Tenth Friday of Ordinary Time

You have heard that it was said, You shall not commit adultery. But I say to you, everyone who looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one of your members than to have your whole body thrown into Gehenna.

God is always looking at our deeper intents. He alone knows our inner struggles. He sees what is truly going on within us. This is why Jesus makes clear that thoughts can be sinful, too. This isn't to say that stray thoughts, unasked for and unintended are sinful. Everyone has those, but rather sinful thoughts are those that we dwell upon and let live in our hearts. They are the ones we don't push away or try to rid ourselves of. Jesus is warning us not to let our minds become consumed with sinful desires. We should seek to rid ourselves of them at the first sign of temptation. It isn't easy to keep our minds clean, but it is one of the best defenses against sin. Rejecting sinful thoughts from the very outset uproots the evils within us before they can take hold.

What sinful thoughts do we have? How can we rid ourselves of them? If we are having trouble with certain sins, do we ask God for the strength to tear out the causes of our temptations and throw them away?

O Lord, let us not commit evils in our hearts or minds.

Amen.