I had heard Archbishop Fulton Sheen say something like this -
Lust is a vice that cannot be driven out at once. You shall have to crowd it out. How? Paul explains -
“Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.” (Phil 4:8)
You have to fill your mind with honorable, pure, beautiful and lovely things so that you crowd out the lust that is in you. “do not make room for the devil” (Eph 4:27); “put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires” (Rom 13:14).
I had been to a retreat recently and a brother was sharing his story about his experience in Calcutta in India, feeding those who were starving. A man who was starving to death was brought in and this brother (his name is Pat) wanted to feed him as much as he could. But someone told him that the starving man had lost all appetite for food and could take only as much as two teaspoons of food. So Br. Pat fed him two teaspoons. Within a few days, the starving man’s appetite began to increase and within a week he was eating a bowl of food.
Br Pat explained that the body has a fantastic mechanism. Because this man wasn’t getting food, the body shut itself down and reduced his appetite for food. But as soon as he began getting food, the appetite automatically increased. Then Br Pat said that the same applies to the spiritual life as well.
This is so true in the case of lust! Right now, you are feeding your lust with pornography and therefore, your appetite for lust is very huge! But starve your lust for 30 days and you will find that your tendency to lust has reduced. It’s how our body works! So stop feeding your lust. Take away the food for your lust and it will become weak. Fill your mind with good things and keep yourself occupied with them, so that you are never idle and don’t give the flesh or the devil an opportunity.
God be with you!