St. Mary of the Assumption

Maple Park, Illinois

In today’s Gospel reading we hear Jesus say, I tell you, unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven [Matthew 5:20].  The scribes and Pharisees were very concerned about following the Law of God, but their sin seems to have been demanding that the letter of the law be followed even when the spirit of the law required something more.

Jesus was concerned about what was in our human hearts.  He is interested in the roots of our sins.  He looks below the surface of our behavior and pointed out ways in which what is in our hearts can lead us to break the Commandments. 

That’s why He says that if you feed on anger and hatred toward your neighbor, it’s just like murdering him or her.  It’s why he says that if a man just looks with lust at a woman, he has already committed adultery with her. The roots of sin are found in sinful desires, which make it easy to blossom into sinful actions.

Of course, our embarrassing or shameful desires will not always end up in sinful actions.  But they can slow down our growth or deaden our desire to grow in the love God asks of us, namely self-giving, disinterested love. 

Take, for example, the issue of pornography, a major spiritual crisis in our day and a sin against the Sixth and Ninth Commandments.  People rationalize watching pornography by saying, “it doesn’t harm anyone; I’m just looking, not doing anything to anyone.”  But we know that isn’t true.  There are a number of harmful effects of consistent viewing of pornography.

Pornography easily becomes an addiction, because it stirs up a chemical in the body connected with pleasure.  That addiction in turn has often damaged the emotional and physical bond between marriage partners, since normal human beings usually cannot match up to the glamorous pornographic sights and therefore become less desirable.  The addiction can deaden the desire for prayer and for union with God.  Another effect of pornography is its ability to strengthen unhealthy self-centeredness in its viewers, who use the images of pornography without any relationship or concern for the well-being of those they are viewing.  People shown in pornographic films and views are often victims of abuse or coercion.  It has been revealed that many sexual predators have fed on pornography to stoke the fires of their perverted activity.  Pornography is obviously not a “harmless” industry.

Given these effects and the concern of Jesus about the contents of the human heart, there is no doubt that He views pornography as a serious sin.  Like all sin, of course, He forgives those who seek forgiveness.  Having an addiction does not turn God’s love away from us or make us bad people, but out-of-control addictions can block us from receiving His love.  So He calls us to search our hearts, to repent and change our sinful habits. 

The good news is that the addiction to pornography can be treated just as addictions to alcohol, drugs or any other addiction can be treated.  It is for our benefit to seek for ourselves, or any one who struggles with pornography, the help needed to block its control over us.