Teenager charged after vehicle break-ins
March 27, 2017
Vickie Delgrandile
March 28, 2017
Temptations are part of everyone’s life. How we deal with temptations is so important. The following are quotes on temptations from some great spiritual writers.
St. Anthony of the Desert (251-356) lives to be 104 years old. He warns that temptations never go away. “This is the great work of human beings: always to take the blame for their own sins before God and to expect temptation to their last breath.”
St. Francis de Sales (1567-1622) distinguishes temptation and sin. “Temptation to a certain sin, to any sin whatever, might last throughout our life, yet it can never make us displeasing to God’s Majesty provided we do not take pleasure in it and consent to it. You must have great courage in the midst of temptation. Never think yourself overcome if they are displeasing to you, keeping clearly in mind the difference between feeling temptation and consenting to it.”
St. Alphonsus Liguori (1696-1787) tells us what to do when we are tempted. “When an evil thought is presented to the mind, we must immediately try to turn our thoughts to God, or to something that is indifferent. Yet the first rule is, instantly to invoke the names of Jesus and Mary and to continue to invoke them until the temptation ceases. Those who trust in themselves are lost. Those who trust in God can do all things.”
Fr. Ignatius of the Side of Jesus (1801-1844) tells us how pride can get in the way of virtue. “It usually happens that interior sentiments of pride precede the commission of serious sins. Peter was not aware of his own weakness. He preferred himself before others; he trusted in himself as though he were incapable of sinning, boasting that no temptation would separate him from Jesus. He would not even believe the assurance of his Divine Master that he would deny him thrice. Deceived by this vain confidence in his own strength, he neglects to pray, and to have recourse to God. God, in his justice, permits him to fall, in punishment of his pride. There is nothing more dangerous than to confide in our own strength, and trust to feelings of fervor. We are full of malice, and could commit the most enormous crimes, unless God supports us.”
St. Mother Teresa of Calcutta (1910-1997) says, “Joy is one of the best safeguards against temptation. The devil is a carrier of dust and dirt and he uses every opportunity to throw what he has at us. Yet a joyful heart protects us from this dirt. That is because Jesus is there in our joy. Jesus takes full possession of our soul when we surrender to him joyfully. St. Francis de Sales said, ‘A sad saint is a bad saint.’ St. Teresa of Avila worried about her sisters only when she saw them lose their joy. Joy is a source of power for us.”
Finally Pope Francis tells us, “We are invited to follow in Jesus’ footsteps and face the spiritual battle with the Evil One with the strength of the Word of God. Not with our words: they are worthless. The Word of God: this has the strength to defeat Satan. Therefore, being familiar with the Bible is important: read it often, meditate on it, assimilate it. The Bible contains the Word of God, which is always timely and effective.
“If we had God’s Word always in our heart, no temptation could separate us from God, and no obstacle could divert us from the path of good; we would know how to defeat the daily temptations of the evil that is within us and outside us; we could live a life renewed according to the Spirit, welcoming and loving our brothers and sisters, especially the weakest and neediest, and also our enemies.”
‘St. Francis de Sales (1567-1622) distinguishes temptation and sin. “Temptation to a certain sin, to any sin whatever; might last throughout our life, yet it can never make us displeasing to God’s Majesty provided we do not take pleasure in it and consent to it. You must have great courage in the midst of temptation.’
