Avoiding Sin (More on the "How")

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What are the strategies you personally employ to avoid sin?
How do you deal with recurring sin and sins with addictive dimensions, e.g. excessive alcoholism, masturbation addiction, video-game addiction?
Do you have an algorithm that one can follow?
For those who struggled before with a sin (especially the recurring ones), and have now conquered it, please share your story 🙂 these might be helpful and serve as inspiration for Lent.
 
ordinarydude said:
Do you have an algorithm that one can follow?
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I don’t think there is some set formula. I think the biggest thing is to be patient with yourself. Breaking a longstanding bad habit, whether it’s sexual or not, is tough. Don’t expect yourself to kick it overnight. Do your best, go to confession when you need to, and just keep trying to make progress.
 
The rosary, this has stopped me sinning.

Also the longer I go without the sin, the less tempted I feel by it (well worked for me anyway).

Think sticking to a new routine helps.
 
it depends, different things will require different strategies. also support groups or people you can be accountable to are usually encouraged
 
Wearing my scapular All the time,quickly stopping a train of thought before it really forms,saying the prayer to the Holy Spirit .
 
ordinarydude said:
What are the strategies you personally employ to avoid sin?
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It is a matter of constantly swimming against the tide. No one can avoid sin except by the grace of God, which is why it is so important to keep within the Sacramental life.

One does not dispel darkness by willing it away, but by turning on the light. For this reason spiritual disciplines of prayer, penance, and reading Scripture will work to bring us toward the light.

“Keep thyself pure.” I Tim. 5:22
 
ordinarydude said:
What are the strategies you personally employ to avoid sin?

How do you deal with recurring sin and sins with addictive dimensions, e.g. excessive alcoholism, masturbation addiction, video-game addiction?
Click to expand...
I can relate to some of those addictions. I had a gambling and smoking addiction. I managed to overcome them but I think people like me are prone to addictions in general. We feel a vacuum in our lives and we don’t have the self-discipline to fill it with healthy life-affirming pursuits.
In some ways I coped by changing my addiction. I got into Internet Forum addiction instead for instance.
Exercise has saved me from hitting rock bottom. Reading good books also helps. I am reading Interior Castle now. It is a book I should have read ages ago. Books like these are life changing and life saving too.
Sometimes you have to go cold turkey on addictions. It is the only way.
By the way, I found having saunas is a great way to cleanse the body and to some extent cleanse the soul. Have one, once a week.
 
I avoid masturbation and pornography by controlling my gaze and thinking about wholesome things. I know not to look at the magazines at the checkout aisles in Wal-Mart or to go down the magazine aisle at a book store. If you don’t control your gaze, you’re going to fall into it-- it’s only a matter of time. You have to avoid feeding that carnal part of you that’s telling you to sin.

When a desire to view pornography or to masturbate arises, I think about things that are powerful. I imagine Christ suffering on the cross or Jonah being swallowed by that giant fish. There are things you can set your mind on that will kill impure images. You need images that conquer.
 
Hello.

Weekly confession, daily Mass, spiritual reading on the virtues, read anything by St. John Vianney, avoid persons, places & things associated with temptations, prayer, bring rosary with you everywhere, rigorous honesty with self, praying for anyone you dislike, do whatever work you’re supposed to when you’re supposed to do it, ask people you don’t like to pray for you, ask Mary for help, ask God for help, let God work in your life…in His time & not yours… I dunno…there are many more things…what’s everyone else saying?

Thank you for your post. Keep fighting the good fight.
 
Unfortunately, I can’t really “avoid” my occasions of sin since they are my children and I homeschool them LOL

My main difficulty is the sin of anger / wrath… I get frustrated and then mad at the kids and loose it over what I realize is little stuff, but which gradually piles up on me and then BOOM there I go…

So what I do to head this off at the pass is yoga and mindfulness meditation (in addition to Catholic meditative prayer) which seems to be helping me build up my tolerance to frustration in general— not just from my kids.

Mindfulness is just awareness of reality in the present moment. The ultimate reality is, God is with us in every moment. The more I think about and meditate on this truth, the more I love Him. The more I love Him, the more sin isn’t an issue 😍
 
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I like to meditate on the Passion of Christ while slowly saying the Ave Maria. I also try fasting twice a week as a mortification to help me. I also wear my Miraculous Medal over my shirt when I am at home and I carry a rosary around with me.
 
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Assiduousness in both 1) acceptance of matters with their circumstances and 2) seeking knowledge of the Holy

miserere mei Deus
 
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Avoiding sin is simple. Many people just dont do it.
Sins cannot force themselves upon you.
Unless you have some clinical or pathological condition, you can easily avoid sin.
Most people are simply weak and unhappy nowadays.
 
When a temptation comes, say a Hail Mary or 3, 10, 28…however many it takes for the temptation to pass. It worked for me. I mean, how can you think about something sinful when you are calling on the Blessed Mother?
 
Hello.

Good for you to be addressing this anger. Anger towards children can have very damaging effects.

Also, if you’re ever up for it, it’d be interesting to discuss in another thread the Catholic Church’s view on yoga.
 
My philosophy is that a boring life is generally underrated in spiritual matters. Much sin results from too much excitement. So, I try to keep my life as boring as possible. By doing this, I’ve found that I’ve slowly been able to work myself into a state where my senses are rather dull and my desires rather weak. My level of stress remains extremely low. I have few aspersions. I’ve become quite happy just to wake each morning, pray, work, and go back to sleep each night. I do nothing to arouse the passions. I eat bland food. I keep my house simple and drab. I have only a few garments. Ive already made my funeral arrangements. Now, it’s just a matter of waiting. I’ve found that the more boring my life is, the less sin there is. It may sound quite unappealing, but it works well for the Old Colonel. I’m just here.
 
The best is to join a church group in your parish. In my diocese there are Neocatechumenal Way communities. I joined them. Now, I hardly sin if ever. Being part of a community means you are supporting each other in your walk toward Jesus. Praying together, reading the Bible, attending Eucharistic celebration together would build a stone wall against temptation.
 
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