CUSTODY OF THE EYES
Custodia occulorum, or custody of the eyes, is a practice with a long history, exhorted by St. Francis of Assisi and, in its recent past, used as a penance by those pursuing a rigorous spiritual life. But to the rest of us, it just means holding ourselves accountable for what we choose to look at. As an old saying goes, one I remember almost weekly, "It is easier to put on slippers than it is to carpet the world." I try to adapt it this way, "It is easier to change what I choose to look at, than change everything outside myself that I am able to look at!" However, sometimes you just have to look at things you should not look at. Who can resist, for instance, looking at a car wreck on the highway. You can't seem to resist slowing down to get a better look, even though you know you shouldn't!
Twice on vacation, I have ended up on a "clothing optional beach" unknowingly. Once was on the Dutch island of St. Maarten in the Caribbean and once on the island of Mykonos in Greece. Because of our Puritan background, Americans are obviously more prudish about things like that than people in many other countries. You experience it more in especially in European countries than you do here at home.
The only problem I had with both experiences was who chose to parade around naked. If you think it is mainly the young and beautiful, you'd be wrong! The fat, the old, the wrinkled and the ugly seemed to predominate. The more disgusting they were to look at, the more they seemed to parade shamelessly up and down the beach. The more you could not believe your eyes, the more you just had to look! They were what we used to call in the seminary, a "sure cure for concupiscence!"
Here is little lesson from an online theologian. Lust of the eyes speaks to the Ninth and Tenth Commandments. The Ninth Commandment is “Thou Shalt Not Covet your neighbor’s wife.” The Tenth Commandment is “Thou Shalt Not Covet your neighbor’s goods.” The sin of covetousness speaks directly to the “inordinate desire” described by the Seven Deadly Sins. Whereas “lust of the flesh” means overindulging in physical goods, “lust of the eyes” means wanting more than you have, and more than you should. Quite literally, we’re talking about seeing good things and selfishly desiring them. When Jesus teaches “You have heard it said, ‘Do not commit adultery,’ but I tell you that whoever looks at a woman with lust in his heart has already committed adultery with her in his heart,” He is talking about lust of the eyes.
Lust of the eyes also includes the more “advanced” desires for money and possessions. These are “advanced” because they are not naturally attractive to us. We learn to desire these things because of the good they bring into our lives.
The lust of the eyes coincides with the Capital Sins of avarice and envy. Avarice, also known as greed, is the inordinate desire for money and possessions. Envy is the sin of sorrow over the good of another person. It is opposite of love, which is to will the good of the other. Lust of the eyes is a sure sign that we are thinking too much about ourselves and not enough about others.
The main virtue that combats lust of the eyes is therefore modesty. Modesty means thinking less about yourself and drawing less attention to yourself. It is also wise to practice “custody of the eyes.” Literally, this means controlling what you look at. If you’re drawn into selfish daydreams by looking at that boat for sale on the corner, don’t look at it! Make your first thought about how you can help others rather than how you can help yourself.
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