“You cannot chase away an evil thought as you can drive away a dog with a stick.”  

 

In his book “How to Resist Temptation” Fr. Francis Remler recommends that we do not argue with the temptation or give it any undue attention, but rather to remove ourselves from the temptation and to immediately occupy ourselves with some other thing. He tells us that we should not attempt to face the temptation head on. It is suggested that we do not try to face the temptation head on, but rather refuse it any space in our mind and go to battle with it indirectly.  

 

We should first get in a habit of finding a short prayer that we find encouraging and helpful for fighting our temptation. Perhaps we can find a role model from a Saint who has faced similar temptations and invoke their help. Fr. Francis Remler says this prayer should be a short phrase or sentence. Afterwards we should go and do something else. Yes, instead of trying to battle it directly we should go and occupy ourselves with some other activity. We cannot fight temptations such as evil thoughts as we can “drive away a dog with a stick.” Go and talk with someone, read a book, go for a walk, go swimming, or watch a good TV show. The point is to make the effort to remove oneself from being drawn in by the thoughts that are tempting us.  

 

While we might be tempted to feel bad about ourselves because how strong the temptation is, but we should not allow this feeling to grab hold of us and convince us to give into the temptation. Temptations to sins that we have committed in the past can have a particular stronghold over our emotion and memory. Try not to recall or give thought to sins of the past against purity. Do not give much thought to the sin against purity in terms of deciding if it was a venial or mortal sin. The less thought given to it, the more the mind is free from the temptation and occasion of sin. The fight against evil is real, and the fight against temptation is a battle. St. Michael help us be strong against the evil one who wants to defeat us.

 

 

 

Dear Jesus, I know that every perfect gift, and especially that of chastity, depends on the power of Your providence. Without You a mere creature can do nothing. Therefore, I beg You to defend by Your grace the chastity and purity of my body and soul. And if I have ever imagined or sensed anything that could stain my chastity and purity, blot it out, Supreme Lord of my powers, that I may advance with a pure heart in Your love and service, offering myself on the most pure altar of Your divinity all the days of my life. Amen.

 

1. Dear Jesus, bless our social and cultural climate. Grant that our society may be purified of everything contrary to chastity, and that we may have the strength to resist the pressures of prevailing distortions of human sexuality. “In the world you have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world” (Jn 16:33). “In all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us” (Rom 8:37). Hail Mary…

 

2. Dear Jesus, bless our relationships. Grant that they will be holy, healthy, and honorable at all times. “Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere love of the brethren, love one another earnestly from the heart” (1 Pet 1:22). Hail Mary…

 

3. Dear Jesus, bless our efforts at modesty. Grant that how we dress and carry ourselves may veil what should be veiled, and give us the strength to resist evil fashions and the glamour of sin. “Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind” (Rom 12:2). Hail Mary…

 

4. Dear Jesus, bless our five senses. Grant that the things we see, the music and jokes we hear, our food and drink, and the encounters we have through touch may all be pure and holy. “Seek the things that are above” (Col 3:1). Hail Mary…

 

5. Dear Jesus, bless our sensuality. Grant that our impulses may not go after base pleasures, but will be freed by Your wisdom and inflamed for what is good. “In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood” (Heb 12:4). Hail Mary…

 

6. Dear Jesus, bless our imagination. Grant that we may be preserved from the fantasies and daydreams that defile us, that all impure images may vanish, and that we may be protected from all the assaults of demons. “Be renewed in the spirit of your minds” (Eph 4:23). Hail Mary…

 

7. Dear Jesus, bless our memory. Grant that no dark memories from our past may haunt us, but let Your light shine within us to fill us with a healing hope in You. “And every one who thus hopes in Him purifies himself as He is pure” (1 Jn 3:3). Hail Mary…

 

8. Dear Jesus, bless our power of estimation. Grant that we may quickly sense dangers to chastity, instinctively flee from them, and that we may never turn away from higher and more difficult goods for the sake of sinful self-indulgence. “For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his life?” (Mk 8:36). Hail Mary… [Note: estimation ~ ability to make judgments]

 

9. Dear Jesus, bless our affectivity. Grant that we may love chastity and rejoice in it, that all of our emotions may be in harmony with what is right, and that no sadness, discouragement, fear, insecurity, or loneliness may afflict us unto sexual sin. “For the grace of God has appeared, saving all and training us to reject godless ways and worldly desires and to live temperately, justly, and devoutly in this age” (Titus 2:11-12). Hail Mary… [Note: affectivity ~ ability to experience feelings and react to them]

 

10. Dear Jesus, bless our intellect. Grant that it may be purged of all false beliefs and all misunderstandings of human sexuality, and that the good angels may flood our intellects with thoughts that are true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, and gracious. “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). Hail Mary…

 

11. Dear Jesus, bless our will. Grant that it may never be opposed by our sensuality, that it may never be conflicted in the moment, but that it may hold fast to chastity no matter how difficult it may be. “For the Son of God, Jesus Christ…was not ‘yes’ and ‘no’; but in Him it is always ‘yes.’ For all the promises of God find their ‘yes’ in Him” (2 Cor 1:19-20). Hail Mary…

 

12. Dear Jesus, bless our conscience. Grant that it may be swift to judge what is chaste, swifter to execute it, and preserved completely from the suggestions of demons. “How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, purify your conscience from dead works to serve the living God” (Heb 9:14). Hail Mary…

 

13. Dear Jesus, bless our hearts. Grant that the place where Christ abides in us with the Father and the Spirit may become the place where we live with the Holy Trinity in friendship. “Jesus answered him, ‘If a man loves Me, he will keep My word, and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him’” (Jn 14:23). Hail Mary…

 

14. Dear Jesus, grant us the grace of self-surrender. Grant that we may hand over to God nothing less than our whole lives. “Father, into Your hands I commend My spirit” (Lk 23:46). Hail Mary…

 

15. Dear Jesus, give us Your love. “In this is love, not that we loved God but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the expiation for our sins” (1 Jn 4:10). “But God shows His love for us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom 5:8). Hail Mary…

 

Closing Prayer (asking for the intercession of St. Thomas Aquinas)

 

Chosen lily of innocence, pure St. Thomas, who kept chaste the robe of baptism and became an angel in the flesh after being girded by two angels, I implore you to commend me to Jesus, the Spotless Lamb, and to Mary, the Queen of Virgins. Gentle protector of my purity, ask them that I, who wear the holy sign of your victory over the flesh, may also share your purity, and after imitating you on earth, may at last come to be crowned with you among the angels. Amen.