Temptation... Dirty Thoughts Sparked By Society?

[ironmonk]

Temptation

(Lat. tentare, to try or test).

Temptation is here taken to be an incitement to sin whether by persuasion or by the offer of some good or pleasure. It may be merely external, as was the case of Christ's encounter in the desert after the forty days' fast; or it may be internal as well, inasmuch as there is a real assault upon a person's will power. It arises sometimes from the propensity to evil inherent in us as a result of original sin. Sometimes it is directly chargeable to the intervention of the Devil, who can furnish the imagination with its sinful subject-matter and stir up the lower powers of the soul. Not infrequently both causes are at work. Temptation is not in itself sin. No matter how vivid the unholy image may be, no matter how strong the inclination to transgress the law, no matter how vehement the sensation of unlawful satisfaction, as long as there is no consent of the will, there is no sin. The very essence of sin in any grade is that it should be a deliberate act of the human will. Attack is not synonymous with surrender. This, while obvious enough, is important especially for those who are trying to serve God sedulously and yet find themselves beset on all sides by temptations. They are apt to take the fierceness and repetition of the onset as proof that they have fallen. A wise spiritual guide will point out the error of this conclusion and thus administer comfort and courage to these harassed souls.

Temptations are to be combated by the avoidance, where possible, of the occasions that give rise to them, by recourse to prayer, and by fostering within oneself a spirit of humble distrust of one's own powers and of unbounded confidence in God. The resistance which a Christian is bound to offer need not always be direct. Sometimes, particularly when there is question of reiterated evil interior suggestions, it may be useful to employ an indirect method, that is, to simply ignore them and quietly divert the attention into another channel. Temptations as such can never be intended by God. They are permitted by Him to give us an opportunity of practising virtue and self mastery and acquiring merit. The fact of temptation, no matter how large it looms in a person's life, is not an indication that such an one is under the ban. inDouche those whom God calls to special heights of sanctity are just those who may expect to have to wrestle bravely with temptations more numerous and fearsome than fall to the lot of the average mortal.

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In Jesus "the Kingdom of God is at hand."72 He calls his hearers to conversion and faith, but also to watchfulness. In prayer the disciple keeps watch, attentive to Him Who Is and Him Who Comes, in memory of his first coming in the lowliness of the flesh, and in the hope of his second coming in glory.73 In communion with their Master, the disciples' prayer is a battle; only by keeping watch in prayer can one avoid falling into temptation.74

VI. "And Lead Us Not into Temptation"

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This petition goes to the root of the preceding one, for our sins result from our consenting to temptation; we therefore ask our Father not to "lead" us into temptation. It is difficult to translate the Greek verb used by a single English word: the Greek means both "do not allow us to enter into temptation" and "do not let us yield to temptation."150 "God cannot be tempted by evil and he himself tempts no one";151 on the contrary, he wants to set us free from evil. We ask him not to allow us to take the way that leads to sin. We are engaged in the battle "between flesh and spirit"; this petition implores the Spirit of discernment and strength.

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The Holy Spirit makes us discern between trials, which are necessary for the growth of the inner man,152 and temptation, which leads to sin and death.153 We must also discern between being tempted and consenting to temptation. Finally, discernment unmasks the lie of temptation, whose object appears to be good, a "delight to the eyes" and desirable,154 when in reality its fruit is death.

God does not want to impose the good, but wants free beings. . . . There is a certain usefulness to temptation. No one but God knows what our soul has received from him, not even we ourselves. But temptation reveals it in order to teach us to know ourselves, and in this way we discover our evil inclinations and are obliged to give thanks for the goods that temptation has revealed to us.155

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"Lead us not into temptation" implies a decision of the heart: "For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. . . . No one can serve two masters."156 "If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit."157 In this assent to the Holy Spirit the Father gives us strength. "No testing has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your strength, but with the temptation will also provide the way of escape, so that you may be able to endure it."158

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Such a battle and such a victory become possible only through prayer. It is by his prayer that Jesus vanquishes the tempter, both at the outset of his public mission and in the ultimate struggle of his agony.159 In this petition to our heavenly Father, Christ unites us to his battle and his agony. He urges us to vigilance of the heart in communion with his own. Vigilance is "custody of the heart," and Jesus prayed for us to the Father: "Keep them in your name."160 The Holy Spirit constantly seeks to awaken us to keep watch.161 Finally, this petition takes on all its dramatic meaning in relation to the last temptation of our earthly battle; it asks for final perseverance. "Lo, I am coming like a thief! Blessed is he who is awake."162

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When we say "lead us not into temptation" we are asking God not to allow us to take the path that leads to sin. This petition implores the Spirit of discernment and strength; it requests the grace of vigilance and final perseverance.

[Good Friday]

Definitely. I don't know how anyone could overcome temptation except through prayer.

[foundsheep]

I noticed what helped me was turning off the radio and I stop watching certain shows on TV.

[Mary's Knight, La]

I agree with both of the above

there are certain things we can do to shield ourselves note these things fall under faith which is our shield (Eph 6)

and prayer along with the bible are the only weapons we are given I have found out I have to stop watching most shows or keep my tv on ewtn and if i want to catch a movie then i have to put up not only with what is in the movies but the temptations and invitations to sin that are in the commercials

Lord, help us all fight what this world is headed towards....

[phatcatholic]

amen to that ironmonk. it is for this very reason that i have to constantly remind many protestants that gay people are not sinners for the very fact that they are attracted to the same sex. it is only when they act on this temptation, either by engaging in the gay sex act, or by lusting for the same sex in their mind, that they become a sinner. all men are host to a wide-range of vile and totally unnatural temptations. all this does is make us human! we are not sinners until we act on these. to me, homosexuality is merely another one of these temptations. and so, those afflicted by this temptation are no different from any man afflicted w/ temptation. does this make sense? what do u guys think?

also, i liked what u said about avoiding the "occasions of sin." i did not fully understand what this mean until i began to study the words in the "act of contrition." the last sentence reads:

"I firmly resolve, w/ the help of ur grace, to sin no more, and to avoid the near occasions of sin."

and the occasions are near inDouche! especially for a male. sexual images are everywhere, on tv, in movies, on billboards, in magazines, and especially on the internet. it practically takes an hourly--if not constant--commitment in order to keep from being lured by these many "occasions of sin."

i say a prayer to st. michael whenever i am tempted, for one, because he is the most kick-ass angel there is (!!!), but also b/c that is his job--to battle against the forces of evil. he drove the devil out of heaven before man ever fell, and he drives his heal into the face of every evil spirit when we call upon him in faith. let us all ask him to intercede for us:

St. Michael, the Archangel, defend us in battle,

be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil.

May God rebuke him, we humbly pray,

and do thou oh Prince of Heavenly Host,

by the power of God thrust into hell

Satan and all evil spirits

who wonder the world for the ruin of souls.

Amen.

may we all continue to fight the good fight and persevere to the end.

pax christi,

nick

[ironmonk]

bump

[the lumberjack]

Phillipians 4:8,9

Edited November 4, 2004 by the lumberjack