Nothing Can Separate Us from God
If you want to do something dirty, you must realize that you, in yourself, really want to do it. The false understanding among religious people is that if you want to do something dirty you simply don't do it. But how can you not do something which you want to do? You should be free to say, I want to do this; it is wrong, but I want to do it. That is good mental hygiene. But to convince yourself that you don't want to do what you do want is really a formula for insanity. If you want to do something, the objective thing is to do it. If you're tempted, and resist the temptation, that means that in some way you don't want to do it. But if you're in a state where you want to do it, you can't not want to do what you want to do.
So a false interpretation of all temptation would be to deny the freedom to sin. You have the freedom to sin; that is why it is a sin. If you didn't have that freedom, it wouldn't be a sin. But as a result of a wrong way of thinking, you have to convince yourself you don’t want what you do want. The right solution would be, yes, I do want it; but the other side of the matter is that in Christ you don't want it. Why would a person who wanted to commit sin be so burdened, except that in Christ he doesn't want it?
So we have to see ourselves as objects of faith. If you don’t see yourself this way, you'll hold onto that moralistic doctrine where you're not allowed to sin, or you’ll say there is no sin, which is the way of thinking now.
St. Paul said, "Nothing can separate me from Christ”(Cf Rm 8:38f), but we seem to think that the easiest thing in the world is to be separated from Christ. Yet in the very act of committing a sin you would not necessarily be separating yourself from Jesus if your intention was to be united with Him. You could be acknowledging that here and now this attraction was too much for you. But the most important thing is to realize that nothing can separate you from Christ. You should never abandon yourself to sin, but if you want to do something and do it, then realize that in Jesus you don't want this, so that you're not separated from Him.
"You shall love the Lord your God with your whole heart, your whole mind, your whole soul." (Mt 22:38; Mk 13:30; Lk 10:27) If you don't stay recollected and so fall into sin, it would be presumptuous to say you didn't commit sin. But in judging yourself, everything would depend, in fact, on whether or not you're loving God with your whole heart and mind; you can't judge just from the sin defined according to the objective point of view. If you're trying to love God with your whole being, and you fall into sin, God would have to be a monster to let you be separated. If you desire to be united with Jesus always, that desire isn't destroyed by that weakness.
The only way to overcome concupiscence is to have your whole heart in God. If your need for love is not resolved in God, it is going to gravitate to the flesh. Ask yourself if your whole conscience hasn't been developed in this way. If you don't have the habit of cleaving to Jesus, why would you do it at the moment of death? You’ll die the way you live; if your whole intention in life is to be united with Jesus, you’ll die that way. Remember that we have two natures much as Jesus had: what we are in ourselves and what we are in him. If you look at the Holy Eucharist, you're inclined to say it is a piece of bread. Only by faith can you say that it is Jesus. In the same way, you must look at yourself with the eye of faith. If you spend your whole day seeking to be united with Jesus, then you have the right to believe that whatever you do: nothing can separate you, and the proof of it would be what you would do afterwards. A sinner isn't sorry; the only thing he is sorry about is that the sin didn't last long enough. Materially, you could commit a serious sin because of your bad habits, but the essential thing is that you're united with Jesus, and that is your intention. It is inconceivable that Jesus Christ Who died to save sinners would reject you if that is your intention.
If God is omnipotent and we don't want to sin, why would He permit it? The only reason is that God wants to show us what we are in ourselves. He wants to undermine our faith in our own integrity in ourselves, in order to make us believe in our holiness in Jesus.
So a false interpretation of all temptation would be to deny the freedom to sin. You have the freedom to sin; that is why it is a sin. If you didn't have that freedom, it wouldn't be a sin. But as a result of a wrong way of thinking, you have to convince yourself you don’t want what you do want. The right solution would be, yes, I do want it; but the other side of the matter is that in Christ you don't want it. Why would a person who wanted to commit sin be so burdened, except that in Christ he doesn't want it?
So we have to see ourselves as objects of faith. If you don’t see yourself this way, you'll hold onto that moralistic doctrine where you're not allowed to sin, or you’ll say there is no sin, which is the way of thinking now.
St. Paul said, "Nothing can separate me from Christ”(Cf Rm 8:38f), but we seem to think that the easiest thing in the world is to be separated from Christ. Yet in the very act of committing a sin you would not necessarily be separating yourself from Jesus if your intention was to be united with Him. You could be acknowledging that here and now this attraction was too much for you. But the most important thing is to realize that nothing can separate you from Christ. You should never abandon yourself to sin, but if you want to do something and do it, then realize that in Jesus you don't want this, so that you're not separated from Him.
"You shall love the Lord your God with your whole heart, your whole mind, your whole soul." (Mt 22:38; Mk 13:30; Lk 10:27) If you don't stay recollected and so fall into sin, it would be presumptuous to say you didn't commit sin. But in judging yourself, everything would depend, in fact, on whether or not you're loving God with your whole heart and mind; you can't judge just from the sin defined according to the objective point of view. If you're trying to love God with your whole being, and you fall into sin, God would have to be a monster to let you be separated. If you desire to be united with Jesus always, that desire isn't destroyed by that weakness.
The only way to overcome concupiscence is to have your whole heart in God. If your need for love is not resolved in God, it is going to gravitate to the flesh. Ask yourself if your whole conscience hasn't been developed in this way. If you don't have the habit of cleaving to Jesus, why would you do it at the moment of death? You’ll die the way you live; if your whole intention in life is to be united with Jesus, you’ll die that way. Remember that we have two natures much as Jesus had: what we are in ourselves and what we are in him. If you look at the Holy Eucharist, you're inclined to say it is a piece of bread. Only by faith can you say that it is Jesus. In the same way, you must look at yourself with the eye of faith. If you spend your whole day seeking to be united with Jesus, then you have the right to believe that whatever you do: nothing can separate you, and the proof of it would be what you would do afterwards. A sinner isn't sorry; the only thing he is sorry about is that the sin didn't last long enough. Materially, you could commit a serious sin because of your bad habits, but the essential thing is that you're united with Jesus, and that is your intention. It is inconceivable that Jesus Christ Who died to save sinners would reject you if that is your intention.
If God is omnipotent and we don't want to sin, why would He permit it? The only reason is that God wants to show us what we are in ourselves. He wants to undermine our faith in our own integrity in ourselves, in order to make us believe in our holiness in Jesus.