Temptation and Lust..When is the line crossed?

[timmyo]

Please help me if you can. Thank you in advance.

If one has a lustful thought that comes through the mind wandering or day dreaming, that is not a deliberate conjured up lustful thought, and one ponders it in their head breifly with some very brief enjoyment of the thought and then realizes this is a lustful disordered thought and turns away from it, has the person sinned or are they merely being subject to temptation? If you find yourself ever enjoying, even if briefly, a lustful thought, have you sinned? I understand that consent of the will is required for a sin, but does the consent of the will refer to the enjoyment of the lustful thought or does it mean the actual deliberate generation of the thought. I just have never understood where the line is.

 

[Scullinius]

Enjoyment of a lustful thought is self-indulgence. Practice refraining therefrom.

 

[Benedictus]

It becomes sinful when some form of consent is given. Delectation may or may not involve consent.

With thoughts, it can be hard to determine when free consent to a thought is given since our minds tend to wander. Just remember that we can’t fool God.

 

[Genesis315]

Just get it out of your head as soon as possible. If you kind of thoughtlessly dwell on it, but get rid of it when you realize what you are doing, it’s probably venial at worst.

 

[Alterum]

Scullinius:

Enjoyment of a lustful thought is self-indulgence. Practice refraining therefrom.

I agree. Then such thoughts will become repugnant, not briefly enjoyable.