Questions

[coolcatholicguy]

Are there any suggestions on overcoming blasphemous thoughts and temption?

Also, is it immoral to upload videos to a website using software you are demoing and do not fully own, because I think I did that and am wondering whether I should take them off or not?

 

[coolcatholicguy]

Also, did Mary say we need to pray The Rosary every day?

 

[mcrow]

Are there any suggestions on overcoming blasphemous thoughts and temption?

Also, is it immoral to upload videos to a website using software you are demoing and do not fully own, because I think I did that and am wondering whether I should take them off or not?

Pray to God and as the Saints to pray for you.

As for the software thing: I don’t see where it’s immoral so long as you are legally “demoing” (Not stealing or obtained through unauthorized ways like a torrent) it and the video does not contain immoral content.

 

[Bookcat]

Are there any suggestions on overcoming blasphemous thoughts and temption?

from previous posts)

Regarding thoughts

while Jesus makes it clear that one can sin in ones thoughts…just cause some lustful thought happens does not mean that one sinned…

(and one can have a sufficiently good reason to think about sexual matters…for instance studying moral theology…but care must be taken to avoid things that would be a problem…but that is another question)

What should we do with* unwanted* sexual thoughts? Or unwanted thoughts of blasphemy? Those pesky temptations that can come …even though we are not seeking them etc…

(there are of course some things we should avoid that cause them…and there can be sin if it is something one should reasonably avoid…but often they come uninvited)

First…Relax. Do not worry.

Now are they mortal sins?

For a mortal sin one needs a grave matter …full knowledge AND deliberate consent!!!

A. If you do not want the thought…it the thought displeases you: it can be a sign actually that you did not give consent or do not give full consent.

B. Even if you felt a temptation for the thought – and were drawn to it —but rejected it and maybe even turned to God : again a sign not full consent.

C. But what if one has a tempting thought --say of a sexual nature and even hesitated for a moment…but then rejected it for one did not want to sin? : it can be partial consent perhaps (and thus a venial sin)-- or it may be no sin at all but rather a strong temptation that drew you but then you saw what was happening and turned away.

D. A temptation can even be very strong or the thoughts very often – but this does NOT mean one has consented! so worry not…even it they go on for a long time…

remember --for it to be mortal there must be that deliberate consent!

What to do? on the spiritual side–relax first of all and remember the above.

Next – know that the more one fears the thoughts the more likely they are to come… or said another way --the more a person seeks to avoid the thoughts the more likely he will have a problem with them. (but do not worry about this either!)

for example: for the next 10 seconds try NOT to think of an apple.

tick tock …

tick tock…

Ok what did you think of? Most likely an apple.

So it is best to ignore them and just not consent and then turn your attention to some other good thing…for instance whatever you are doing. Simply do not consent and move on. and do not worry

another point – thoughts can just happen --they are the stuff with which we think…it is up to us to consent and take them further or not. and just because they are REAL VIVID and almost “think themselves” does not mean per se that one has given ANY consent.

they can be annoying…but need cause no actual harm …

---

Another help…is the distinction between “first thoughts and emotions” (as Baur calls em) what they call the prima of the prima…“the first of the first” (as one of my Professors called em…he was a Dominican)…these are involuntary things that just come up…such are not sins. They can tempt one of course to sin…or one can then proceed to some sin…but they are the stuff of the mind and emotions which “happen to one” …and really the are opportunities for growing in virtue etc as well…

How to deal with these? First of relax…don’t scruple…don’t fear them…to try to swat them all as the come…just simply turn to other things…or the thing you are doing…or to God…(of course do not consent)…but if you are too defensive against them…they may get worse actually…and confuse you more…instead turn to God or again other good things…accept that hey…somethings wild thoughts will come to you…

(and these can happen to all of us by the way…)

There is a story from the desert of the early Centuries of the Church where a younger hermit when to an older one with the problems of thoughts happening to him all the time…the older hermit told him to go outside open his cloak and catch the wind.

The younger hermit said such is not possible…

the older hermit replied --neither is it possible to stop all the thoughts that can come to you…your choice is to say “yes” or “no”.

So relax about “unwanted thoughts”…sometimes they just come…you know like unwanted phone calls from politicitians and salepersons etc…but you can always say “no thank you” or just ignore the call and go about your business

 

[Julian0404]

Blasphemous thoughts and temptations are from the devil, as our struggle is truly with “powers and principalities”. The good news is that there is a very powerful and special prayer written by Pope Leo XIII to defeat satan and his demons, and it is the St. Michael Prayer. There is also a St. Michael novena imploring the assistance of all 9 choirs of angels.
Memorize the St. Michael prayer and pray it as often as the thoughts come, and until the thoughts leave. I do this myself, and find it a great relief.

 

[Bookcat]

Remember too:

The classic stages of temptation when we are tempted are:

1. Suggestion (the evil is proposed to us in some way) this can be quite attractive …can be thoughts that happen, ideas etc.
2. Pleasure (a kind of automatic pleasure can happen from the suggestion) this pleasure can just happen…one is not “trying to have it” not wanting it…this is just a reaction.

3…then one either consents or does not consent.

(one can either consent fully and thus engage in things willingly …or not consent and perhaps thus grow in virtue…following Christ!)

Now it can often happen that one begins to “partially consent” but then rejects it and thus does not give full consent.

When one is tempted…

Some signs that one lacked consent or gave only “partial consent”:

If even though there was some instinctive pleasure …we do not want it…we are unhappy or horrified about the evil…or struggle to not be overcome …we turn to God in Prayer --these are some signs of no consent (if of course we stay in this stage…and do not later consent)

(For example some thoughts come out of the blue just cause one happened to see an attractive person…and one does not want the thoughts but turns to God in Prayer or is horrified by them and turns to something else etc…no matter how much they come back…if one does not consent at all…there is no sin…but rather possibly growth in virtues)

If one hesitates for a moment but then does not want to sin and so rejects it and does not give full consent (thus a fault against prudence)

If one resists but the resistance is half hearted…one does resist but it is weak or slow…but in the end one rejects it…such would seem to be half consent and thus venial

Of course if one then gives in and gives full consent…then such can be mortal…remember…partial consent or half consent is not full consent…and thus not mortal.

In the end …if there is still doubt that one consented:

if the person is lax …one can urge confession for it is likely they consented otherwise it would not bother them…

for the delicate conscience or the scrupulous or one with scruples…it has been noted in various works that one can rule out full consent for if they would have fully consented…it can be said that would know it.

(Based on A Tanquery… he bases things on S. Augustine…but much of this is simply repeated in various places…for it is the basics in judging such)

 

[Patrick_Ambrose]

I don’t know if this would help but when I have struggled with this very same thing, the one thing that brought me through (and keeps diminishing the impurity more all the time), is to recognize and realize it as disordered thought.

I could go into examples but the point is, see the disorder. God created us to be social creatures and to love one another. In that expression of love, we need to realize that when we do for another that it is done in a giving way and NOT in a wanting way. We are called to give of ourselves and NOT necessarily for ourselves. Also, see the fact that when we act, there has to be a benefit to what we are doing which is beyond personal gratification or enjoyment in and of itself, a benefit that brings about a greater good than ourselves.

Finally, there is something I have read. We, as human beings are unique in creation for the fact that we consist (and I’m paraphrasing for brevity) of a past, present and future. We have, not only the ability to look back to our past and see the mistakes and being able to compare it to where we are today, but we can also see where we are and work toward what we want to be in the future. To deny this is to limit ourselves as human beings. And, if you think of playing a video game, you are playing a game and everything that is occurring is not occurring in reality and, therefore, the progress you experience in the game is not occurring in reality which means that, even though you see progress in the process, in reality, you are in the same place you were when you sat down to play the game.