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Monday, March 18, 2024

Temptations are all around, so learn to deal with them

Father Michael Schmitz

Q. What do you do when you are in bad temptation, and you seem to like the sin you are going to commit more than what is right?

A. I think every person on the planet has had the experience that you are describing. In fact, this is how it is with almost all temptations: They are very attractive.

Think back to the very first temptation that humans faced in the Bible. When Eve looked at the forbidden fruit, she saw that it was “good for food and pleasing to the eyes, and the tree was desirable. . . .” (Genesis 3:6). She knew the command of God, but for whatever reason she wanted to commit the sin more than she wanted to obey God.

Our story becomes even more difficult after that first sin. Because of that first sin, we are all born with “concupiscence.” This is the attraction that we have toward things we know are not good for us. The term is meant to indicate the tendency we have to place a good thing above a better thing.

It is really rare that we would even be tempted to something that we didn’t desire in some way. We are almost always tempted toward something that has some kind of good in it. The problem is that we are most often tempted to misuse something that is good in and of itself.

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Our temptations can sometimes frighten us. We can be shocked at the places our minds can wander or the thoughts that can arise at various moments.

I have spoken with many people who were exceptionally disturbed by thoughts that occurred to them while they were in prayer. They can lead us to ask the question, “What is wrong with me?”

Well, first we have to realize that what is wrong with us is the reality that we are fallen. We don’t see things clearly all of the time, and we don’t always desire the good.

But a second thing to consider is that our minds are dynamic. Because of this, even when you attempt to calm your mind and enter into prayer, your mind is still moving.

When we get rid of the many distractions we bring into our life, we are left alone with our thoughts. Without those distractions, our minds can sometimes seem to have a “mind of their own.”

This is one of the main reasons we are shocked by our thoughts in prayer: There are no distractions, and in the silence, what is already in our hearts gets magnified.

Temptations abound

Temptations typically come from one of three sources. The Bible says that the battles we face arise from the world, the flesh and the devil. Because of this, it is important to pay attention to the ways in which we open ourselves to these sources and how we respond to them.

The world around us can often be a source of temptation. (Thank you, Father Obvious!) We can respond to this source of temptation by isolating ourselves from the entire world — or we can choose to be intentional about what we let in. All of us are called to be careful about what we let into our homes, our families and our heads.

I invite you to be smart about this. By now, you probably know the sources of temptation in your life and how temptations from the world enter in. Why not be bold about shoring up those parts of your life?

If you know that you are more inclined to gossip with certain people, why not make some important decisions about those relationships? If you notice that you are more inclined to abuse alcohol in certain locations, why not make some important decisions about those locations?

But you have to think, and you have to be courageous. You have to be willing to change.

Father Schmitz is director of youth and young adult ministry for the Diocese of Duluth and chaplain of the Newman Center at the University of Minnesota Duluth. Reach him at fathermikeschmitz@gmail.com.

 


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