TENTAZIONE. – In general, this means an experiment, through words or deeds, to discover the virtues or defects of a thing or person. Considered in itself, moralists divide it according to the virtues to which it is opposed. According to the purpose and intention of the person who practices it, it is distinguished into t. of trial and t. of seduction.
I. T. DI DIO. — This occurs when man wishes to put God to the test, and consists in a word or deed by which, without sufficient reason, he tests whether God exists, or whether he possesses and exercises a perfection. It originates in a lack of faith, doubt, or presumption. Since it is an irreverence toward God, it is a sin of omission against the virtue of religion (v.), although, by reason of its motive, it is also faith (v.), prudence, and charity toward oneself and others. It is explicit when the existence of God or one of his attributes is expressly put to the test, as when one asks him for a miracle to confirm his power. It is implicit when one performs an action or neglects something, hoping for an extraordinary divine intervention. Such were the judgments of God (tardale) and the medieval duels. The explicit form is always a mortal sin. It becomes venial only through the imperfection of the act. The implicit form is a mortal sin, but admits of slight matter. Ignorance and inadvertence lessen the gravity of this sin.
II. THE TEMPTATION OF MAN
It is an incitement to evil that may be grave or slight, with regard to its object and intensity; internal or external, according to its cause. If temptation comes from without, in order to be effective it must act upon the imagination and the sensitive appetite of the subject.God, supreme goodness, cannot incite us to evil: «when one is tempted, let him not say: it is God who tempts me, for God cannot be tempted by evil, and he himself tempts no one» (Iac. 1, 13), but in his infinite wisdom he permits it, giving Grace to overcome it (I Cor. 10, 13). The true causes, which often act together, thereby making temptation more effective, are: the devil, the world, and concupiscence. Not all temptations come directly from the devil, yet he is often their author, and Sacred Scripture calls him the tempter par excellence (I Thess. 3, 5; Mt. 4, 3). Diabolical temptations take effect for the most part within man. The devil has limited power, according to divine permission, nor can he determine the free will to sin. He acts upon the intellect and the will through the sensory faculties, arousing in the senses, and especially in the imagination, representations that excite the passions. He disturbs the soul with feelings of rebellion against God, despair, hatred, vengeance, etc., and makes use of the evil incitements of the world and of fallen nature.
Although all things are good, they may nevertheless be a cause of sin insofar as they entice man’s passions, and man, deviating from the right order, desires such goods contrary to the moral law. The term world, however, as a true cause of temptation, designates in Sacred Scripture (Io. 15, 18-19; 16, 8, 33; 17, 9-16, etc.) those who live far from God and, through perverse examples, doctrines, and counsels, drive others toward evil.
Of temptations, the principal cause, through which the others become effective, is concupiscence, called the tinder of sin, because it originates in sin and inclines toward it (Conc. trid., sess. V, can. 5). It consists in the imbalance between the lower and higher parts, insofar as the sensitive appetite tends toward the forbidden object, anticipating or opposing the judgment of reason. Because of the close union between the sensitive and spiritual faculties, therefore, the will is delayed in attaining the good and is impelled toward evil. The will, a spiritual power, is moved by the passions of the sensitive appetite only indirectly. For if one power is intensely applied to an act, the others are weakened or impeded. Thus, as the movements of the sensitive appetite intensify, those of the will are weakened or impeded. Moreover, the right judgment of reason is obstructed by the disordered activity of the imagination, which vividly represents the attractions of the object that entices the senses. Through such seductive representations, the intellect is led to consider the good aspect of the forbidden object and, withdrawing from consideration of the law, approves it and presents it to the will, which consents and determines to desire II.
Moral principles. — It is not a sin to feel temptation, but to consent to II. In the development of temptation, three phases must be distinguished: suggestion, delight, and consent, although this is often difficult because of the intimate psychological process. Sin occurs only in consent, which consists in the free act of the will adhering to evil. Now suggestion and delight may be independent of the will. Suggestion is in fact the simple presentation of evil, made by the imagination and the intellect to the will; the delight and sensory emotion that naturally follow it are not deliberate, since the sensitive appetite necessarily tends toward its object and, having attained it, takes delight in II. If the will does not disapprove but takes pleasure in it, voluntary adherence begins; this is consummated with consent, and there is internal sin, of thought, mortal or venial according to the matter. Desire is added to thought, and from desire one passes to execution, the sin of deed.
The more vehement the involuntary passion, the more responsibility is diminished. If it reaches such intensity as to remove the use of reason, it destroys the voluntary act. The will, yielding to temptation, is weakened and subsequently falls more easily, because through the repetition of evil acts it acquires habits, called vices.
Every man, however perfect, experiences temptations according to circumstances, temperament, character, education, environment, and the divine designs. Although troublesome and grave, temptations may be useful to the soul as a means of mortification, purification, and spiritual progress, providing the exercise of virtues and the acquisition of merits.
Before temptation arises, man must remain vigilant in order to avoid its occasions and pray with confidence and humility (Mt. 26, 41; Pt. 5, 8). It is not lawful, without just cause and rashly, to provoke or expose oneself to temptation, which is a danger of sin. If a man, although able to avoid it, performs an action that he foresees will be a source of temptation for him, he is guilty of it in its cause, according to his foresight. During temptation it is not lawful to remain passive. Although involuntary suggestion and the natural delight that follows it are not sins, they are nevertheless dangerous, because the will finds itself solicited toward evil. Therefore, in order not to expose oneself to the danger of consenting, one must reject temptation promptly from the outset. One must resist through contrary acts; but if these intensify the temptation, indirect resistance is sufficient, that is, the use of the means most suitable for overcoming II.