Prayer Prompt before reading MT 5:27-32: Come, Holy Spirit, teach me how to pray, interpret the Scriptures for me so that I may know the Truth about who God the Father is and God the Son so that I may know who I am.
“EVERYONE WHO LOOKS AT A WOMAN WITH LUST HAS ALREADY COMMITTED ADULTERY WITH HER IN HIS HEART.” MT 5:27-32
Humbly submit your will to God (Thy Will be done) and consecrate yourself to the Sacred Heart of Jesus through Mary and Joseph.
Jesus teaches us the second part of discipleship is having a pure heart and being loyal in relationships. First, Jesus said it is sinful to look at a woman with lust. This is a difficult teaching for us. It is not sinful if we look at a beautiful person and thank God for making such a beautiful person. Wow, I suck at this really bad! We are seeing in our culture today how people are not following this teaching.
The pornography industry is a multi-billion dollar business in our country. The reason for divorce in many cases is pornography. This fantasy world and the abuse that takes place with the people involved in pornography is hurting God, themselves, and others. It is warping the reality of true love and leading a lot of people to misery.
It is important if we get caught up in this sin which is very easy to do, that we fast, go to confession regularly, and desire holiness. We may need to cut off ourselves from the computer, phone, or any other device that leads us to it. If you struggle with lust, you are not alone. Satan will use it to deceive you in many areas of your life. Don’t be afraid to ask for help, but I totally understand this is an embarrassing topic that nobody wants to talk about. Again, this sin causes us shame.
Satan uses shame to trick us into believing that God, who is holy, will never love someone who lusts. This is totally false. God is love straight through. He just loves us and always wills our good, faithfully, constantly, eternally. Anything bad that happens to us is a result of sin and the Fall.
The most interesting twist to this is, that this desire for intimacy, placed in us by God to lead us to another in the sacrament of marriage, is the most beautiful sacred and holy gift God gave to those called to be married!!!! God is right in the middle of every intimate act. Every human being struggles with disordered desires in their life, you are not alone! This is why we need to admit we struggle with certain things in our life and we need a Savior. So, Jesus can do His work in our lives and transform our hearts.
Lust is just one of the deadly sins which means it is deeply rooted in us due to the Fall. Remember it is just one of the deadly sins, other people struggle with some of the other deadly sins. One way to deal with any of the deadly sins is through prayer. I’m not talking about saying memorized prayers, they have their place.
I am talking about sitting in silence and talking to God about your struggles and begging for his help. Then, sit in silence and listen and journal your thoughts. Invite Jesus into your struggles, this is what he died for. Amazingly, a grace from God will lead you to freedom. It may be after a long and difficult struggle in prayer with God and inside the depths of your heart, but nothing in life that is easy has a great reward.
God will never abandon you, ever! He wants you to know his will. He wants nothing more than for you to be back with Him in a most intimate relationship in heaven for eternity where we will one day realize how much we are truly loved. God’s grace is more powerful than sin and can conquer anything.
Ask Mary to intercede for you, she will always bring her children to Jesus. Most importantly, we need to learn about how to deal with addiction and get counseling. It is difficult because it is such a shameful sin to get caught up in. Read Theology of the Body by St. John Paul II and learn about the beauty of the body and what true love is.
Education and changing the way you think is key to stopping the cycle of addiction. Pray for others who may be struggling with this sin. Pray for those who are treating their bodies like objects instead of what God created them for. It takes baby steps to avoid what is leading you to the temptation to view impure things.
You may need to change where you go and develop new habits that are healthy. Once again it is all about love and relationships. Jesus loves you very much and He wants what is best for you. The sin of lust is like playing with fire and is very difficult to resist. God can conquer it, come to Him.
Jesus also teaches us today that divorce is wrong. A life long commitment joined by God in vows said by a man and a woman cannot be divided by us because we want a divorce. When we don’t take this teaching serious it hurts a lot of people. As a teacher, I see the effects of divorce on children. They are changed forever and sometimes need counseling. I understand abuse and addiction can be reasons for people to separate and may lead to an annulment. This is not divorce.
It is difficult for a child to understand why mom and dad do not love each other anymore. It goes against what they know is right and eats at them, but with time and help a child can begin to understand. As a child of divorce, it is important that you forgive your mom and dad. If you do not, it will eat at you forever.
This is the misery that our loving Father who is trying to protect us is revealing through his son today. Satan tries to get us to believe that God is just a Father with a bunch of rules to follow, then we sin and believe in the lies, and Satan turns around and shames us telling us that our Father will never love us because of this hurtful sin. He convinces us we are bad and we will never be loved by God. Tell Satan to go to hell where He belongs.
Last, God does not want us to stay in an abusive relationship verbal or physical. It is not sinful to separate or seek an annulment because the “marriage was not lawful”, if abuse is taking place and a couple have worked on this situation with counseling and talking to priests trying to work things out.
The sad thing is people give up too easily and never see the fruits of perseverance. Through suffering comes joy and as Peter Kreeft says there is no opposite to joy. Joy is a deeply rooted presence of completion or wholeness that is a result of inviting God into your suffering, struggling with your faith, doubting, but never giving up on God’s grace and learning how to love.
“In temptations against chastity, the spiritual masters advise us, not so much to contend with the bad thought, as to turn the mind to some spiritual, or, at least, indifferent object. It is useful to combat other bad thoughts face to face, but not thoughts of impurity.”
— Saint Alphonsus Liguori
“Lust indulged became habit, and habit unresisted became necessity.”
— Saint Augustine
“More souls go to hell because of sins of the flesh than for any other reason.”
— Our Lady of Fatima
“A pure soul is like a fine pearl. As long as it is hidden in the shell, at the bottom of the sea, no one thinks of admiring it. But if you bring it into the sunshine, this pearl will shine and attract all eyes. Thus the pure soul, which is hidden from the eyes of the world, will one day shine before the Angels in the sunshine of eternity.”
— Saint John Vianney
“The pure soul is a beautiful rose, and the Three Divine Persons descend from Heaven to inhale its fragrance.”
— Saint John Vianney
Today’s challenge: Today is Friday. It is a day of fasting in the Catholic Church which is required, not optional. In light of the 1st reading and Gospel today, fast from saying anything impure, dress modestly, change your thoughts if you have an impure one to a spiritual one, and pray in the quietest place of your home or go to church and block all thoughts for 30 minutes allowing God to speak to you from your heart.
Be a servant, be a saint today!
#Christian YODO (You Only Die Once; we will live again!)
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