Temptation (Catholic Encyclopedia article)
Joseph Delany · 1913
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Description
Temptation, from Latin tentare, to try or test, is taken here as an incitement to sin. It may come by persuasion or by some offered good. It may be merely external, as in Christ's desert encounter after forty days of fasting. It may also be internal, a real assault on a person's will power. It sometimes springs from the propensity to evil left by original sin. Sometimes the Devil supplies it, stirring the soul's lower powers.
Temptation is not itself sin. However vivid the image or strong the inclination, without consent of the will there is no sin. Sin in any grade is a deliberate act of the will. Attack is not surrender, a comfort for souls mistaking fierce assaults for falls. Temptations are fought by avoiding occasions, by prayer, and by humble distrust of self with confidence in God. Sometimes the best resistance is indirect, turning attention elsewhere.
Catalog record
| CREATOR | Joseph Delany |
|---|---|
| YEAR | 1913 |
| COLLECTION | REFERENCE |
| FORMAT | TXT |
| FILE SIZE | 2 KB |
| LICENSE | PUBLIC_DOMAIN |
| RIGHTS | PUBLIC DOMAIN |
| SOURCE | New Advent — Catholic Encyclopedia (1913) |