Today's readings are here: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/020812.cfm
"From within the man, from his heart, come evil thoughts...."
I do not think it is by accident that the first sin Jesus mentions in the list of sins that flow from our heart is evil thoughts. Evil thoughts are first because every sin begins with them. Before an evil deed is done, an evil thought is thought.
Since an evil thought precedes an evil deed, it is imperative that we begin to resist the evil thought, by turning to God in prayer, as soon as we are aware of it. If we nip the impure thought in the bud right away, it will not get its claws in us and produce a sinful action. Conversely, if we flirt with the impure thought, it will be harder to resist and will, more than likely, give birth to a sinful deed.
We must keep in mind that we have no control over the thoughts that just pop up in our minds. We are in control, however, over what we do with those thoughts once they appear in our minds. We can entertain them or prayerfully resist them. Martin Luther has been quoted as saying that we cannot keep the birds from flying over our heads, but we can keep them from building a nest in our hair.
May God keep us awake to our inner life so that we will recognize evil thoughts right away and turn to him as our rock and sure defense.
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