That particular sin which goes hand in hand with pornography, together are probably causing the most damage in the church today… Especially in, but not limited to men. There can be no true relationship with God where pornography is present. The first, and most critical step to truly combatting the worst scourge on faith in the modern world is honesty. As long as it remains in darkness no one can break the bonds of this addiction. It must be brought into the light in the confessional, and to our spouses, so the damage can end, and the healing can begin.
The next step for those who are serious is calling the cable company and having a block put on adult movies. You can also have a pass code set under restrictions by an accountability partner or spouse. Block out r rated movies as well, and get rid of premium channels.
Next is Internet, iPad, and android devices. Covenant eyes is
covenanteyes.com/
a great resource for desktop browsing as it blocks objectionable sites, but it is important to get an accountability partner Who will review your browsing history.
X3watch is another
x3watch.com/
For resources there is saa - sex addicts annonymous
www.saa.org
If there are no saa meetings where you live there are Skype meetings that can be found on the saa site.
The kings men is a website that tells how to start small men’s groups.
www.thekingsmen.us
There are also resources on how to start small men’s groups at
www.dads.org
We may need to start these groups our selves in our own communities, because unless we do there may not be any resources for meetings, accountability partners, and preferably finding a priest willing to be involved.
There is a great book by Steve wood called breaking free
Another great book that I haven’t started yet is “everyman’s battle”.
Deacon Ralph Poyo is a person who has overcome pornography and has a great testimony.
catholic.org/diocese/diocese_story.php?id=27456
catholicmentoday.org/2008/09/28/witness-to-recovery-by-deacon-ralph-poyo.aspx
Look up talks by Matt Fradd as well.
Download a podcast app and look up pornography recovery, or catholic pornography recovery.
For iPads you will need to have someone set a pass code for restrictions, and restrict YouTube, safari, iTunes, and access to the app store primarily so you can’t install a browser that is porn friendly. Get a web safe browser, I use Mcgruff, but web safe is good too. Covenant eyes also has an iPad app, but doesn’t actually block content. Personally I need content blocked with no easy over ride especially in the heat of the moment… Speaking of the heat of the moment, Thomas a Kempis says in “The Imitation of Christ”, that temptation needs to be resisted with the very first thoughts. Once you give the thoughts room to grow in your mind you will most likely lose the battle. The longer they are entertained the more difficult they are to overcome. Recognize immediately when the thought begins then either pray the rosary, tell your spouse, call an accountability partner, and go for a brisk walk or jog, and most importantly, think about something else. Don’t think about it for more than a second.
Remove
All pornographic materials from your home including VHS, DVD, blu ray’s, magazines, and all downloaded video’s, and pictures. Sprinkle your home, and computer with holy water.
The next step once your home and computers are sanitized of all pornographic material is embracing the Cross, and asking Jesus to help you carry this cross when temptation begins. Fasting is an extremely important element as well, as it trains us to deny ourselves of something we want.
I highly highly recommend committing to begging God the father for mercy in overcoming this addiction by regularly praying the Chaplet of Divine Mercy in front of the Blessed Sacrament specifically for the freedom from the bondage of masturbation, and the addiction to pornography.
I now firmly believe this is probably the most repeatedly heard confession a priest hears in the confessional by men today. Let’s face it porn is everywhere, and instantly available for free 24 hours a day 7days a week. When we have computers, tablets, iPhones, and cable tv it is literally like an alcoholic living in a liquor store
I also recommend asking your confessor if there is a priest in your diocese who specializes with this issue, and have him or any willing priest commit to working through this issue with you.
I live in a town of 400,000 people, and there is one saa meeting, in town and one recovery group in a Protestant church so I am going to be discussing with my Parish Priest starting a Kings men group in my city. With such an absence of active groups dealing with this it only tells me that many, many men are dealing with this silently, in despair of ever being able to stop. God won’t do this for us, we must actively participate with grace, and fight like our lives depend on it because they quite literally do.
True intimacy with both God and spouse is impossible with an active, unrepentant pornography addiction.
To be blunt here… if you haven’t started discovering some of these resources on your own then you are probably not serious about overcoming these sins.This goes for everyone who is in bondage to porn, and masturbation. It’s time the Church, you, me, and our priests wake up and deal with this silent soul killer, it’s time for the secrecy, shame, despair, and humiliation to stop. This has to be addressed openly. God needs us completely converted today as the world gets darker and darker, and it can’t be done with active sins against impurity… Pornography, and masturbation, and of course fornication as well… Our Lady of Fatima told the children that “souls fall into hell like snowflakes, and mostly because of sins of impurity”. We should be asking her help as well through the rosary.
I apologize if this post seems a little scattered, and mistake ridden because I’m time limited at the moment.
