I first published this reflection on November 28th, 2006. But I have updated it today to reflect the advent of social media, etc.
There is a simple but beautiful prayer called “The Act of Contrition” prayed by the penitent at the end of Confession:
O my God, I am sorry with all my heart for having sinned against You. I detest all of my sins because of Your just punishment, but most of all because they offend You my God, Who are all good and deserving of all my love. I firmly resolve, with the help of Your grace, to sin no more and to avoid the near occasion of sin.
The “near occasion of sin.” Those four words can save you.
The Fall
The near occasion of sin is the Fence which divides us between the Land of Life and the Desert of Death. And this is no literary exaggeration. As Paul writes,
For the wages of sin is death… (Romans 6:23)
Before Adam and Eve sinned, they often walked atop this fence without even knowing it. Such was their innocence, unawakened by evil. But the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil grew alongside this fence. Tempted by the Serpent, Adam and Eve ate of the tree, and suddenly lost their balance, falling headlong into the Desert of Death.
From that time forward, the equilibrium within the human heart was wounded. Mankind could no longer walk on top of this fence without losing his balance and falling into sin. The word for this wound is concupiscence: the inclination toward evil. The Desert of Death became the Desert of Distraction, and soon humans would not only fall into it by weakness, but many would choose to jump in.
The Fence
Baptism, by imparting the life of Christ’s grace, erases original sin and turns a man back towards God, but the consequences for nature, weakened and inclined to evil, persist in man and summon him to spiritual battle. —Catechism of the Catholic Church, 405
If a meteor comes too close to the earth, it is pulled into the planet’s gravity and ultimately destroyed as it burns up in the atmosphere. So too, many people have no intention of sinning; but by choosing to be near beguiling situations, they are quickly pulled toward sin when the gravity of temptation is too strong to resist.
Then begins a new cycle.
We go to Confession, sincerely repent… but then do nothing to rectify the lifestyle or situations which got us into trouble in the first place. Within no time, we leave the sure paths of God’s Will in the Land of the Living, and begin to climb the Fence of Temptation once again. We deceive ourselves, saying, “I have confessed this sin. I am reading my Bible now. I pray the Rosary. I can handle this!” But then we become seduced by the glamor of sin, lose our step through the wound of human weakness, and fall headfirst into the very place we swore we never would go again. We find ourselves in the same place of being broken, guilt-ridden, and dry in spirit as we lay defeated in the burning sands of the Desert of Death.
The Facts
Bottom line: We must not only sin, but uproot those things which bring us into the near occasion of sin. For most often, we still have affections toward our sinful inclinations, whether we admit it or not. But that’s a great place to start. If the truth will set you free, then perhaps the first truth we should confess to God is the intense attraction we carry toward a particular sin. Simply say, “Lord, I want to follow you, but I am chained” to this or that thing, to this or that sin. That kind of raw honesty is, believe it or not, the first step toward true freedom.
Most of us have to admit that, really, we don’t really trust God’s promises — that what He has in store for us now and in eternity is infinitely better than the dopamine of sin. The ancient Serpent knows our basic condition of weak trust, and will do his best to deceive us into maintaining the status quo rather than see you or I gain a single inch toward true holiness. One tactic is to simply leave us alone for awhile, creating the illusion that we are stronger than we really are. He just sets the snare a little further down the road.
A Warning for All
By the way, this idea of avoiding the near occasion of sin is not a message for only the weak. Even before Adam and Even fell, in their state of perfection, God warned them about the forbidden tree in the Garden. Not only did He say not to eat of it, but…
You shall not… even touch it, lest you die. (Genesis 3:3)
How often do we play with the idea of a sin, convincing ourselves that we won’t “take a bite.” We linger on social media until the algorithms pull us into darkness; we flip through channels on the TV until curiosity snares us; we say we’re just “killing time” when more often than not, we’re killing our souls by a diet of noise and worldliness. Don’t you just want to be free?
For freedom Christ set us free; so stand firm and do not submit again to the yoke of slavery. (Galatians 5:1)
And so, when you leave the Confessional, go home, and smash your idols lest you “even touch” them. For example, if scrolling through Netflix draws you into sin, be deliberate about what you want to watch. If social media drags you into mindless scrolling, don’t open it. If certain foods cause you to indulge, don’t walk down that aisle of the grocery store when you’re hungry. Don’t keep alcohol in your house if you can’t control drinking. Avoid idle, silly, and risqué conversation. Turn away from gossip, including that which poses as “entertainment.” Speak only when necessary — listen more.
If anyone makes no mistakes in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to bridle the whole body also. (James 3:2)
If you have a friend or group that leads you into sinful activities, politely get out of that group.
Do not be led astray: “Bad company corrupts good morals.” (1 Cor 15:33)
Psalm 1 almost sounds tailored for those who are tempted by the wiles of social media:
Happy indeed is the man who follows not the counsel of the wicked; nor lingers in the way of sinners, nor sits in the company of scorners, but whose delight is the law of the Lord and who ponders His law day and night. (Psalm 1:1)
Those algorithms on social media are actually designed to drag us in, to make us addicted. All of this is to say that we have to make some serious choices. St. Pio once said, “The devil is like a rabid dog tied to a chain; beyond the length of the chain he cannot seize anyone. And you: keep at a distance. If you approach too near, you let yourself be caught. Remember that the devil has only one door by which to enter the soul: the will. There are no secret or hidden doors.” We have a choice! (Unless, of course, a person has so submitted their will to a sin that they have an addiction, which at that point may require significant life changes or professional help. But an addiction is not an excuse; that person must still choose freedom or slavery, even if the path is much more difficult). As it says in Sirach:
God in the beginning created human beings and made them subject to their own free choice. If you choose, you can keep the commandments; loyalty is doing the will of God. Set before you are fire and water; to whatever you choose, stretch out your hand. (Sirach 15:14-16)
Self-denial is painful. I think this is what Jesus meant when He said, “If you wish to be my disciple, pick up your cross and follow Me.” And so, we panic, saying to ourselves, “How can I live without that?” But that idea is itself a sign we should pay attention to. Whenever we believe we can’t live without some attachment or sin, then we can be certain we are wrestling with a spiritual stronghold, which requires spiritual weapons:
For, although we are in the flesh, we do not battle according to the flesh, for the weapons of our battle are not of flesh but are enormously powerful, capable of destroying fortresses. We destroy arguments and every pretension raising itself against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive in obedience to Christ…. (2 Corinthians 10:3-6)
The Sacraments, fasting and prayer, the name of Jesus, the sacrifice of praise, and the Word of God are powerful ways to confront fallen angels and their tactics. Just as Jesus recalled Scripture when He was tempted in the desert, constantly remind yourself what you were created for: to “love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.” [1]Mark 12:30 Which is why the first commandment says, “You shall not have other gods beside me.” [2]Deuteronomy 5:7 It’s not because God is trying to withhold fun and pleasure, but keep us from sin and the misery that always follows it.
These are all ways in which we can avoid the near occasion of sin. And we must, if we are to win the “spiritual battle.”
The Narrow Road
Still, what I’ve described above is a defensive posture. The surest way to avoid sin is to be attentive to what we’re doing and to follow the Will of God, moment by moment. God’s Will consists of pathways running through the Land of Life, a rugged landscape of raw beauty with hidden streams, shaded groves, and breathtaking vistas which eventually lead to the Summit of Union with God. Satan wants you to think Christianity is a bore. It’s an adventure!
Yet, these paths are the narrow roads of faith.
Enter by the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few. (Matt 7:13)
Can you see how radical Christ is calling you to be?
Come out of the world — Come out of Babylon. Let the illusion be shattered. Let the truth set you free: sin is a lie. Let a Divine Fire burn within your heart. The fire of love. Imitate Me. Follow the saints. Be holy as the Lord is holy!
We must see ourselves as “strangers and sojourners”… this world is not our home. Even the most beautiful and holy things on earth are passing. But what we are leaving behind is nothing compared to what God has in store for those who take these paths of His Will. God cannot be outdone in generosity! He has joys beyond expression awaiting us, which we can even now experience through faith.
What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man conceived, what God has prepared for those who love him. (1 Cor 2:9)
Finally, this spiritual battle cannot be won without God. Draw near to Him every day in prayer. Let Him infuse your soul with all the graces you need in order to persevere. As our Lord said,
Whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit, because without Me you can do nothing. (John 15:5)
Indeed, as we pray in that Act of Contrition: “I firmly resolve, with the help of Your grace, to sin no more and to avoid the near occasion of sin.”
Related Reading
The Great Refuge and Safe Harbour
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