Category: TEMPTATION & LUST & VIRGINITY

  • Do not regard others searchingly, seeking sexual
    arousal; rather, remember that you should regard
    those before you as family members towards whom
    you have no sexual tendencies.

    From Heart to Heart
    Fr. Tadros Y. Malaty

  • One factor contributing to unclean thoughts is anxiety
    coupled with lack of dependence on God; for this reason,
    many students complain of domination by unclean thoughts during examination periods — their busiest time of year. In their anxiety, they try to escape from reality by resorting to unclean thoughts. A strong remedy against such thoughts is prayer, so that the Lord may grant you peace, internal joy, and reliance on Him.

    From Heart to Heart
    Fr. Tadros Y. Malaty

  • It may be useful to train oneself, initially, to the notion that
    sudden death and Judgment are imminent. This is because
    the principle of “love” might not be attractive to a frivolous person while, on the other hand, fear mixed with trust might be a viable starting point; experiencing love will follow.

    From Heart to Heart
    Fr. Tadros Y. Malaty

  • (8) Why are Some People Unable to Enjoy
    Purity?

    1. Family Decomposition and Breakdown:
      The young man or woman looks for the lost love in the family in whomever he/she meets and with any possible means, even if that will cost him his eternity! Familial love and awareness builds sound family relations with the children; and thus enables them to find joy in making an open discussion with their parents –or at least one of
      them- to grow properly into adolescence, and to become deeper with time.

    Purity
    Fr. Tadros Y. Malaty

  • (8) Why are Some People Unable to Enjoy
    Purity?

    1. Inner Worry:
      a) A young man once told me that he didn’t undertake any wrongful physical actions till he was 17 years old. But once there started to be some problems and arguments between his parents, he left his father’s house till he rushed to these undertakings to compensate him for the great worry that lingers inside him.
      b) I was surprised to meet a young boy –ten years old- who is addicted to these wrongful physical actions; and the main reason behind that was familial decomposition and lack of peace and mutual respect not just among the parents, but also between the parents and their children!
      c) No wonder that many teenagers fall under the pressure of evil thoughts and actions during exams’ periods, even if they feel that they need every possible minute and energy to get ready for these exams; but their suffering from worry pushes them unconsciously to fall under these wrongful actions!
      d) When a young man or woman falls into the lusts of thoughts or the doings after a long period of victory, his/her energies get imbalanced due to feeling of despair. This causes him/her to fall under an endless series of physical faults. Despair, and the exaggerated feeling of guilt, adds fuel to the fire of physical lusts.

    Purity
    Fr. Tadros Y. Malaty

  • OBEDIENCE AND PURITY

    Many years ago, a youth came to me seeming to be religious, quiet, and decent. Bitterly, he complained about adultery of the heart. He said, “I fast for long periods and cry during my prayers for the Lord to release me from the war of evil desire, but all is in vain. I always read the Bible and refrain from reading any cheap attractive books. I have no bad friends and do not see any bad attractions. What else can I do?”

    I asked him, “What is your relationship with your parents?” He said that he always complains and argues with them. I had put my finger on the problem; he disobeys his parents, so his body does not obey the soul. He who does not have a good relationship with his family cannot control his inner feelings. This is the holy law: “‘Honor your father and mother, which is the first commandment with promise ‚that it may be well with you and you may live long on the earth.” (Eph. 6:2-3). Since the meeting with this youth, I concluded that he who complains from evil desires must review his dealings and relationship with his parents, brothers, relatives, colleagues, and employers. He who plants violence and disobedience will not reap anything but inner war and temptations.

    Obedience and Sound Personality
    Fr. Tadros Y. Malaty

  • Whoever is chaste before marriage is the same after marriage. Those who learned adultery before marriage, do the same afterwards. It is written in the Divine Scriptures “All bread is sweet to the adulterer” (Sirach 23:17). For this reason, a crown is placed on the head (in the altar), as a sign of victory. They are entering the wedding not conquered or oppressed by lust. There is no reason to put a crown on the head of whoever gets into the love of pleasures and surrenders his soul to adultery, because he has been defeated.Instill this in them, teach and pressure them by all means.

    —St. John Chrysostom

    via Family Love by Fr. Tadros Y. Malaty

  • If your relationships with others and with God adequately feed your need to love and be loved, you will both see through and despise what lust has to offer.

    Glittering Vices: A New Look at the Seven Deadly Sins and Their Remedies
    Rebecca Konyndyk DeYoung

  • The desire for a woman, or another sordid pleasure, we shall not merely control—rather, we shall turn from it as something transitory, forever doing battle and looking toward the day of judgment. For the larger fear and dread of the torments always destroys pleasure’s smooth allure, and rouses the declining soul.

    —Athanasius, The Life of Antony

  • “You can’t prevent malicious thoughts from coming, but it’s up to you to resist them.”

    —Abba Pimen