IMITATION OF CHRIST: meditation of the day...

RESISTING TEMPTATION (part one)

SO LONG as we live in this world we cannot escape suffering and temptation. Whence it is written in Job: "The life of man upon earth is a warfare." (Job 7:1) Everyone, therefore, must guard against temptation and must watch in prayer lest the devil, who never sleeps but goes about seeking whom he may devour, find occasion to deceive him. (stay on your knees)

No one is so perfect or so holy but he is sometimes tempted; man cannot be altogether free from temptation. (pray and sacrifice for yourself and others always)

Yet temptations, though troublesome and severe, are often useful to a man, for in them he is humbled, purified, and instructed. The saints all passed through many temptations and trials to profit by them, while those who could not resist became reprobate and fell away. (beg God for wisdom,purity, and self-control)

There is no state so holy, no place so secret that temptations and trials will not come. Man is never safe from them as long as he lives, for they come from within us -- in sin we were born. (don't ever let your guard down)

When one temptation or trial passes, another comes; we shall always have something to suffer because we have lost the state of original blessedness. (offer up your small trials to help you prepare for the big ones)

Many people try to escape temptations, only to fall more deeply. We cannot conquer simply by fleeing, but by patience and true humility we become stronger than all our enemies. (embrace the little crosses to gain strength for the big ones)

The man who only shuns temptations outwardly and does not uproot them will make little progress; indeed they will quickly return, more violent than before.
Little by little, in patience and long-suffering you will overcome them, by the help of God rather than by severity and your own rash ways. (rejoice small victories!!!)

Often take counsel when tempted; and do not be harsh with others who are tempted, but console them as you yourself would wish to be consoled. (our children or those who need our comfort)