Devotions  from Haase’s book, Living the Lord’s Prayer

As we pray, Lead us not into temptation, we acknowledge that we all experience temptation that comes in different degrees but is always enticing and seductive.  We often rationalize and justify our actions when we yield to the temptation.
John Cassian, describes 8 thoughts Satan confronts us with in our spiritual lives. They point toward our obsession with self- concern, self- image, self-preservation and self-gratification.

1.. Food and self-control ! We don’t realize how our comfort food often disguises our discomfort and represses painful emotions.  Food can become a form of self-medication. Even hoarding food can point to a lack of trust in the loving care of God. The saving virtue or discipline for food is self-control.

2.  Sex and chastity!  Thoughts of sex can ignite the passion of lust and entice us to make selfish decisions etc.  The saving virtue of chastity reveres physical boundaries as well as attitudes.   Our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit

3. Things and generosity!  When our lives are bloated with superficial things it betrays a deep spiritual hunger that is being improperly nourished with junk food. The virtue of generosity counteracts thoughts of greed.

4. Anger and patience!  Anger is our knee-jerk reaction to unfulfilled desires or unmet expectations. We lose our peace when we stoke the fires of anger.  The virtue of patience is the deliberate, measured response of an accepting heart that allows a situation to unfold in its own way.

Maybe I will write the next 4 for tomorrow as these 4 things give us enough to think about.