Читать книгу Catholicism For Dummies - Rev. Kenneth Brighenti - Страница 61

Concupiscence is the inclination of the human soul toward evil. It’s a consequence of the wounds created by the sin of Adam and Eve, which every human being inherits, and is called Original Sin. The wound in human nature that took place immediately was the darkening of the intellect, the weakening of the will, and the disordering of the lower passions and emotions:

 Darkening of the intellect: This wound is the reason many times we can’t see clearly the right path to take even though it’s right under our nose, so to speak. Sometimes, our wounded human nature clouds our intellect’s ability to see with precision the proper course to take. Often, we need good advice, counsel, and perhaps even fraternal correction to compensate when our minds are unable to digest the situation, or we find it difficult to figure out the proper solution to our problem.

 Weakening of the will: Even if our mind knows what to do, we lack the patience or courage to see it through. An addict needs to quit and knows the drugs he takes are killing him, but his will is so weak that he can’t just say no. Ask anyone who’s on a diet or trying to quit smoking how hard it is. The intellect knows the body can do better, but the will is too weak to hang in there and do what needs to be done.

 The disordering of the senses: This phenomenon occurs when our emotions override or overcome our reason. Anger, lust, envy, and so on can become so strong and powerful that our minds are blinded to the evil within them. How many sins and crimes have been committed in the heat of anger or lust? Man was not made of stone with no emotions. Jesus had emotions in His human nature. But Original Sin wounded our human nature so that sometimes our emotions are no longer under the immediate control of our intellect.