Association Of Catholic Bloggers

The Renunciation of Worldly Goods by Ghirlandaio. Over the past few weeks, we’ve been considering the sources of temptations and how to overcome them. We complete the series today by pondering how to flee temptations coming to us from the world. As we saw earlier, when we speak of “the world” in the context of temptations, we don’t mean the created world. Everything God created is good if used correctly. The problem is, when we lost our proper relationship with God in Adam’s sin, we also lost our proper relationship with one another and with creation. “The world” is the society that delights in pleasure more than it delights in God.  The world entices us to join in the “fun.” The world values pleasure, power, violence, wealth, fame, and comfort. It does not stop at tempting us. When we resist, it mocks and persecutes us. The world cannot stand to be rejected, having the fury of the proverbial scorned woman. The world exalts the lowest things to the highes...

Why are we tempted to sin? How can we know when a thought is simply a temptation and when we actually consent to sin? How should we avoid and resist temptation? I’d like to explore these questions over several blog posts, starting with the sources of temptation. Traditionally, the three sources are called the world, the flesh, and the Devil. The Devil is real and active All temptation began with the Devil. Before God created the material world, He created the spiritual world, including angels and archangels. God gave angels and archangels a chance to choose to obey or disobey Him. Lucifer led a third of the angels and archangels to rebel against God. Lucifer was transformed into the Devil (Satan). His followers became demons. After God made man, the Devil tempted Adam and Eve. Hating God, he also hated creatures made in God’s image. Although he cannot experience real joy, he takes a perverse pleasure in seeing man turn away from God. Jordan Aumann, O.P., in...