Overcoming Temptation

“You can overcome temptation—but only if you want to!”

by Fr Robert McTeigue, SJ 

March 22, 2017 

http://aleteia.org/2017/03/22/you-can-overcome-temptation-but-only-if-you-want-to/

“Every addict who wishes to remain sober starts by admitting that he cannot resist by himself what will surely kill him. We must face our temptations similarly.“

"When the devil caresses you, he wants your soul.” That’s what one mother I knew said to her children whenever she caught them pilfering cookies. A bit over the top? Yes, a bit—but not entirely.

During Lent, we’re frequently encouraged to reflect on the role of temptation in our lives. Temptation is a universal experience. Indeed, when we’re tempted, we might be inclined to say, “Well, what do you expect? We’re only human!” But that’s only partly true.

Yes, as humans, we suffer from a fallen human nature, with partially darkened intellect, partially weakened will, and often disordered desires. When the inevitable temptation leads to chosen sin, we put ourselves under the authority of Satan, who as Jesus said, is the “prince of this world.” This is the fate of every fallen human who yields to temptation—without exception. Thankfully, the story doesn’t need to end there.

Yes, temptation befalls us because we are, as we like to say (especially when we’re about to make another excuse for our sins), “only human.” But Jesus the Christ, who is both Son of God and Son of Mary, offers to help us face our temptations with something so much more than what is “only human.” He offers to help us face our temptations as he did—with our human nature, and with his divine nature.

Saint Augustine reminds us that Christ “…suffered temptation in your nature, but by his own power gained victory for you. If in Christ we have been tempted, in him we overcome the devil. Do you think only of Christ’s temptations and fail to think of his victory? See yourself as tempted in him, and see yourself as victorious in him.”

Here’s what makes the Gospel truly good news! In Jesus Christ, we have a truly human man break Satan’s claim upon human nature. With his divine power he defeats sin, and then offers to share his victory with us! In other words, all that we need to overcome temptation, all that we need to transfer our citizenship to the Kingdom of Heaven, all that we need in this life to enter eternal life able to see the face of God and live—all that is freely offered to us. What shall we do with that offer?

Knowing human nature as I do (including my own!), I fear that what we often do with God’s offer of liberation from sin is to postpone our repentance. We do so because we like the way our sin tastes and feels; we do because we underestimate how offensive and deadly our sin is; and we do so because we overestimate our ability to repent in time. In other words, we procrastinate—at the peril of our souls.

We all like to quote (bemusedly of course!) Saint Augustine’s famous quip: “Oh Lord make me chaste! But not just yet!” Even as we laugh at Augustine and ourselves, we forget that he also wrote: “God has promised forgiveness to your repentance, but He has not promised tomorrow to your procrastination.” Edward Irving’s warning is even more dire: “Procrastination is the kidnapper of souls, and the recruiting-officer of Hell.” None of us knows just when death will come for each of us or when Christ will return in glory for all of us. In terms of repentance, we’re always running out of time, and it’s always very nearly too late.

Every addict who wishes to remain sober starts by admitting that he cannot resist by himself what will surely kill him. We must face our temptations similarly. The recovering addict admits his need for a higher power to attain and retain sobriety. Saint Irenaeus recognized such wisdom centuries ago: “In proportion to God’s need of nothing is man’s need for communion with God.” In other words, we cannot be who we are (creatures made in the image and likeness of God) and who we are meant to be (fully alive before the face of God eternally) unless we allow the sovereignty of God its rights over us, against the claims of Satan, who is entitled to unrepentant sinners. Following our fallen will leads to misery and damnation (James 1:12-16). Uniting our will to the divine leads to joy and glory. Those are the only choices we will ever have. Any other “choice” is an illusion, a seduction from the pit of Hell.

In this life, temptation is inevitable—surrender to sin is not. Damnation, like salvation, is a choice. Christ who endured and triumphed over temptation offers us all we need to share in his victory—from the cross, to resurrection to glory. In the time we have left, please, let’s say “Yes!”


Note: Matt Talbot was certainly no stranger to temptation. And if he had read this article, it would not be difficult to image that he  would copy key words/phrases, especially those of St. Augustine, on a scrap of paper for future reference.

Matt Talbot and the 'Dark Night of the Soul'

At the end of his 1981 article, “A literary map of Dublin,”  (http://archive.thetablet.co.uk/article/21st-march-1981/19/a-literary-map-of-dublin) Terence Sheehy writes:

“If you are passing the Jesuit church of St Francis Xavier, Gardiner Street, spare a prayer for the cause for the cannonisation of Matt Talbot, the Dublin worker-mystic. Almost daily he knelt on the entrance steps of this church, in the darkness of the morning, with the Devil on his back, waiting for the doors to open, and for the first Mass to begin. This almost illiterate ex-alcoholic knew more about the dark night of the soul and the cloud of unknowing than many a would-be desert father of today.”

For those essentially unfamiliar with the phrase “dark night of the soul,” perhaps the following article will provide a worthwhile introduction:

Understanding the ‘dark night of the soul’

by Emily Stimpson 

OSV Newsweekly 

5/20/2015

https://www.osv.com/OSVNewsweekly/InFocus/Article/TabId/721/ArtMID/13629/ArticleID/17512/Understanding-the-%E2%80%98dark-night-of-the-soul%E2%80%99-.aspx

When the world looked at the face of Blessed Teresa of Kolkata (Calcutta), it saw pure, simple joy. Then, in 2007, 10 years after Blessed Teresa’s death, a collection of her private letters was published. Suddenly, the joy that the tiny sister from Albania once radiated seemed anything but simple.

As the letters revealed, for the entirety of her public ministry, the founder of the Missionaries of Charity endured unceasing feelings of desolation and abandonment by God. 

“I am told God lives in me,” she wrote in 1957, “and yet the reality of darkness and coldness and emptiness is so great that nothing touches my soul.”

For some, the letters became a source of scandal. But for those familiar with the stages of spiritual growth, they served as a profound testimony to Blessed Teresa’s sanctity. In those decades of desolation, she lived what St. John of the Cross termed, the “dark night of the soul,” which was the title of a poem he wrote. 

The timing and duration of Mother Teresa’s dark night was unusual — and markedly so. But the fact that she encountered a dark night wasn’t. Every Christian, on their way to God, must pass through his or her own dark night. So, what is (and isn’t) the dark night of the soul?

It is necessary

 

Every fallen human being has disordered desires and attachments. We love what we shouldn’t love, or we love what we should but in the wrong way. We seek our own comfort, our own pleasure, our own will. We value what we want more than we value what God wants. We do wrong, even if only in our hearts.

But we can’t do wrong and stand before God. We can’t even want to do wrong and stand before God. A prerequisite for seeing God face to face is that every attachment to sin, both in our lives and in our hearts, must be broken. If we want to become saints, we have to desire only God’s will. And we have to desire God’s will not out of fear of hell, but rather out of love for heaven, out of love for God. Some of that breaking we do, as we learn to avoid vice and pursue virtue. But some of that breaking only God can do. The dark night of the soul is, in part, how he does that. By seemingly withdrawing all spiritual consolations — all the little comforts and supports that typically come from pursuing a relationship with him — and allowing an almost crushing sense of abandonment to descend upon us, he purifies our desires and prepares us for heaven.

It is unique

 

The dark night of the soul looks different in different lives. Laypersons don’t necessarily experience the dark night the way religious do. Nor do active religious necessarily experience the dark night the way contemplatives do. Some people experience it primarily through external circumstances. They find themselves persecuted or afflicted. In the midst of those afflictions, all calls for help go unanswered. To the person passing through this type of dark night, it feels like God has left them to deal with their cross on their own. 

Others experience the dark night through temptations: Temptations to pride, vanity, anger, sexual sin, and even unbelief assail them. Then, there are those who experience the dark night of the soul mainly through inner desolation: The gates of heaven seem barred against them, and no matter how much they pray, no consolation seemingly comes. Lastly, there are those who experience the dark night as a combination of all three: trials, temptations and abandonment.

Likewise, for some, the dark night comes but once. For others, it comes many times. Usually, it lasts for only a short while. Occasionally, it lasts much longer. But when it finally ends, it ends for good. A definitive work has been accomplished in the soul.

It is unpredictable

 

The dark night of the soul doesn’t come at the beginning of one’s journey to God. Traditionally, spiritual directors identify three primary stages (or ways) of growth in holiness. The first is the purgative way, where we break habits of vice, acquire habits of virtue and learn to live a Catholic life. The second is the illuminative way, where we grow in virtue, charity and the life of prayer. And the third is the unitive way, where our wills and hearts move in perfect harmony with God’s. 

Near the end of the purgative stage, we experience a type of dark night — a time of trial and affliction where it feels as if God no longer loves us. This dark night, however, is not the dark night of the soul. Rather, it’s the dark night of the senses. 

In the dark night of the senses, God purifies us of our attachments to the things of the world — physical comfort, physical pleasure, material success, popular acclaim — as well as of our consolations in prayer. Sorrows afflict us, and things that used to comfort us — food, sex, shopping, compliments, even the liturgy — no longer do. Through this dark night, God prepares us for the illuminative way and a deeper, more contemplative life of prayer.

The dark night of the soul occurs at the end of the illuminative way, as we prepare to enter the unitive way. During this dark night, God roots out our deepest attachments to sin and self, and the desolation that accompanies that rooting out is overwhelming and crushing. More than just a lack of consolation, this dark night plunges a soul into an abyss of darkness and nothingness, essentially revealing to us what we are without God and preparing us to not only carry our crosses, but to love our crosses and carry them joyfully in union with Christ.

It isn’t depression

 

From the outside, depression and the dark night of the soul bear a striking resemblance to one another. And they’re not entirely separate things. As St. John of the Cross noted long ago, depression (or as they called it in the 17th century, melancholia) can go hand in hand with a dark night, whether by exacerbating it or resulting from it.

But while clinical depression is triggered by an objectively sad event (losing a loved one, fatal illness, etc.) or by a biochemical problem, the dark night of the soul is purely an act of God; it is God working in our souls to draw us closer to him. 

Likewise, while depression weighs down both body and soul, eventually rendering those who suffer from it unable to go about the normal business of their life, throughout the dark night, the spirit stays strong, and those suffering through it can perform great works of charity and service. They remain active and don’t experience the same temptations to total self-loathing or suicide that those struggling with depression suffer, nor do they lose their faith in the midst of the dark night. Belief remains.

It isn’t evil

 

The dark night of the soul is not an evil to be endured; it’s a good for which we should be grateful. Of course, it doesn’t always seem that way. The thought of plunging into a spiritual abyss and losing all the sweetness in our relationship with God strikes few as appealing. But neither does surgery. Having cancer removed from our bodies isn’t a fun process. Nevertheless, we submit to the surgeon’s knife readily and quickly, knowing that the sooner we have the surgery, the sooner we can live a healthy, full life.

What’s true on the natural level is true on the supernatural level. If we want to become the people God made us to be and live the lives he made us to live, we must let him excise sin and unhealthy attachments from our souls. There’s no getting around it. Before we can enter heaven, it has to happen. It can happen in this life or it can happen in the next — in purgatory. But here is better. For the sooner we let God root out unhealthy attachments, the sooner we can get on with the business of being saints. 

And there’s no better business than that.

"Temptations"

[This homily is worth repeated reading.]   1st Sunday in Lent: Gospel—Mark 1:12-15 “Temptations: Opportunities to Love God” Fr. Philip Heng, SJ Church of St. Ignatius-Singapore 26th February 2012 http://www.jesuit.org.sg/html/prayer/homilies/2012.yearb.lent01.php
As Jesus was tempted in the wilderness for forty days and as we too often experience temptations, I think it may be appropriate for us to reflect on the meaning of “temptations.” What are “temptations”? They could be understood as attractions that draw us away from God and from living in God’s ways. Temptations could also be seen as the “tests” of how much we love God. Temptations are not necessarily negative or bad for us. In fact, Archbishop Fulton Sheen says, “You are not tempted because you are evil; you are tempted because you are human.” Moreover, it is not a sin to be tempted for “temptations” are merely what we could have done, but have not done. Temptations become sin only if we act on them. There is a story of storekeeper noticing a boy pacing up and down outside his store which had a great variety of juicy fruits. After sometime he went out to the boy and said, “What are you trying to do, young man; are you trying to steal my apples?” “No, sir,” said the boy, “I’m trying not to.” And so, when Jesus was tempted in the wilderness, it was not a sin. Jesus was tempted because He was not only fully divine, but also fully human. In the Bible, the “wilderness” or desert is a symbol of evil and darkness. This means that even as Jesus was being tempted and thus, tested by Satan to turn away from His Father’s Will, He nevertheless defeated Satan on his home ground. There is a true story of Matthew Talbot who was born in 1856 into poverty in Dublin’s inner city. After only one year in school he left to begin work with a wine merchant to help support his family. Occasionally, some crates were damaged and the workers helped themselves to bottles of stout. One day Matt sampled a bottle. It was a new taste and was good, but he was only twelve years old. Soon he began to open more and more bottles. The first thing he thought of when he woke up every day was alcohol. His mother knew he had taken to the drink and prayed a great deal for him. As Matt loved his parents, he always made sure to come home sober because he did not want to cause pain to his mother. But one evening he came home drunk. His father found him another job in the hope that he would be less tempted to drink. However, Matt could not part with his addiction. Deep inside he wanted to cry and shout and beg for help, but he felt helpless. He kept drinking for sixteen years; he was then 28 years old; because of his drinking he had ran into debts and even once stole a fiddler to feed his addiction; he was penniless and the pubs would not give him any more credit. One day, while he was waiting outside his pub in the hope that someone would invite him in for a drink, nobody did; even the closest of his drinking companions shunned him. Feeling disgusted, he went home to tell his mother that he would take a pledge to stop drinking for good. His mother who has been praying for his conversion all these years was sceptical. However, she brought Matt to a priest who helped him with his pledge. Matt took a pledge for three months, then six months, then for life. These months of abstinence were months of great struggle, but Matt never looked back. He used his wages to pay back all his debts. He lived modestly. He prayed every chance he got. He attended Mass every morning and made devotions like the Stations of the Cross or devotions to the Blessed mother in the evenings. He fasted, performed acts of mortification, and financially supported many religious organizations. He read biographies of St. Teresa of Avila, St. Therese of Lisieux, and St. Catherine of Sienna. He later joined the Third Order of St. Francis on October 18, 1891 even though a young pious girl proposed to marry him. Physically, he suffered from kidney and heart ailments. Eventually, Matt died on June 7, 1925 while he was walking to Church; he was 69 years of age. To quote Matt he has this advice for us. He says, "There are three things I cannot escape: the eye of God, the voice of conscience, the sting of death. Therefore, when you are in the company of others, guard your tongue; when with your family, guard your temper and when alone guard your thoughts." Matthew Talbot was declared Venerable in 1973, which is a step on the way to canonization. My brothers and sisters in Christ, in today’s Gospel, when Jesus proclaimed, “Repent and believe in the Good News,” of Salvation, Jesus does not mean it to be simplistic. On the contrary, Jesus who Himself was tempted by Satan and fought hard against it, knows very well that to overcome temptations, like Matt Talbot in our story, it demands heroic courage. This is more so for us when we have to confront habitual sins of addiction, infidelity, pride, sloth, selfishness and the like. Lent is a season of joy and great blessings from God. To have temptations is to be human; to fight against our temptations is to live in integrity, and to finally be able to overcome our temptations and habitual sins is to experience the transforming grace of God, as Matt Talbot has shown us.  We all know that the temptations of life are complex and never easy, even as we are given much grace from God to fight them. The Good News of Salvation is a promise of eternal life, not a promise of peace without the pain and the crosses that come with eternal life; Jesus Himself was not spared of the Cross.  God wanted Matt Talbot to be happy in his life, but he had to learn it the hard and painful way of the cross. However, for Matt it was all worthwhile, as when he eventually was able to find and develop a personal relationship with Jesus. Jesus too wants us to experience these graces during this Lenten season; the joy and blessings of loving Jesus in our daily living and eventually even becoming a holy person like Matt Talbot. There is one further complication that is worth pointing out here as we each endeavour to live a more Christ-like life during the season of Lent. One of the main obstacles of fighting the temptations of our lives is that we tend to worry too much. Fr Joseph Galdon, a Jesuit says, “Worries paralyse us, immobilise our human talents and make us only half the person we could become. Worry is fear or agitation about something in the future. We cannot enjoy the present because we are worried about what is going to happen tomorrow. The stupidity of worry is that most of the time what we are worried about never happens. Our worries also seem to multiply as our life gets more complicated. There are more worries in the hectic city life than in rural countryside.”  My sisters and brothers in Christ, as I began this homily, I said that “temptations” are not because we are sinners, but because we are human; Jesus was Himself tempted. “Temptations” are tests of how much we love God. Matt Talbot whose life was potentially heading for depression and disaster due to his alcoholism was able to turn his life around because of his heroic determination to live in God’s love and ways. Likewise, for us; regardless of the challenges that we are facing in life, regardless of the sadness, sorrow and suffering we may be going through, like Matt Talbot, a lot depends on our attitude in life and how much faith, trust and confidence we have in God who is always there for us. As God sent His angels to look after Jesus when he was tempted for forty days in the wilderness, so also will God constantly send us His Guardian angels to help us change our lives for the better during this Lenten season. Can we believe this? Will we take up the challenges to make this happen? I would like to conclude with a poem by Fr. Hedwig Louis,S.J. My life is but a weaving, between God and me; I may not choose the colours, He knows what they should be; For He can view the pattern from the upper side; while I can see it only on this, the under side. Sometimes, He weaves sorrow, which seems strange to me; But, I still will trust His judgment, and work on faithfully; It is He who fills the shuttle, He knows what is best; So, I shall weave in earnest and leave with Him the rest. At last when life is ended, with Him I shall abide, Then, I may view the pattern upon the upper side; Then, I shall know the reason why pain with joy entwined, was woven in the fabric of life that God designed.

A Prayer for Facing Temptation

All of us face strong attachments, if not actual addictions. Matt Talbot prayed constantly and struggled mightily each day, especially during those early months of sobriety.

In those moments of temptation, among other things, we can say prayers of our own creation or recite those written by others, such as the following one. For those written by others, it may be helpful to actually write those out that have personal appeal and keep them with us for those moments of temptation that will repeatedly occur. (JB)

Gracious God,

I so easily fall prey to patterns of behavior that separate me from you and others.

I want to do the right thing, the good thing, the loving thing, but temptation stalks the rim of my life like a prowling animal.

Before I know it, I’ve fallen into its grasp and begun the downward spiral into what is less than full life.

Help me, Lord, to see when temptation is trying to cleverly captivate me.

Give me the strength and fortitude to make choices for health and spiritual wholeness.

Keep me faithful in my love for you and faithful to the wonder of being given the gift of life.

I ask this for the sake of your love.

Source: http://www.explorefaith.org/prayer/prayer/prayers_for_living/a_prayer_for_facing_temptation.php

Temptation

In reading the verses and prayer for dealing with temptation below, we might think of the temptation Matt Talbot experienced about drinking.

Some writings about Matt tend to leave the impression that once Matt took the pledge not to drink, his "craving for drink" was instantly removed. Reading detailed articles and most biographies suggest, however, that just the opposite was true.

Even though Matt made significant changes in his life after taking the pledge, such as going to daily mass before work, going regularly to confession, spending evenings in churches, reading the bible and spiritual readings late each evening, and praying constantly, the temptation to drink was ever present for many months before it began to subside. He frequently mentioned to his mother that he wouldn't be able to keep his three-month pledge. But by the grace of God, Matt did not pick up a drink.


Matt once told his sister, Susan, to "never be too hard on the man who can't give up drink. For it's as hard to give up the drink as it is to raise the dead to life again. But both are possible and even easy for Our Lord. we have only to depend on Him in constant prayers" (Beevers, 1955).

Maynard (2000) notes repeatedly in his book that "Matt was able to slake his thirst only by developing another taste. Through prayer and meditation he cultivated a friendship and love for Jusus Christ," which took years to reach its "full flowering."

Sources:

Beevers, John. Shining as Stars, 1955. Westminster, Maryland:

Newman Press, p. 110.

Maynard, Philip. To Slake a Thirst: The Matt Talbot Way to Sobriety. 2000. New York: Alba House, pp. 10-11.

"Dealing with Temptation"

Mary Fairchild

About.com:Christianity

March 25, 2008

If you're struggling with temptation in your life, take some encouragement from these verses and pray the prayer below, asking the Lord to help you deal with the temptations you face each day.

"No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it."
1 Corinthians 10:13 (NIV)



“But remember that the temptations that come into your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will keep the temptation from becoming so strong that you can't stand up against it. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you will not give in to it.”
1 Corinthians 10:13 (NLT)

Dear Lord,
You know the temptations that I am facing today. But your Word promises that I will not be tempted beyond what I can bear. I ask for your strength to stand up under the temptation whenever I encounter it. Your Word also tells me you will provide a way out of the temptation. Please, Lord, give me the wisdom to walk away when I am tempted, and the clarity to see the way out that you will provide. Thank you, God, that you are a faithful deliverer and that I can count on your help in my time of need.
Amen

Source: http://christianity.about.com/od/prayersforspecificneeds/a/PrayersVerses.htm