Lust and Adultery in the Heart

In this video, Dr. Pitre discusses Jesus' teaching on Adultery in the Sermon on the Mount. What is required for one to have committed adultery in their heart? Elsewhere in the Sermon on the Mount, what about Jesus' use of hyperbole to deliver his teaching on maintaining custody of the eyes and body?
To learn more about this passage, and for all Sunday Masses, subscribe today to The Mass Readings Explained:
catholicproductions.com/pages...
For more Bible studies by Dr. Pitre, visit:
catholicproductions.com/colle...
Commons Images used:
commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi...
Yelkrokoyade [Public domain]
commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi...
Jan Brueghel the Elder [Public domain]
commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi...
Cosimo Rosselli [Public domain]

[@rubenmartinez4346]

I Can testify that the rosary and a devotion to our blessed mother helps tremendously.

[@venom24678]

Very true

[@ireneusjustinpolicarp8628]

Brown scapular too.

[@glennlanham6309]

@@ireneusjustinpolicarp8628 I do both but not helping enough....prayers??

[@glennlanham6309]

@@ireneusjustinpolicarp8628 I am a former Marian (no joke) so I know them all well, I am fully consecrated to the VM, even though Father Don has been bugging me I haven't bought his St. Joseph book yet....I just got back from Poland with his 206 Tour group...

[@glennlanham6309]

@@ireneusjustinpolicarp8628 go to 206 Tours site and "Pilgrimage to Poland " and they have 7 or 8 videos of our trip...

[@Kitiwake]

I say a simple prayer. "The blood of Christ wash over me". The thought goes away immediately.

[@munenex]

My neighbor has a beautiful wife who really tempts me such that I am making deliberate efforts to avoid her at all costs. I pray for God's deliverance so that I do not fall into sin.

[@katkat2340]

Frimmbits fight for your lifr

[@reneepoudrier7065]

You don't FALL into sin. You CHOOSE it. Prayers that you choose for God, not evil.

[@nmoriss]

The aftermath does not justify the act. You pay for it in multiples and disproportionately to the act.

[@Gruenders]

MOVE

[@JesusMary_I_Loveyousavesouls]

Remember Potipher's wife and Joseph how she tempted him but he didn't give consent to sin. Then remember David and Bathsheba and the troubles that followed David after he committed the sin. Therefore pray always that you will not fall into sin for the moment you fall into it you will be in very dip pit and if necessary just tell her off

[@jackiestarrs7554]

That's been my theory all along. The original Sin was in the heart before it was actually acted upon outwardly.

[@LeftenantMalachi]

Great explanation. This is VERY hard to do for us men in this day and age. Saying the 3 Hail Mary's for purity every day helps a lot, or a binding prayer.

[@johnhora4644]

@Anthony Louis Anthony, actually the 3 hail Mary devotion is centuries old used by most all the early devotees to the Vigin Mary. Especially St. Louis De Monfort. Go to KZbin, Sensus Fidelium, type in "three Hail Mary's devotion".

[@pepemcpepe]

@Antonio L People can do both

[@tomasmurcu]

Dr Brant Pitre is the best explainer out there. Every video is pure illumination

[@theFormidable1]

This is the hardest teaching EVER that will damn almost every man, especially in our modern times with the culture and internet bombarding males even from childhood. This is the ultimate struggle and I believe maybe the thorn in St. Pauls side...

[@port_maurice]

But what damns women? There must be more men in hell

[@theFormidable1]

@@port_maurice I'm assuming the way they dress and seduce men with their beauty? You know like how Eve persuaded Adam...

[@jasonsamuel6601]

@@theFormidable1 stop adding your own opinion as to the word of god

[@terriekraybill9724]

This is a big problem, but saying that "almost every man" will be damned is taking it too far. Look to mercy and the love of God as well.

[@johnmccarthy742]

Thank you for this as it is an area that troubles my conscience and I expect I am not alone.

[@glennlanham6309]

www.sa.org

[@marcokite]

you're not

[@katkat2340]

Our heart is the seat of the soul, the place you choose. Jesus is showing us how to avoid evil , disorder, it’s a literal heart attack in your life. Don’t entertain the devil, pray for all God gives you.

[@davidpaulmichaelde]

The very best explanation on this subject.

[@thatwas3917]

Thank you.

[@jeevandsilva]

Very good explanation regarding this matter

[@rockymdee4839]

Thank you

[@deogratias273]

It's really helpful to know that kardia is the seat of the will

[@FaithFarmClips]

Amen brother.

[@MLeoM]

Your 3rd like and first comment by me 😊 Keep uploading the videos.... I love your channel...

[@glennlanham6309]

about to do my part to do whatever it takes, headed to Nashville in April for treatment of out-of-control you know what.....

[@glennlanham6309]

one thumbs down says he needs to go to confession...

[@NewNoise1]

So many pretty women in LA. This is tough.

[@Nathan00at78Uuiu]

What about consenting to the lustful thought, but if given the opportunity we wouldn't act on it. So we might wish we could act on it but we feel we are deprived of some pleasure we wish we could partake of but since God says it is not right we don't act on it if given the opportunity. This seems still like there is some level of purification needed and some culpability.

[@binyamin3716]

There is an excerpt from st bridget regarding dirty thoughts where god says we get it so that we dont become puffed up with pride claiming equality with angelic beings ..and everytime we struggle to avoid it for the love of god and succeed in avoidong dirty thoughts by his grace we merit from it....

[@sgc603]

Dr Pitre which Bible translation do you use and recommend? Thank you.

[@rahulshubh8103]

What Jesus pbuh said was to lower ur gaze

[@michaelgreene5703]

@the formiddable1 right on brother in christ a big big struggle for me we are bombarded with sexual content in these times pray for me and all men women too

[@Carbivore67]

So is it a mortal sin if someone sees an attractive person and looks at their body for a few seconds, you know, checking them out?

[@jeffwise8194]

Any man who looks at a woman in lust has already sinned in his heart. What about the woman? Can a women sin in her heart also? Strange how those who have and don't have, have to draw a line in the sand. Those of us who are single the urge never leaves us. But we have to say no while others enjoy a free pass. We can't even beat off in peace.

[@johnhora4644]

Dr. Pitre just curious, did you actually look at the original Greek translation to see how CHRIST was inferring this scripture verse(ie:"pluck it out"). As you know the English translation for hell has 3 different meanings in the original languages depending on how they are used in the scripture verse. Thanks my brother.

[@alephtav4254]

Letters of St. Paul give answers about this.. Truly how wicked KINGs in all countries fall to this and emperors of Romans are before how much more ordinary people are.. Truly without GOD righteousness we are nothing in this kind of Temptation of the Devil his lies are seem right, his deception seems looking attractive to anyone, seems Right but it leads Man to Fail and emptiness.. God always provide help and His Holy Spirit guidea and protect us from evil devices of evil.. His Holy Gospel could fill the needs and keep us out from wickedness of this World.. In days with GOD all of this evil that cause shame and guilt will be gone soon.. Thankful to Avah Yeshua on that Cross He took and redeemed US from curse of sins to first Human Failures and wickedness.. We are Free indeed through our Jesus Christ by his Blood we are Healed and saved.. Amen

[@lukewagner8871]

Titus 2:11-15 KJVS [11] For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, [12] Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; [13] Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; [14] Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works. [15] These things speak, and exhort, and rebuke with all authority. Let no man despise thee.

[@alephtav4254]

Lust+Desire= Sin Evil Spirit leads you to make Sin Jesus heals everything.. And he never Condemns GO and SIN no more

[@gloriamosure9184]

Can love and lust be confused with each other? Had the problem.

[@adventureinallthings]

Thanks for that , Ok so we are told as faithful Catholic and with Theology of the Body etc that it is normal ( nay good even)for you, as a single person, to look forward to and be excited about enjoying God’s gifts of sexual intimacy within marriage BUT that these good desires can quickly become sinful if we turn them into lust, or use them with the wrong person at the wrong time. Ok granted, but that raises an interesting question I have never received a good answer to. We have all heard the standard answer about what separates a non sexual thought from a sinful one with that standard story about how we can't stop the birds flying over our heads but we can stop them building a next in our hair and yes that makes sense in a certain way we can all relate to. We can clearly dwell on something sexual for too long and let lust in BUT ... . This analogy like all analogys at some point fails and that is where I'd like some guidance. How can a single human being come to terms and control their sexual drive without ever ... Well I suppose for want of a better way of putting it... (Considering it, experiencing it, thinking about it, examining it and what it is) . To bring it to a practical issue. Sexual desire for a prospective marital partner IS a fundamental thing that must be considered but there does not seem to be any way of engaging with a sexual thought even towards a legitimate fiance before marriage that within one nano second will turn into lust because to think sexualy about another person outside the constraints of marriage ( and actually married ) is a sin even if you intend 100 % to be married as until the marriage ceremony has taken place you cannot call that other person truly ' yours ' . We all start out as sexual beings as teens when sexual thoughts first appear but how else can we possibly have any idea or make sense of these sexual thoughts and drives without actually experiencing them ( but any attempt to honestly experience them will obviously overwhelm anybody ) it seems a genuinely impossible task. This is why I can't make sense if the sentence I opened with above about ' a healthy sexual drive in single people ' , I'd like some honest and hopefully insightful responses. Please don't reply with stuff I've read a million times before , such as for example ' prayer ' ( I believe in prayer but I've found all it can do it help stop any sexual thoughts and while that is helpful for a time it can't last forever and does not help with this idea if incorporating a healthy sexuality and desire as a single person, it just removes it for a time ) or some explanation of how love and lust differ ( I understand that but as some point if I may be frank ... Love by itself does not make blood flow into the nether regions so sexual desire in all it's raw form is still relevant ) so what I'm really hoping for is some different take or explanation from a Catholic perspective to help me make sense of this. Really hoping someone has something to say on this I've never heard before. Just a point of information, this is not written by someone looking for an out , I fully except all Catholic doctrine and teaching, (no If's no but's ) and realise it's something one must suffer through and bear , however I think I'd be more at peace if teaching was ' sexual thoughts or feelings must never be entertained in any shape or form unless already married ' but that's not what is taught and I'm somehow supposed to be able to be excited about enjoying god's gift of sex within marriage now without ever somehow dealing with it or coming to terms with it. ????

[@tar0286]

damn we need someone to answer this Jonathon please please, going through the same thing and Timothy Gordon was the only one to give a some way decent answer on it in his video on Catholic dating with his wife about 1:17:41 into the video still nothing definite, it’s actually still left quite subjective unfortunately for us

[@TF80s]

if we desire someone who we can't have, can we receive Holy Communion? If we admit to ourselves that we would take things further if we could even if there's no way it could happen, is that mortal sin? I don't think l could resist if the opportunity presented itself to be with a person l am strongly attracted to so with that knowledge, should l never receive Our Lord in Holy Communion?

[@adventureinallthings]

@@tar0286 you didn't post the video link

[@crossthered]

I just don`t believe people would be sexually attracted to others than their spouse if church etc. teachings didn`t condemn it. Attraction is based on going beyond whats allowed. Should we say condemnation creates "sin"?

[@ravengwo]

St Paul explained it in Romans 7, 7 - 26

[@tonyhayes9827]

Is Jesus talking about adultery or fornication as well. It's just that people say adultery is a sin but not fornication

[@tonyhayes9827]

I know this. I know what the church teaches and I believe it. But can you draw this conclusion from the above episode in the bible

[@tonyhayes9827]

I know one must read the entire bible to get the whole picture. But I,m just wondering what conclusions you can draw about fornication from the above passage only, without referring to any other passages or church teaching

[@josephjackson1956]

tony hayes with fornication, there is a possibility of pregnancy. Since fornication happens outside the commitment of marriage, there is a temptation to get rid of the pregnancy through abortion, or abandoning the child, which is a bad thing. If fornication happens with contraceptives, then the purpose of having sex in this instance detracts from the life-giving love of the marital act. It would basically be reduced to getting a high from it. The same logic can be applied to masturbation; it detracts from the purpose of the sex organs from life-giving to simply a fix, which is also why both of these things can be considered to be addictive.

[@tonyhayes9827]

@@josephjackson1956 Thanks for reply joseph. Yeah I agree with everything you say. It's always good to hear someone else say it though. I'm just asking if you can infer all this from what Jesus is saying in the above story.

[@Kitiwake]

Trying to understand it yourself or asking on line for guidance is a waste if time The church in it's catechism gives clear guidance on interpretation in this area . Why reinvent the wheel?

[@emilebeetha779]

Whats your opinion here Dr Pitre: The prayerful and exorcists are bombarded with lust demons the most.

[@Boom-tn8kp]

This seems to be one of the most difficult teachings for me to understand 😕. I have read that "lust" is not a good translation of επιθυμώ. The Greek word επιθυμώ is used for the Hebrew word חמד in the Tenth Command in the Septuagint. Essentially our English word for covet. And apparently it goes further because the Hebrew understanding of "covet" carries the connotation of "intent." This is something that Dr. Brant Pitre touched on but he combined it with the word lust. However, from what I've heard, the Hebrew understanding of covet does NOT mean lust because Lust does not carry the connotation of intent. Apparently, having strong sexual desires for a woman is not frowned upon in the Greek or Hebrew. It is the intention of acquiring something that is not rightfully yours that is the sin. For example, in modern times we have a crime known as "attempted murder." Even if one's plan fails and the murder is not carried out, that person had the intention to commit murder. That's how I remember it being explained anyway. Full disclosure, these are not my teachings just teachings that I read. I am not sure if they make sense myself. But if this is correct, it would mean that looking at women simply "to check them out" is not επιθυμώ if one has no intention of committing adultery with them. I'm still not sure about single women though as apparently the Greek word gynē did not distinguish "wife" and "woman." But the word adultery seems to imply that Jesus was speaking of married women. I am hesitant to accept this interpretation because it opens up the door to fantasizing about sex and other things that Christians have traditionally held as immoral. However, I am also not completely sold on the traditional view that a man should not even seek interactions with women that cause him to become aroused. How would dating occur if you can't even go on dates with a woman that brings up those feelings in you. How would a man go about getting married? Back then there were arranged marriages and women showed almost no skin. But now if you go on a date, the women might wear high heels which are designed to accentuate the shape of her legs and feminine posture and she might wear blush which is used to make her appear more fertile (blood flow around her cheeks is a sign of fertility). These are just a few things that would trigger a man to "lust" in the traditional sense. Maybe the first date he can get a pass because it was unexpected but what about the second? What about kissing? I know a Christian man in his 30s who I believe has never even kissed a woman because he claims that it will lead to other sexual desires. For these and many other reasons I am not sure what to make of this teaching.

[@sliglusamelius8578]

Lusting plus planning to obtain a woman sexually outside of marriage is the sin, as you said. Don't overthink it. An unmarried man attracted to a woman and planning to date her is not committing a sin. If he planned to have sex with her outside of marriage, that's a sin.

[@Boom-tn8kp]

@@sliglusamelius8578 I'm a photographer so this has been something that has been really keeping me up at night. I often shoot with beautiful women. Some in bikinis. And I have no intention of fornicating with them but sometimes I do get that male spark of excitement for the opposite sex. And so far I have been justifying it by the interpretation that I previously stated. However, that does not seem to be the traditional view. Traditionally, the act of getting sexually aroused by looking at women has been thought to be "lusting" after them. At least that's what I keep stumbling upon when I search the internet. They'll say things like, "the first look may have been involuntary but the second look is lust." Furthermore, on a personal level I don't feel like it's wrong. I feel like it's healthy for a man to be attracted to the physical beauty of a women. So why not appreciate the beauty of God's creation? In fact, it seems wrong to deny ourselves that as men. But that's what so many Christians say I should do. And maybe they're right. Given Jesus' words and the words in Corinthians it seems like we shouldn't give into our sexual desires in the slightest way, shape, or form. Including the desire to look at a woman if it brings up sexual reactions of the body that is not your wife. But again, this seems counterproductive to me as man was built to find the appearance women sexually stimulating. You can go further and say that God created them naked and at that point everything was good. That is until they sinned and became ashamed. Then the following comes into mind, is nakedness sinful? The Bible only seems to prohibit relatives from looking at each other's nakedness. Also, the Vatican is full of naked images. I read somewhere that that's okay because the images are artistic and not designed to be sexually arousing. But that seems pretty subjective to me. And again, even if the images did result in some sort of sexual gratification, I don't see anything wrong with that in itself. Lastly, I read some Catholic catechist say that it's fine to have sexual desires as long as you don't act on them. But that seems to contradict the traditional view of Jesus' teaching... unless you hold to the view that I stated previously. And yes, I know that I overthink things. I've been battling neuroticism for quite a while and it's gotten to the point where I have difficulty distinguishing it from conviction by the Holy Spirit 😔

[@sliglusamelius8578]

@@Boom-tn8kp You're good! You are obviously a sensitive and caring soul. When I get too scrupulous I laugh at myself, and remind myself that God is not our to " get you" or trap you. He created sexual desire, it's how we get married and have babies. You wouldn't be able to do that without desire! But like all desire or concupiscence, you have to keep it ordered toward the ends that God created you for. You'd have to be brain dead to not be aroused by beautiful women in bikinis. Im married so I don't hang out where women in bikinis hang out. I know my limitations. So check yourself, stay strong, find a holy woman whom you are attracted to, and don't be too hard on yourself. Men are very sexual beings who need to be disciplined.

[@tar0286]

@@Boom-tn8kp brother I am going through this very same battle of finding the answer to this problem of teaching on lust vs sexual desire. I am very confused on the matter & can’t help but feel like I am wrestling with myself and these feelings worrying when they might be landing me in sin. If anyone can help on this God bless you

[@Boom-tn8kp]

@@tar0286 I realized that I suffer from Religious OCD. You should look into it and OCD in general. KZbin is a great place to start

[@wendellmadfinger2358]

But you're not committing that lustful sin unless she or yourselfif you're single and she is single and has never been married this is a completely natural response of attractionor otherwise why would God have put it there in the first place this is where a lot of preachers fail to explain this to and just because I walk down the street and I see a hot-looking woman and I start to have sexual desires for her number one if I'm not married married first number to I don't know if she is but if I find out that she is yes for the sake of all good decency I will recant my feelings towards her through faith of my Godbut if she's not married and I'm not married what's the big deal this is how people get attracted to one and other this is how we go forth and multiply

[@nicolamcostello]

So you are saying we can have lustful thoughts as long as we wouldn't act on them if we could? So I can fantasize sexually all day long as long as I wouldn't act on it physically with a person? You're comments weren't clear.

[@jennymann3704]

What came first the balls or the sack

[@billballoo7881]

And here is why this quote from Matthew doesn't make any sense. What is the definition of adultery? Here you go: "voluntary sexual intercourse between a married person and a person who is not his or her spouse". Ok so what this means is that in order to commit adultery, either you have to married, the other person has to be married OR both of you are already married and you choose to have sex with each other. Now that the definition is out the way, here is why this quote is stupid. "Whoever looks at a woman with lust, has already committed adultery". If I was single and looked at another woman lustfully, who was also single, how can I commit adultery?

[@user-py7hg1eb5m]

Read Mathew 5:25-29

[@billballoo7881]

@@user-py7hg1eb5m I did

[@skellingtonmeteoryballoon]

All bad

[@paulgerard4503]

Jesus was either very odd without feelings or was not made in the normal human condition.

[@ianrobinson8974]

Paul that is an understatement! Jesus was the Son Of God with the Holy Spirit as "His Father" whilst The Father is also our Triune God. They are three persons (personalities?) in the ONE God. Jesus had to become man, born of a human being to redeem humankind. The information is "out there" if you look. The writing of mystic Maria Valtorta will help fill in a wonderful amount of information re Jesus, Mary and the early Church. Check it out! Blessings and peace from the land of Oz.

[@glennlanham6309]

more genius stuff bro...are you a Jehovah's Witness?

[@glennlanham6309]

@@ianrobinson8974 I don't think he's reading ANYTHING Catholic, must less one declared non-supernatural....