Concupiscence

We have to be familiar with this phenomenon. There’s such a thing as concupiscence which is a certain attraction we have toward evil. No matter how much we try to be good we have within ourselves this attraction which we will carry all throughout our life. We have to learn how to deal with it.

Nowadays, this attraction toward evil is very obvious not only in the personal level but also in the world level. Just look at the talk shows and the other shows in the media, for one.

All sorts of perversion are no longer hidden. They are now shamelessly shown, stoutly justified, promoted, and spread all over. What we see are the many forms of pride, greed, lust, envy, gluttony, wrath, and sloth. The worst cut is when people seem to lose already the sense of sin. They have redefined what is good and evil.

While it’s true our Christian baptism erased both the original sin, and to those who happen to be baptized as an adult having already committed a lot of sins, the personal sins, the scar of these sins still remain with us and can act up anytime.

We are already warned about this in the Bible. “For all that is in the world is the concupiscence of the flesh, and the concupiscence of the eyes, and the pride life, which is not of the Father, but is of the world.” (1 Jn 2,16)

I am sure our personal experiences can validate this. That’s why St. John told us we are all sinners. “If we confess our sins, He (Christ) is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness,” St. John said. “If we say we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar, and his word is not in us.” (1 Jn 1,9-10)

We should not be surprised anymore at this disturbing condition of ours. Ours is simply to learn and develop the art of spiritual combat and warfare. We need to have the skills of ascetical struggle, submitting ourselves to stricter discipline and greater toughness.

This does not mean we have to harden ourselves to become inhuman, losing our sensitivity and the capacity to be tender, affectionate, understanding, and merciful. Neither should we fail to ask for forgiveness if we commit some error or sin.

We have to learn how to say no to temptations, to discipline our weaknesses, to discern the cunning ways of the world and the devil. This is how we can handle the burden of our built-in concupiscence.

That is why we need to submit ourselves to a lifelong and daily program of sacrifices and mortification. Christ himself told us very clearly. “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.” (Mt 16,24)

We should do whatever is necessary to be faithful to Christ, no matter what it takes. “If your hand or your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life maimed or crippled than to have two hands or two feet and be thrown into eternal fire.” (Mt 18,8)

We should realize that whatever we seem to give out and lose in the struggle is more than amply rewarded not only in the end, but even at the moment of the struggle.

Remember Christ telling us clearly, “Whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it.” (Mt 16,25)