Happy Easter! Please I ask if you could take the time to read this. I'd be really grateful! So I created an account here a couple of months ago, and started this journey of recovery again. I fell to masturbation yesterday and today, so I confessed today and sincerely I don't want to fall back to this horrible sin again. After sinning again it felt bad because the streak that I just lost went to the trash but the worse of all is that fell just starting Easter. Plus I asked on December the Lord and St. Joseph to take this sin from me. I felt I had more strength in not succumbing to my lower passions. (I UNDERSTAND also that the temptation is always to be there until I die, nevertheless asked this) Right now the situation has changed, after getting my confession. Now everything seems more hopeful again. If possible I'd like to hear your thoughts on this time's streak (I don't know how else to call it). I've discovered that what triggers temptation for me is to see women dressed in a non modest way on social media or to be real with you just women that I really like. Some weeks ago I opened Instagram because it ocurred to me to search this person's name because I got curious and wanted to see her picture. From then on temptation was getting on my mind little by little. Then I searched for a movie (btw it wasn't a porn movie) but it got me fantasising of me getting in that movie and I fell. To give more context it was a romantic movie and I didn't see any sexual scenes. I don't know if I am supposed to just not look at women but honestly that doesn't sound that is the right way. I'd like to see women as daughters of God. And in these months I do feel that I did that until temptation grew stronger. I'm wondering right now if the true and right way was to not look at that person in the first place, but I repeat, I don't know if i am supposed to just not look at women on social media. Maybe this is it and it's clear for you but please help me making it clear for myself. Also I have other insights. I wanted to go to confession before Easter Sunday but didn't have the chance because father got busy and couldn't confess on the time of confession those weeks. I tried twice before Easter, one of those times, last Saturday. Confession was necessary at that time because I haven't confess in one month at that time, even a little more. I also wondered if the sins that couldn't confess in those times played a role in making it tougher for me this week. When I fell, as I said I felt bad and didn't want to work and the bad desire was still there and fell some other times even today, before confession. I felt that I was getting away from the Lord, so I confessed my sins today. My soul does feel lighter now. Please PRAY for me or kind of have me in mind if you pray for this group. Personally I do pray for the people in this group, not every day but I can say constantly. I know we are in this together men and women that are falling on lust. Again I'd appreciate it a ton, God bless!
If the women are dressed immodestly on a social media app then, yes, you’re morally obligated to not look at their content. Clearly, this social media content has become an occasion of sin for you, so you must stop using it. Obviously, there will be times we will see women in real life dressed immodestly and while we can’t control that, we can control ourselves when we become aware of it. The practice of looking away is called custody of the eyes. It’s a practice all of the saints employed in daily life.
No worries man, sorry if it sounded harsh. Holiness, according to the world, is always going to look extreme and radical, but we have to remember how the world views things is opposite to God, especially nowadays. We have to rewire our outlooks and tastes in what we think about, listen to, watch, and read.
