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Dear Father Angelo,
I am a 15 year old young man and I have recently become a more practicing believer and have become much closer to God, so let’s say I am learning many things about the Bible, the Church and much more. I just wanted to ask you some things.

1. Unfortunately I have atheist friends who swear most of the time and have perverted minds, this makes me feel bad because thanks to their behaviour too many bad and dirty thoughts enter my head that I absolutely don’t want, if I’m not mistaken it’s not a sin to think about these things without one’s consent, correct me if I’m wrong, I was just asking, how can I immediately get over these perverse thoughts or blasphemies that come to me without my consent because unfortunately I hear them, and how can I make them stop saying these things at least in my presence, I have already told them that I don’t want to hear these things, but they say they can’t restrain themselves.

2. I have a problem with sexual temptation, since I started practicing more, I have started to fall into temptation less and those few times when I did fall, I confessed, the problem is that as I mentioned to you earlier, perverse and bad thoughts always come and tonight after I woke up out of “curiosity” I went to watch a scene from a film that was quite steamy, but I didn’t fall into temptation, I just watched without masturbating, I just wanted to ask if when one watches videos/parts of films in which there is a steamy scene with (unfortunately) deliberate consent, is it a sin? Unfortunately I don’t know why I wanted to see this part of the film but yet I did not act upon my thoughts. 

Thank you very much Father, I’m waiting for your response.

Kind regards,

Priest’s answer

Dearly beloved,
1. I am glad you have become more practicing.
In other words, I am happy that you are with the Lord and that you walk together with Him.
Always keep in mind what Jesus said: “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life” (John 8,12).
You will never regret trusting him.

2. The way some of your companions speak constitutes violence for others. They don’t realize it, but that’s how it is.
From here learn not to do to others what you do not want done to you.

Therefore keep your language always clean.
May this commitment of yours be like an act of spiritual charity towards everyone.
At the same time the Lord asks you to pray for these friends of yours who most likely do not pray either for themselves or for others.

3. Saint Augustin said that prayer is the nourishment of the soul.
And just as when a body is not nourished, it first weakens, then becomes ill, then dies and then goes to putrefaction, so too when our soul is not nourished by God, it easily abandons itself to sin. By dying to the life of grace, it is easy for everything to come out because everyone speaks of the abundance of their heart, as the Lord reminded us in Mt 12,34.

4. It is inevitable that the words you are forced to hear echo in your mind and try to pollute it.
For your part, try to internally say the opposite. 

Thus on the one hand you repair the offense done to God and on the other you sanctify yourself and make yourself well disposed to receive many blessings.

5. On the temptation to which you gave in: although you did not commit impure acts, nevertheless that scene polluted you internally.
If I were you, I would choose to confess for two reasons: first, to be freed from pollution, which easily causes addiction if not promptly rooted; second, to receive the strength of grace to resist every temptation. Thus learn to confess regularly and frequently even just venial sins.
Carlo Acutis had also included weekly confession in the indications he gave for holiness.
How beautiful it would be if there was also this weekly appointment with the Lord in your life.
You would always emerge renewed and strengthened.

Going forward over the years, you will be able to count faithfulness and regularity towards the sacrament of confession among the most beautiful graces received from the Lord. It is an inexhaustible source of graces.
Let us strive for the holiness for which we have been called

I bless you and remember you in prayer

Father Angelo