt somewhat at length on this subject for the reason that the will is looked on as man’s natural weapon against sensuality, and chastity is called “the triumph of the will.” Why this is so we shall now proceed to show, although of course in this context we speak not of the will in its purely natural state, but of the will inspired and strengthened by grace.

From experience we know that action arouses our noblest instincts. In the examples of strenuous lives we find inspiration. In the prospects of future action we place our ideals.

To act and to achieve calls out all that is best from within us. The energy that then awakens is our purest and noblest force. And if it is invoked to serve a good purpose, we at once leave the shadows of sense-life for fields of action.

Now the life of action is the life of the will. It is the will that provokes to action. In doing so it not only limits and opposes sensuality, but it banishes it for the moment. It means that the life of the spirit takes the place of the life of the senses. That virility reigns instead of softness and day-dreaming.

The will, according as it grows stronger and is capable of more frequent and more strenuous efforts, naturally limits and opposes sensuality more and more.

It begins to make attacks on luxuries, even legitimate luxuries, and awakens a tendency towards a “hard” life. We begin to rid ourselves under its influence of what is unnecessary.

Perhaps we give up smoking, drinking wine, and wearing luxurious clothing. We begin to arise earlier in the morning, and more punctually, and we feel the need for harder work and more strenuous exercise.

Still the life of the will, inspired of course by religion, leads us further afield, and we strive to cultivate the higher virtues of manhood that mean self-perfection.

Sins of the flesh are now particularly odious to us, for they are the very essence of that sensuality which we have conquered. Nobler and higher ideals fill our minds and perhaps, should the grace be given us, we become great forces for good.

The life of the will then means the death of sensuality. But this must be prepared for by mconstant will-exercises.

“The will must be thoroughly trained for years, as there is no specific which can be prescribed at the moment of danger.”

 Nothing can take the place of methodical exercises. “Will-power is built up by a gradual process of practice on the smallest things and every act of self-conquest in one sphere of life makes the battle easier in all the other spheres.”

These exercises, inspired as they will be in the minds of Catholics by religious motives, will inevitably lead to self-conquest if faithfully persisted in. They cannot be replaced by irregular and ill-organized incursions into other methods of penance or mortification.

An occasional discipline, or day spent in wearing a hair-shirt, or a triduum of fasting and chains, will not suffice. Will-exercises must be methodical and well-regulated as to degree and length, or else they are perhaps worse than useless.

To sum up, then, our views on the problem of the conquest of sensuality. To us the solution seems to lie in a good method of will-training inspired by and supported by religion. No doubt prudent education in moral doctrines is absolutely essential also. But the main force from within, which is to fight and win the battle against sensuality, is will-force, developed by methodical exercises, and inspired by religion.

✨For Daily Practice✨

1. Begin with One Small Act of Self-Mastery

Choose one simple, daily practice that strengthens the will—rising a little earlier, limiting unnecessary comforts, or completing a duty promptly and well. The will is formed quietly, through consistency rather than intensity.

Action: Identify one small habit this week that trains your will toward order and discipline.

2. Restore Order to One Part of Your Day

Sensuality thrives in disorder; the will grows in structure. Establish a simple rhythm—regular prayer, work, and rest—so that appetite does not govern the day.

Action: Create or renew a daily routine that supports clarity, peace, and purpose.

3. Reclaim Joy in Honest Work

The article reminds us that sensuality steals joy from labor. Intentionally approach daily tasks—household work, study, or professional duties—as acts of service rather than burdens.

Action: Offer one ordinary task today deliberately and attentively, without complaint or distraction.

4. Strengthen the Will through the Sacraments

Grace does not replace effort—it strengthens it. Frequent Confession and Holy Communion fortify the will and restore interior freedom.

Action: Schedule your next Confession or make a plan for more frequent reception of the sacraments.

5. Choose Simplicity over Indulgence

Notice where excess—entertainment, comfort, consumption—softens resolve. Voluntary simplicity restores freedom and clarity.

Action: Identify one comfort you can gently limit this week to cultivate interior strength.

6. Train the Will, Not Just Resist Temptation

The article emphasizes preparation over reaction. Do not wait for moments of temptation to act—build strength beforehand.

Action: Commit to one ongoing will-exercise (daily prayer time, limited media use, regular physical effort) and practice it steadily.

7. Turn Toward Higher Ideals

When the will is engaged in what is noble, sensuality loses its appeal. Fill the mind with beauty, truth, and purpose.

Action: Replace one habitual distraction with something elevating—reading, prayer, creative work, or quiet reflection.

“All big things come from small beginnings. The seed of every habit is a single, tiny decision.” ~James Clear

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