A little girl is alone at her home. She opens the cupboard and finds a box full of sweets. She is now tempted to eat a sweet. This is temptation. When she is tempted, she is likely to have chosen any of the two things; Either she might yield to the temptation and steal the sweet without the knowledge of her mother which is a sin; or she may resist the temptation and not steal the sweet which is a good act. Look at the huge difference between the temptation and sin.

Temptation is just an urge towards sin. If we yield to that urge, we end up committing sin. On the other hand, if we resist it, we do a good act. A bad thought comes to your mind. Thinking of an immoral action, you are induced to take pleasure in that. This is temptation. Now you might do any of the two things. Either you may willingly give room for such evil thought. That is, you like such thought and crave to retain it in your mind. You are inducing yourself into thinking more and more of it and seek to find pleasure in that. If you do so you are committing sin. Or you may resist such immoral thought. That is, you don't like to keep that thought in your mind but try your best to remove it. If that is the case, you have resisted the temptation, thereby doing a commendable act. However what happens often is, even when you try to erase a bad thought from your mind, it stays in your mind and however hard you try, it doesn't go away.

Therefore you think that you have committed sin. Not at all. It is only when you decide wholeheartedly to retain the bad thought in your mind and to think more and more of it, that you really commit sin. There was a virtuous lady. Once an immoral thought came to her mind.

However hard she tried, it did not leave her mind but kept returning. It stayed in her mind for a very long time. Finally when it left her mind, she beseeched our God and asked, 'O Jesus, where have you been all along?'. Our Lord replied calmly, 'I have been in your heart only'. That saintly lady asked further, 'What Lord! Were you in my heart! Then why did such bad thought come to my mind?'. Our Lord replied 'Calm down. Though you were continually tormented by the temptation, you did not yield to it and you have not committed sin'. She again asked, 'Still my Lord, what were you doing in my heart?'. Our Lord said 'I watched you struggling against those bad thoughts. I was very glad to find you not yielding to them. It was I who gave you the strength to resist them'. Therefore even if bad thoughts linger in your mind for a long time, if you don't yield to them, you are not committing sin. On the other hand, you have pleased Jesus by doing the virtuous act of resisting such bad thoughts. However though you don't give room for bad thoughts that come to your mind on many occasions, you are slightly lethargic in dismissing them. You are not making adequate efforts. On such occasions, you should not confess 'I have harbored bad thoughts' but it is sufficient to say 'I was slightly negligent in removing bad thoughts from my mind'. Moreover, on certain occasions, doubts may rise in your mind about taking part in the Holy Communion as you might have given room for such bad thoughts or because of some other sins. On such occasions, you should cleanse yourself and you can take part in the Holy Communion with fear of God. Therefore with complete placidity and gladness you may take part in the bread which unifies with the body of Christ and drink in His cup which unifies with His blood. It is good to do so. Lord Jesus Christ will strengthen you.