Wandering eye at mass..Bad?

[Renton405]

How bad is it if a person has a wandering eye during Mass(looking at women)…I admit I sometimes do this and feel really bad about it. Its really becoming a problem and Ive confessed it during my penance because of the guilt…

 

[mosher]

How bad is it if a person has a wandering eye during Mass(looking at women)…I admit I sometimes do this and feel really bad about it. Its really becoming a problem and Ive confessed it during my penance because of the guilt…

Natural attraction is not a sin - looking at a beautiful woman is also not a sin. Manifesting lust in your thoughts about that woman is a sin. Remember, you are human and not an angel nor will you ever be an angel but you can put your natural attractions in their proper context if you learn to discipline yourself.

First, it helps to close your eyes. Men are very visual so take advantage of praying with your eyes closed at first. But this is only a temporary fix to help start building chastity. Remember, with lust we do not try to fight the vice but rather we have to flee from the vice and embrace a virtue. In this case depriving yourself of sight and focusing on the prayer of the mass and doing private prayers before and after mass will replace the bad habit with a good habit namely the virtue of religion.

Second, after you have internalized the prayerful nature of the mass open your eyes and fix them on the cross and the actions of the mass give your senses the stimuli they need but fill them with the things of God.

Third, learn a short prayer like the “Jesus prayer” to pray each time you catch yourself outside of mass having a wandering eye.

By replacing the vice of lust with the virtue of religion you will in turn build up the virtue of chastity.

 

[Renton405]

thank you… I am engaged and getting married in a few months and I feel really guilty about it sometimes. I feel sometimes like im breaking the command of commiting adultry in my heart… Ill try what you said

 

[whatevergirl]

thank you… I am engaged and getting married in a few months and I feel really guilty about it sometimes. I feel sometimes like im breaking the command of commiting adultry in my heart… Ill try what you said

If you go to Confession enough…and repent enough…you will kick the habit. It’s good that you recognize that about yourself, though.

 

[goofyjim]

As long as you are not lusting don’t be so scrupulous.

 

[m134e5]

How bad is it if a person has a wandering eye during Mass(looking at women)…I admit I sometimes do this and feel really bad about it. Its really becoming a problem and Ive confessed it during my penance because of the guilt…

1.) Sit in the front. This eliminates most visual distractions right away.

2.) Pray three Hail Mary’s for purity before each Mass.

3.) Close your eyes as often as you can (during prayers). I do this especially during the Our Father (I do not want to see people holding their arms out like Buddhists) and communion (I do not want to see people receive in any way other than on their tongue and on their knees).

4.) sit in a way that you can cup your hands over your eyes.

5.) focus on the crucifix in the church. If there isn’t one, bring your own.

6.) Confess it. It isn’t a mortal sin just to have your eyes wander, but it is a problem that frequent confession can help you overcome.

 

[goofyjim]

1.) Sit in the front. This eliminates most visual distractions right away.

2.) Pray three Hail Mary’s for purity before each Mass.

3.) Close your eyes as often as you can (during prayers). I do this especially during the Our Father (I do not want to see people holding their arms out like Buddhists) and communion (I do not want to see people receive in any way other than on their tongue and on their knees).

4.) sit in a way that you can cup your hands over your eyes.

5.) focus on the crucifix in the church. If there isn’t one, bring your own.

6.) Confess it. It isn’t a mortal sin just to have your eyes wander, but it is a problem that frequent confession can help you overcome.

If there isn’t a crucifix in the Church, is it a Catholic Church?

 

[m134e5]

If there isn’t a crucifix in the Church, is it a Catholic Church?

Perhaps…but not a very good one.

 

[Mirror_Mirror]

How bad is it if a person has a wandering eye during Mass(looking at women)…I admit I sometimes do this and feel really bad about it. Its really becoming a problem and Ive confessed it during my penance because of the guilt…

Have you heard Christopher West’s talk “Naked Without Shame?”

He talks about this issue. Mind you I am paraphrasing what he said (forgive me for not going through 12 hours of talks to find this story ) for this.

He was in mass one Sunday sitting about 5 rows behind a woman with bright red hair. He could not see the woman and was not aware of her physical features, but was struck by this woman’s hair. Now at one point in the Mass he was taken a back, got a strange feeling when she flicked her long hair back. A simple gesture that women do, but he could not figure out why this had brought some sort of an emotion within him. Mind you, he stated that he loved his wife dearly and would never do anything to dishonor her and this was not that type of a feeling, yet a feeling nonetheless. For a while it bothered him that he could not pin point what this was. Finally just before Communion he was still thinking about this and realize what it was about this woman that struck a nerve with him. He realized that in this woman’s beauty, he was seeing the beauty of the Church. By that he was staring at the tabernacle, thinking of Christ and about the Church being the bride of the Church. This woman’s beauty was equal to the beauty of the Church, Christ’s bride. I forget how he equate that to being within the ‘womb’ of the woman as they are we sit in the pews at Church, but he did it brilliantly. I may have to listen to it again just to relay the story.

Point of the story, I am not sure that there is a point and I am not sure that this has even answered your question. I find myself looking off at times in mass, but it is just to see if I “see anyone that I know” in Mass. Then again, when you have 3 kiddos to take care of that gets a lot of your attention (atleast 2 of them do).

When you see a woman in church that “catches your eye” simply say to yourself, “you are the bride of Christ” and that may help you to being your focus back on the mass.

Just my :twocents: you can keep the change for all the extra ramblings.

 

[Biblioassistant]

Heh - one Sunday I was sitting behind a man who was wearing very nice pants which showed off his very nice hiney. I looked, then I just said, “All praise to God for the glory of His creation” and then turned my mind to other things.

 

[Mirror_Mirror]

Heh - one Sunday I was sitting behind a man who was wearing very nice pants which showed off his very nice hiney. I looked, then I just said, “All praise to God for the glory of His creation” and then turned my mind to other things.

“hiney”

(have to pick myself up off the floor as the bell has just rung for the end of first period in 7th grade )

 

[Renton405]

Heh - one Sunday I was sitting behind a man who was wearing very nice pants which showed off his very nice hiney. I looked, then I just said, “All praise to God for the glory of His creation” and then turned my mind to other things.

lol…

 

[drafdog]

Yes, God made the opposite sex to be attactive to us. She means for us to look and admire. * Deo gratias*.

The definition of prayer said something about lifting up our minds and our hearts to God. If what’s on your mind is the beauty of His creation, so be it.

Matthew