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Father Moses is a rare masculine priest who knows how to speak to men about the troubles they face. Even if I don’t share his faith he is too wise to ignore.
Thank you Jesus that ALL sin...even sexual sin...was forgiven in your death, burial, and resurrection and that God no.longer sees our sins under the blood of Jesus Christ. Sin has been delt with once and for all. That's the best news to help anyone struggling with any addiction. God no longer has a remembrance of our sins because of Jesus who purged them, once and for all. Hallelujah!!!!!
One thing I've learned is that this desire sometimes feels like an "itch" you need scratch but in reality the more you scratch that itch the stronger it gets, instead of going away. It seems counterintuitive but the only way to let that desire go away is to not entertain it. Stop putting logs on the fire and the fire will eventually die out.
God made us sexual beings. Sex is an expression and a means of creating relational wholeness with a woman and it's literally a depiction of heaven. God wants us to enjoy that so that desire will never actually go away.
Unfortunately, I was addicted from about the age 12 all the way to 27, which was when it clicked that the world described in the Bible is the world we live in and it is true. I had an overwhelming feeling of the biblical reality and feom there God took my desire from me. I was able to get married and have a child, while finally having control after rededicating my life to Jesus.
I became a porn addict at 13 and am now 28 and still am struggling in getting past 13 days (I literally haven't been able to go 14 days clean since I first became addicted.) Please pray for me. And I also wonder what krejziks says, how were you able to tell you found your soulmate? Was the Holy Spirit able to make it abundantly clear from the start?
@GodHelpHumanity Seeking God in prayer, fasting, and a lifestyle change to honor Him is so important. Be around others who can sharpen you in the Word and biblical character, that can also be ones you can grow in accountability with. Not that they are the source of accountability. Read 1 John, read psalm 119, James, and other books about what the heart of a believer is like. Have transformation in your heart be by God. Be plugged in a church, don't isolate, stay prayed up, and red up. Do NOT go to places or do actions that give or enable future temptations. Understand why you sin, and why you lose the thought and spirit battle of lust/fear/lack of contentment/whichever is your Achilles heel... Know Jesus loves you, and you will STRIVE to love Him back with everything you have. That's when losing anything in this life isn't worth comparing to the ioy of Christ. That's when you're treasure becomes Jesus, and everything else you'll let go of....with Him being the ONE thing that you cannot bear to lose or forget. Realize then that He alone provides the heart change, and He alone sustains that heart - a heart like Christ. Being a man after God's own heart. Actions to watch and do sinfully things can be changed by many ways. But changing a heart - from the source - from a state of loving sin comes only by God. Seek the later. Seek God.
And most of us in later millennial and early gen Z have been self abused since 9 or 10 years old, and possibly even younger. This demonic BS has had a massive effect on my life and now at 29, 20 years of this BS and just now am I fighting it as a Christian in catechism.
@@robstr12 there is a beautiful book with his letters where he answers people's questions, it's called Monastic Wisdom: The Letters of Elder Joseph the Hesychast.
There was a time I let go of the guilt. I let go of the guilt and I watched my self respect go away. Once you let go of these things you’ll find yourself sinking, with no boundaries and no respect for yourself your lust will consume you and cripple you. Thank God for his patience, loving kindness and forgiveness.
@manfredconnor3194 well the scripture does say he is willing that all should be saved. As for everything else you said, no clue what your talking about. It's rather vague and pretentious if I'm being completely honest.
I've been struggling so much with this. Every time I fall to temptation I feel like such a failure. Failure to the Lord & failure to my wife... Thank you Lord for sending me this message. Praise God Brothers, we're better than this!
@@TainyaGaming I think it’s just conditioning from young to be honest - Porn is so prevalent and easily accessible that it becomes a habit & instant gratification. I’m 33 so my generation was the first to fully experience the internet so it’s something that just becomes normal. Clips are shared and locker room talk etc etc. It’s no good for us though at all & I’m trying to grow and do better
For those upset about the $60 life coaching you need to understand something. He is setting aside the little spare time he has to help people on the internet but you need to be serious. Another priest I know does the same thing for a 8 week course but when he started it for free, the majority of people signing up weren't serious and didn't show up. It takes up the priest's time and takes away an open slot for someone who really wants help. By him charging a fee he found practically everyone shows up now for every session because as he put "they have skin in the game, so they feel more compelled to show up."
It interests me why this bothers people. I figure 1) it either helps or it doesn't 2) if you try it, you probably are already aware that you need to make some changes, so why be mad if someone else's help doesn't work for you? I mean, you already admit that you're having issues, so if it doesn't work, try something else and don't be bitter. 3) if it works for you, great! You got something that was worth the price. I see no difference in life coaching and any other service people pay for- if you don't want it, don't take advantage of it. Sometimes a little of something helps out, sometimes not. Pretty simple. And again, if you try it and it doesn't work, guess what? There's a million other things that might work, so why waste any more time on one that you know you tried and didn't like? We have very little time as it is.
I agree with the part about having anger towards this sin. If you have the mindset of "it's something I like, something I want to do badly, but I will refrain from doing it" you will lose. You have to be disgusted by it, hate it, that is how you strike at its core.
Yes! My father once told me it's easy to quit smoking after a lifetime of being a smoker, because he wanted to quit. He had two strokes and two rounds of cancer.
I needed to hear this. I'll definitely be subscribing. Lust is a daily struggle with me. I've been addicted to porn since I was 14. At 33 I'm a recovering drug addict along with abstaining from porn and masturbation. 91 days clean from drugs and 7 days from masturbation. I know the struggle is worth it
I'm autistic and so I deal with a real bad problem of negative feelings. Sometimes it's because I look directly into a light or a noise hits me differently. But a lot of it has to do with my problems with socializing. On top of that all my senses and emotions often feel like they're turned up to 11. Needless to say, I need God's grace and asking help from Saint Anna (the Godman's Holy Grandmother), The Theotokos, Saint Ephraim of Arizona, Saint Joseph the Hesychast, Saint George and Saint Seraphim of Sarov have really helped me make inches of progress since becoming Orthodox. My two cents (If I can even offer anything haha) is that we should let this addiction humble us. That's the point of it otherwise God would easily get rid of this issue.
The beauty of being autistic is that it can make one much more sensitive to incoming stimuli: touch, sounds, visions, thoughts, feelings, etc. But that's also its challenge: how to manage and respond to these intensified stimuli. This can make your battle much harder, but it also gives you opportunity for greater holiness. May God richly bless you in your efforts!
Having intensified sensitivities that are usually an aspect of autism are, definitely, an uncomfortable burden - with even that descriptor often being an understatement of the trying effect they can have on one's life. Our hope is that, if allowed, God will use our burdens to draw us closer to Him. May this be the experience of the person(s) about whom you write.
I am 19 and i started watching father moses about a month ago and i try to get better everyday. The best thing about him is that he is so straight with everything. He doesnt say what you want to hear but what you need to hear.
Father Moses man these outlined points help me so much your the only content creator I see in this Christian space giving real points to apply in daily life and not just telling but actually teaching we appreciate you father❤ God bless 🙏🏾
I'm not sure if it was you or another orthodox clergyman who said it; that when people take the steps towards coming closer to God, such as expressing interest in becoming a catechumen, that is when a person is attacked the worst, and falls for temptations that never bothered them before. I've found that to be accurate. It's like deciding you wanna fight, and getting shot before you can grab a weapon.
This very accurately describes my situation. It’s like the enemy sees you growing closer to God and so he shoots arrows of temptation at all your weak spots. I find myself slipping up into worse sins now then when I didn’t know God
Holy shit you just blew my mind, maybe it’s a case of confirmation bias but this makes so much sense to me. I’m going through it rn and I’ve recently been committing to my Roman Catholic faith 100% and this is the one thing I’m struggling with at this very moment.
I noticed over the past 5 years this desire to pursue that content is diminished in direct proportion to my participation in the Eucharist. If circumstances have me away from the Church for a couple weeks these attacks redouble and become almost vicious in their tenacity. Prayer. Prayer. Prayer. Prayer. Go to a physical Church. Take Confession and Communion. Over time your focus just…leaves these thoughts or you are more easily able to defeat them. God bless. Great word, father ☦️❤️
They lord has used you and the man who showed me this video to reach me. I’m angry and tired and I’ve had enough. No more being a coward and turning away from discomfort. Thank you for creating this content. It’s life changing. It ends today.
I don’t think there’s been a better time for me to see this video than now. I prayed last night about a woman who I lustfully looked upon at my friend’s house. I didn’t even realize I was looking at her so much, I was fascinated by her. I asked God to forgive me for what I’ve done, and here now I’ve seen 2 important videos about lust this morning. Thank you Father Moses
Why do you automatically assume it is lust? Are you married, for that to be the case? If you're single, then it's fine to be attracted to a woman, and perhaps talk to her and get to know her? How do you think courtship is supposed to work anyway?
@@markeedeep I was attracted to her based off of selfish desires, she reminded me of someone who I lost my virginity to 10 years ago. I wasn’t interested in her personality or anything she had to offer. I was thinking of her from a fantasy aspect. How I could use her, etc etc. It wasn’t right
@@NotNykoh no, that's just your obsessive thoughts naturally being triggered by your past experience. You just have to learn to separate the reality which was this perfectly ordinary female standing in front of you, from the fantasy you created in your own head. Perhaps you will even find something genuine and worthwhile in her, after all. How do you think you're supposed to get married eventually, without first going through this basic process anyway?
@jollygoodgordon5580 thanks God Almighty better than the west but still going downhill ( note: a Lebanese Orthodox Christian/ just love Serbia and name for fun)
@@jollygoodgordon5580as a Catholic Lebanese, even Maronites have been poisoned from secular modernist innovations and heresies unfortunately, women even dress immodestly in Churches and some put makeup, no Respect for Jesus Christ in the Church, the Priests don’t even warn them that immodest clothing are a sin and from my own experience in catechism class the priest would hardly mention to us on the existence of hell, mortal sins and Baptismal innocence, it is just Some Bible Verses and the classic “yea Jesus is Love” whilst ignoring his justice atmosphere. I have to learn on my faith from searching the church catechism and teachings of the Saints as St John Chrysostom, sadly the majority of Maronite priests do not give helpful sermons even, only some few Maronite priests warn people of mortal sin and these good priests are persecuted for “scaring the people” Lord have Mercy, Pray for Lebanon even our Christians are not practicing anymore! ( note: there might be modest people still and more good priests and churches but from my experience in keserwan and Beirut, it’s really bad especially the youth and teenagers of my age, hardly anyone has any faith )
1.5 min in and it's so true. The addiction comes not from focusing on the good feeling, but rather from wanting to escape and cope with negative feelings
This came in at the right time. Sadly struggling for most of my life with lust, and again this entire morning, mixed with the wrong people online to the point of spiritual confusion that's making me feel terrible. Thank God for His grace showing me about the orthodox church recently and want to go to one near me. Thanks Father Moses for being the mainly help we men need. If anyone can pray for me please I'll be really grateful. God bless you.
Praying for you. One of the most difficult things as I returned to the faith was how many of my values were ultimately at odds with the teachings of christ. Even as someone with a more conservative background and politics, liberal views on seggs (trying to avoid youtube filter) still controlled my mentality, and i would constantly try to justify to myself why pr0n use and engaging with niche fetishes wasnt actually a problem.
@@epicfortnitekid8536 Thanks for your prayers. I was going through a lot and feared I was losing Jesus, made me despair a lot. My constant disobedience towards the Lord made me fall hard on my face. God is good and gave me strength, I was desperate and doubting what was reality itself, and doubting Jesus cause of whispers of evil spirits so went to a church near me and asked someone to pray over me, and was delivered after demons manifested and were cast out. Be careful with lust and pleasures brothers it drives you further from God.
@@epicfortnitekid8536 Thank you for your prayers. I was going through crazy amounts of confusion in what is reality and true, someone even mentioned reincarnating, it was crushing me. All because I opened the door to these evil practices. I went to a church cause I couldn't bear it, was prayed over and even manifested demons. Now I feel like I'm starting from 0 and learning to exercise my faith. The world is not worth it. Jesus Christ have mercy.
Father, once again, delivers yet another W. This is an issue I stuggle with IMMENSELY. I feel you're one of the few priests who actually knows how to speak to young people on this issue. Thank you, father.
Greetings from Brazil, father!! I have 18 years old, Roman Catholic, and your videos help me a lot in the spiritual battle and in the construction of my personality.If I would say something about this, I've said to run of the tentation. Almost always were I've tryed to test myself, or feeding the desire (thinking I would not fall in the end) ou diaogue with the tentation of the lust, I've lost. "Cut the bad from the roots" as we say in Brazil: when a form of impurity comes, turn your head and make your yes, yes and your no, no.
Em inglês se fala “I am 18 years old”, eu sei que a tradução literal do português não faz sentido mas fazer o que… outra coisa, o certo seria “run from” ao invés de run of. Sei que to sendo chato, mas é uma crítica construtiva pra te ajudar nas próximas vezes.
May the Lord have mercy on us and strengthen each of us. Let us be strong together, my brothers, in prayer, fasting, and love for Christ our God. When we fall, let us rise up and try again and beg the Lord to strengthen us in mastering the sinful desires of the flesh. Thank you father Moses for your words and guidance.
The way not to feed it is to look at it for what it is, which is "pathetic" this is probably the best video on the topic I've found, not only that, but it comes from a manly priest, awesome, to not fall into lust means growth and putting aside childishness, beautifully put, i write this as a reminder. Thank you Father Moses. Every single day is the Battle for the purity of the soul.
Just earned a sub. Today it is almost a lifestyle not to watch porn, since it is so common among people: You are a legend for helping people. GOD bless you all and may GOD have mercy on you.
I found that staying busy keeps your mind away from this stuff stay out all day being productive and then come home tired. No energy to engage in that stuff. Pray and then sleep and repeat
This is a tough one, been fighting this battle for many years. It’s such an escape mechanism, but holds you back from bonding in your relationship, drains your energy, takes up so much time, and truly holds you back from becoming a better man. Nothing on my life has had a hold on me like pornography/sexual sin.
Thank you for encouraging anger as a positive expression, Father Moses. I feel like I've suppressed that emotion too far, and that's weakened me. It's good to hear another take on it, and how it can be used to heal. This gives me clarity in what I've been missing. Likewise, an encouragement for perfection is needed to hear. Too many Christians do away with perfection, in almost a defeatist attitude, and I think this lets down their guard, and gives them an excuse to repeatedly fall into sin. Intensity! I needed to hear this. Thanks you.
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Awesome and motivating video. I will add to it: never stop rising up after falling until the day we die
I really do feel like Christ has led me to this channel and has given me the tools to beat lust. I need to pray every day and I’m becoming closer to Christ. I’ve learned how to pray the rosary, I’ve gone to church more often and I’m going to go tomorrow. But as a soldier thank you for saying it’s kill or be killed because that’s how it is on the battlefield I have to compare that to fighting lust as well. God bless you sir.
Isn't religion itself a humiliation ritual? Yes, religions teach us to abstain from sex, but sex is about power, and so is religion. I tried all the big religions, and failed to find a single holy book that doesn't humiliate women, support slavery, or justify abuse in some way or form.
@@adorp Religions do not teach you to abstand from sex at all. Where did you hear that you should abstain from sex? If you don't agree with a religion it's fine not to follow it. I'm not religius but I do like spiritual people. At least some. We all need to find our own way. And I like to listen to these people once in a while.
@@mestayno plenty of religions teach abstinence. The idea is, you should only have sex for having chindren, not for pleasure, and once you have all the children you need, sex becomes unnecessary. Islam is the only religion that teaches men to "plough" their wives as the men please, but muh "context" ... When something sounds terrible without context, it should have been rephrased.
@@adorp I get you. I like the buddhist middle way. But I also believe you don't need any kind of religion really. But at least some spiritual thinking helps navigate life better than say purely psychology or philosophy.
@@mestayno Isn't Buddhism inconsistent as well? Especially its distaste of women is quite obvious. All Eastern religions begin by claiming that everyone is equal, then proceed to explain why some people are more equal than others. Hinduism is based on panetheistic Advaita Vedanta, yet has over 100 castes.
This is really as dangerous as a drug, you can't imagine the damage this can cause, for many years I have been addicted to adult content but recently I started to ask for help and look for a way to grow spiritually, I will do everything possible to stop this. Good video greetings
Father I’m a late Gen Z with a heavily influenced background of GEN X, and I always stress to my friends how disgusting and evil anime. I think it’s a large security blanket for younger guys because they relate. I tell them to read the gospel and they’ll end up relating to it more and more as they move through life. Much love to you in Christ, keep up The awesome videos!
For who this may help, this discipline has kept me clean from watching garbage for the past 7 months: My priest preached St John Chrysostom’s message about what to truly fast from, beyond food at the beginning of Lent, ie, sinful behaviors and thoughts. I was determined that before I had my first confession and my family and I were Chrismated this past April, I would cease viewing rubbish and engaging in self abuse. I prayed 3 Lord’s Prayers, 3 Hail Mary’s and the Nicene creed every AM followed by praying the Jesus prayer 100X. I also determined **all** my listening would consist of scripture, the saints, or spiritual writings and sermons. I have not viewed that junk since, and I’ve been steadfast in my prayer and sacramental life since, glory to God. Having a spiritual father that I would have to confess this to is of course, another great restraint. If this helps anyone, again, Glory to God.
I’m a young man who’s started an organization for young Christians in my area, and I’m looking to Pastorship and Ministry after high school. List is my biggest struggle and this has helped me immensely. Thank you Father. Though we disagree on certain aspects of our faith, may our Heavenly Father bless us all who aspire to teach and lead others. God bless you and thank you for following the lead of the Holy Spirit.
Nice video sir. This stuff is so real. I was on the internet social media a while back and I found myself looking at things I should have. I knew it was wrong and just "peeked" but then found myself sitting there looking more even though I knew it was wrong. That very night I had sleep paralysis and woke up with soaked underpants. I opened myself wide open and was literally raped in my sleep. 3 years celibate, its a tough battle but we keep going. This stuff is so real
I appreciate the word "lust addiction" instead of porn addiction. Thanks be to God and our blessed lady, I've stopped watching porn for some time now but I still very much have a lust addiction
Father, God bless you for this helpful explination! 🙏🙏🙏 I do personally not know any priest/ Father, who would do, what you do or the Father you mentioned about. What you are doing is so great and it‘s such a huges help for the one, who wants to change himself or herself. Your help it‘s a BLESSING!!! 🙏☦️
Thanks for the advice. I am 19 and a university student, all around campus are all of these beautiful women that dress so provocatively. While they shouldn’t be doing that, I also need to participate in fasting of the eyes, and not giving them the attention they are trying to get. This is for the good of my own soul as well, so I don’t fall into fornication.
You need to understand that lust is not the same thing as the mind noticing the beauty of a woman. If you beat yourself up over an automatic reaction to look at them, you’re going to fail and mess yourself up psychologically. What matters is seeing through that beauty to the presence of God, beauty itself, rather than degrading them (and him) by fantasy. Chastity is about rightly ordering the eye, not hating the body. You might be interested in Archbishop Erik Varden’s book, it was really eye opening to me and this approach has helped a lot
@@James-f5p8t you pretty much echo my own explanations elsewhere in this thread. The problem I have with priests teaching on this particular subject matter online, is that the focus always seems to be directed towards dealing with the negative, rather than guide towards that which is positive and beneficial- love and marriage. I don't yet see enough realisation that the scourge of sexual sin in wider society now seems to be leading to another extreme, in which young people are assuming a belief that all sex is unclean and can therefore never be made clean. I know this already from personal experience, and have also identified similar traits in other men especially. They dwell so much on the immorality, they end up freezing into complete impotence. It's wrong and it genuinely angers me.
@@markeedeep well, it is misogynistic, yes. it is your responsibility to develop a rightly ordered eye and to not dehumanize women by obsessing over them
@@James-f5p8t you'll probably notice fr Josiah Trenham regularly posts on the desirability of marriage and procreation, but then young men in particular see posts like this referencing the scourge of pornhub and it's obvious they become completely confused as a result. For me personally, it doesn't even have to be about conceiving godliness in love making, it's simply about rediscovering traditional, *normal* sexual harmony within the confines of Christian marriage. It could literally be as easy as that.
From a catholic, God bless and this is excellent. Especially, the context of how it’s explained regarding escapism etc. The supermarket bit really resonates
I wish more older spiritual fathers in the Orthodox Church were able to provide this type of explanation or guidance. The younger generation I feel understand how serious this addiction can become, older men not so much. This will destroy your family and your soul, like Fr. Moses said...it's kill or be killed. Stay strong my Orthodox brothers and sisters!!
Wow, that bench press analogy was spot on! Thank you for your wisdom, sir. Lust is a battle we will have to fight for as long as we are on earth. Stay strong, brothers. Remember to stay grounded in Christ! 🙏🏾
Thank you for this. It was really needed. Struggling from 11 years old until 43. What really helps is regular rosary prayer + weekly confession + deep repentance and decision to fight it at all costs. But I was always missing something and I found it in your video. God our Lord, bless you. Your Catholic brother in Christ.
Just to add to this from my personal experience: I got dragged through the mud until I realized my helplessness: "without Me, ye can do nothing". If you think you can wrestle and beat this you are already trapped. The only way is up, look up for salvation not to yourself. The moment you feel like you are doing something, a fall is imminent. I got dragged through the mud because I thought I could do something.
Thank you Father Moses, you have the ability to articulate these things better and more simply than most others. Please pray for me, I have been fighting for years.
As a woman we struggle with this so much too. It’s hard to find help since most things are addressed to men. I’m open minded and learn from men too but it does make it hard to be seen and helped since it’s commonly seen as a male issue and the languaging is only for men. The title is misleading to women since the title is not gendered it just says how a priest deals with lust addiction and the video itself is addressed to men. So I click hoping to relate or be seen. We women are not motivated by the same things men are or have self concept in masculinity. So it’s hard to relate some things in the video or be “seen” in the sense the advice is not towards me. Especially in Orthodoxy most leaders are men and address men. I’m just venting. Thanks for the video. I watched porn from the age to 11 to 28. Been porn free for 3 years but still masturbate. Need to let go of that level now.
I honestly don’t find it’s different for the genders, both use it to emotionally regulate. Is there other differences I’m missing, perhaps, but the core of the addiction requires accountability, discipline and prayer. That’s true for both genders.
I may never have a spiritual father. Two years of my presence in the Church and I have only ever felt isolation, and lonliness. But faith is not based on emotion. I know this. Suffering is the path of those who follow the Lord and "pick up their cross." We must seek the cross even when it is not beneficial. Yet, such distrust, such fear, such insurmountable torment... I have not brotherhood or community, I am a burden to existence itself. How can I trust? It is as if I am not human, but a phantom destined to suffer since conception. I am pain, and under that mantle of pain I remain unseen.
Hold on my brother. God is with you, and he sees all of your suffering. Pray for him to bring you community and do not be afraid. It is true that suffering is the way to holiness, but it is also true that Jesus' yoke is easy and his burden is light. Come to see how much God delights in you in prayer, fight like mad against sin, ask God to fill your needs, and don't ever give up. I have often felt exactly like how you say, but I am beginning to understand what it means that the Spirit sets us free. I will pray for you.
Luckily, at least you may hear the advice of Father Moses. Maybe you can find your spiritual father as someone else inside or outside your church. Maybe even in another church. I know that for myself I dont have a spiritual father either, as I go to a church with very good people, but no father: a protestant church. I wish you the best brother.
Many religious live lik this in monasterys, deserts, or walking around the world. Saint Therese dont had showed his suffer to their sisters, because she liked that only god can see that. God bless you, brother.
in conclusion: your hard situation can be a strong way to santificated yourself. And God never permite something bad for us, if this can not help us become stronger: He knows more than you what is better for you.
Thank you Fr Moses. Im a Catechumen from Roman Catholicism (was a Secular Franciscan). And this is the sin that clings so close, like a thorn in my side. I am happily married .etc yet this awfulness just wont budge. Your method here seems very practical and worth trying. Each day a new battle is fought!
Thanks so much Father, you've made me realize that this lust addiction is a literal battle and you've given me the tactics needed 🙏📿 May God have mercy on us and pray for each other!
It's so alarming how Priests don't follow-up on men who confess this vice. Thank you so much for doing that, Father. One more thing i would add in overcoming this vice is MARRIAGE. Marriage is actually an institution that allows sex when the passion of lust arises (which is a good thing). I don't know why Priests don't teach this even though it's taught in moral theology. The next thing they jump to is prayer. Do you tell a hungry man to pray? When someone craves sexual pleasure, you tell them to get married, as St. Paul said. It's a natural instinc Secondly, pornography and masturbation deform the desires that even after stopping, you may still not enjoy normal sex. I know this from experience. Hence, you need constant sex and moral or therapeutic support to rewire the brain back to the natural means of sexual climax. So a wife is necessary for becoming whole in this. She would help, too, for accountability reasons as you help her with her own vice. Many men stop this vice when they start having sex constantly and are connected with someone they love and can rely on. I can tell you from experience that there's an intense connection you have with a woman whom you have sex with, climax or not, that pornography would rarely come to mind. We marry too late in this generation. Priests should encourage early maturity and marriage. Trying to suppress a desire that begins at 15 until the individual is 30 and marry is not scalable. Prayer and Penance is good because from experience God takes away this vice from me almost miraculously, but i fall back because many natural means are not in place. It's easy for a lonely man who doesn't have anyone who cares for him to easily fall back into this time and time again. Connection with someone else either in marriage or the monastery is necessary. "It's not good for man to be alone." Thank you.
One other aid is responsibility. Many people have stopped multiple kinds of addiction when they marry and give birth. Now they have to think of someone else. Maybe thinking about someone else for a change helps one not think so much about themselves, hence, spending way less time thinking about sex or lusting. Many men are not really doing anything heroic or serious. They are just lonely and bored. Even the monks have more things to do than most men in the world. Oh Lord, men need responsibility and things to do. We are mind splitting bored nowadays. No wife, no children, just a computer job that takes all your time, doesn't mean you are necessarily doing much, therefore no recreation, no play. Men just get dull, bored, and lonely.
Agree with you on many levels, but marriage does not always help you overcome lust completely. That varies per man. I still struggle with lust, regardless of being married. It's a tricky one...
@@SpyridonChriste oh marriage is not a magic wand. No one believes that lust disappears, in fact it never does as the Priests says but I am sure you are better off, than if you were single. Mortification, Penance and the other things the Priest said hold still even though you are married. I don't know what religion you belong to, but I am a Catholic, and we believe marriage is a sacrament, that means it is a means of obtaining graces (sanctifying grace) in order to live the married life and save one's soul. So I would tap into that if I was married. Honestly, I feel people feel marriage doesn't help with this if the wife isn't supportive. Definitely if the wife isn't supportive, it would be worse. I don't know your marriage dynamic, but one would be better off married than not. Don't you agree?
Father, the timing of your video for my life is so perfect it's shocking. Woke up from a series of dark dreams that I can only call a spiritual attack and saw this in the recommended of a video I searched and you had posted it not even a day before. I fell back into sin, and let dark forces back into my life because of it. Thank you for the stern, no nonsense message. God bless you father.
I’m a woman who battles with since very young age. And the thing is I rarely even imply anything sexual in m a s turbation. It always worked for me as stress relief and I never felt that something is inherently wrong with it until I came to church. Please pray for me it feels like there’s no way out. I’m running in circles
Hormones around ovulation can be crazy!!! It’s rough! Ask God to help take it away. And thank God for giving you hormones that help to give you a desire to reproduce and allow Gods new human creations! And to help you find an appropriate husband.
I relate, but also struggle with fantasizing. It used to be just stress relief when I was younger. It’s definitely difficult. I’ve only tried to stop in the last year or so and have slowly been able to go longer periods without it. Keep praying and confessing.
@@fathermosesmcphersonit should make sense though because being celibate for God has always been a tradition in Eastern Orthodoxy and is to this day among monks and bishops etc. This tradition in the west is and has always been very highly regarded even when west and east were united. There’s no need to look down on catholic priests for practicing celibacy.
I support most of this message, and you’ve obviously spoken to more young men about this struggle. That said, the young men I’ve spoken to are escaping from shame and guilt (among other things) by “falling.” The more they call their actions pathetic or shameful, the more they sink into it. Addiction is one of the hardest battles to face because it requires tackling the root cause and being mindful of how the temptation occurs; willpower alone is usually insufficient long-term. You sometimes have to correct the rest of your life before you’ve built up the strength to win the fight. Take accountability, practice discipline, and get support, but do not let your guilt control you if you realize it’s doing more harm than good.
Exactly. Yes lust can be a very destructive force but I believe for a priest to call someone a loser is wrong. "Loser" is a term used by world by a bully who only feels alive by putting down others. "Loser" is a term to identify someone who doesn't have worldly success or less than someone else. As a Christian there are many times where I have been viewed as a so called "loser" for following the path God has laid out for me
Hello Father Moses, I’m struggling with lust, but I find myself falling easiest into content that is some combination of unconventional, fetishistic, not actual people, or even somewhat homosexual in nature. I do not typically fall into self abuse over real women. I desire to become a father with a Godly woman, but my sexual desires don’t strongly align with that. Can or should I realign my desires? How would I do this? Is it still possible for me to live the life God wants me to live?
Thank you, Father. Recently, God's guidance has been very impactful in my life, more than usual, and I've been sober, but I know the battle is not over and I am not free from this sin yet, so your advice is very valuable and something to remember moving forward. God bless you.
A great help to me was the recognition that this is a mortal sin, and that after committing this sin I was no longer in a state of grace and had to confess my sins to a priest before I could again receive the Eucharist. This way, you can hold yourself accountable when your head is clearer, and over time you will make gradual steps to resist the temptation
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U listening to me your fucking brain it's your God stupid, go and fucking entertaining your fucking kids we don't care about your fake love for money
U don't know NOTHING
Hey Poppa, let’s get it. Looking forward to hearing from you
Could you make a video addressing women? These video never addressed that this is an issue for us too. We women fall into for other reasons.
I have a 3:00 p.m. today October 21st, here waiting and prepared and no one has contacted me. 😢
The war against lust is more intense than ever and will only get worse. Stay strong brothers, never stop praying.
A word of scripture that is really helping me is 1 Corinthians 10:13. I still fail sometimes but this is a powerful weapon in this fight
And sisters
Agreed, wait until vr is more mainstream that combined with ai build your own p*rn models.
So true..
@@manfredconnor3194 could you explain a little more?
Father Moses is a rare masculine priest who knows how to speak to men about the troubles they face. Even if I don’t share his faith he is too wise to ignore.
Amen
Very kind words. God bless. I’m Eastern Orthodox.
@@fathermosesmcpherson god bless
Don't call nobody father on earth
Have you ever called your father a father? Where in the bible does it say "scripture alone"?
If your priest is the Doomguy, he helps you beat lust by hunting down your demon directly
If only it worked that way lol
Tfw you go to confess your sin of lust and your priests hands you a .50 cal fully automatic cannon and says "The only thing they fear is you."
Good Priests are doomguys☦️
Schema monks do that
Thank you Jesus that ALL sin...even sexual sin...was forgiven in your death, burial, and resurrection and that God no.longer sees our sins under the blood of Jesus Christ. Sin has been delt with once and for all. That's the best news to help anyone struggling with any addiction.
God no longer has a remembrance of our sins because of Jesus who purged them, once and for all.
Hallelujah!!!!!
One thing I've learned is that this desire sometimes feels like an "itch" you need scratch but in reality the more you scratch that itch the stronger it gets, instead of going away. It seems counterintuitive but the only way to let that desire go away is to not entertain it. Stop putting logs on the fire and the fire will eventually die out.
God made us sexual beings. Sex is an expression and a means of creating relational wholeness with a woman and it's literally a depiction of heaven. God wants us to enjoy that so that desire will never actually go away.
@smokingcrab2290 big difference between using it for love with spouse vs allowing the emotion to control you.
I'm sorry, but "the fire" you speak of never dies. It's constantly there, constantly urging.
Sooooooo try not to ever scratch it. 🤔. As he said you will battle it the rest of your life. Nothing is easy and especially when it comes to that n
TY Father ☦️
Unfortunately, I was addicted from about the age 12 all the way to 27, which was when it clicked that the world described in the Bible is the world we live in and it is true. I had an overwhelming feeling of the biblical reality and feom there God took my desire from me. I was able to get married and have a child, while finally having control after rededicating my life to Jesus.
How did you know you met the right woman and it was not just lust?
I became a porn addict at 13 and am now 28 and still am struggling in getting past 13 days (I literally haven't been able to go 14 days clean since I first became addicted.) Please pray for me. And I also wonder what krejziks says, how were you able to tell you found your soulmate? Was the Holy Spirit able to make it abundantly clear from the start?
Where I'm at right now
@@GodHelpHumanity I will pray for you tonight. Stay strong.
@GodHelpHumanity Seeking God in prayer, fasting, and a lifestyle change to honor Him is so important. Be around others who can sharpen you in the Word and biblical character, that can also be ones you can grow in accountability with. Not that they are the source of accountability. Read 1 John, read psalm 119, James, and other books about what the heart of a believer is like. Have transformation in your heart be by God.
Be plugged in a church, don't isolate, stay prayed up, and red up. Do NOT go to places or do actions that give or enable future temptations.
Understand why you sin, and why you lose the thought and spirit battle of lust/fear/lack of contentment/whichever is your Achilles heel...
Know Jesus loves you, and you will STRIVE to love Him back with everything you have. That's when losing anything in this life isn't worth comparing to the ioy of Christ. That's when you're treasure becomes Jesus, and everything else you'll let go of....with Him being the ONE thing that you cannot bear to lose or forget. Realize then that He alone provides the heart change, and He alone sustains that heart - a heart like Christ. Being a man after God's own heart. Actions to watch and do sinfully things can be changed by many ways. But changing a heart - from the source - from a state of loving sin comes only by God. Seek the later.
Seek God.
Self-abuse... never have I ever looked it like that. Thank you, brother.
And most of us in later millennial and early gen Z have been self abused since 9 or 10 years old, and possibly even younger. This demonic BS has had a massive effect on my life and now at 29, 20 years of this BS and just now am I fighting it as a Christian in catechism.
Father*
@@Kalumubotia we have only 1 Father who is in heaven
@@joem13yearsago73 Read the article
Self-abuse is a very good way of looking at it and it is true.
When I told Father Moses I struggled with lust he punched me in the stomach and threw me off a cliff. It cured me
Scottie! 😂
Who is the saint that was mentioned, please?
St Joseph of _____.
Please fill in the blank.
Never mind, I found it.
Saint Joseph the Hesychast
@@robstr12 there is a beautiful book with his letters where he answers people's questions, it's called Monastic Wisdom: The Letters of Elder Joseph the Hesychast.
I think that would work for me.
There was a time I let go of the guilt. I let go of the guilt and I watched my self respect go away. Once you let go of these things you’ll find yourself sinking, with no boundaries and no respect for yourself your lust will consume you and cripple you. Thank God for his patience, loving kindness and forgiveness.
Lived through this. I tried everything.
Only Christ and His Church saved me. ☦️
Aren't we glad that the Son still saves?! I identity with this comment
Same situation still fighting
@@manfredconnor3194 you wouodnt understand brother
@manfredconnor3194 well the scripture does say he is willing that all should be saved. As for everything else you said, no clue what your talking about. It's rather vague and pretentious if I'm being completely honest.
"I made a covenant with my eyes; how then should I look lustfully at a young woman?"
-Job 31:1
Roman Catholic here, Thank you Father God Bless, thanks for the wisdom
I've been struggling so much with this. Every time I fall to temptation I feel like such a failure. Failure to the Lord & failure to my wife...
Thank you Lord for sending me this message. Praise God Brothers, we're better than this!
Is your wife failing to perform her duty to you for your lust or is it something else?
@@TainyaGaming I think it’s just conditioning from young to be honest - Porn is so prevalent and easily accessible that it becomes a habit & instant gratification. I’m 33 so my generation was the first to fully experience the internet so it’s something that just becomes normal. Clips are shared and locker room talk etc etc.
It’s no good for us though at all & I’m trying to grow and do better
For those upset about the $60 life coaching you need to understand something. He is setting aside the little spare time he has to help people on the internet but you need to be serious. Another priest I know does the same thing for a 8 week course but when he started it for free, the majority of people signing up weren't serious and didn't show up. It takes up the priest's time and takes away an open slot for someone who really wants help. By him charging a fee he found practically everyone shows up now for every session because as he put "they have skin in the game, so they feel more compelled to show up."
It interests me why this bothers people. I figure 1) it either helps or it doesn't 2) if you try it, you probably are already aware that you need to make some changes, so why be mad if someone else's help doesn't work for you? I mean, you already admit that you're having issues, so if it doesn't work, try something else and don't be bitter. 3) if it works for you, great! You got something that was worth the price. I see no difference in life coaching and any other service people pay for- if you don't want it, don't take advantage of it. Sometimes a little of something helps out, sometimes not. Pretty simple. And again, if you try it and it doesn't work, guess what? There's a million other things that might work, so why waste any more time on one that you know you tried and didn't like? We have very little time as it is.
Wow.... This guy is so straight up and he doesn't waste time trying to sound smart or say cool things. Respect. He speaks the truth.
I agree with the part about having anger towards this sin. If you have the mindset of "it's something I like, something I want to do badly, but I will refrain from doing it" you will lose. You have to be disgusted by it, hate it, that is how you strike at its core.
God bless, thank you!
Yes! you have to pray to God to help you hate the sin
Yes! My father once told me it's easy to quit smoking after a lifetime of being a smoker, because he wanted to quit. He had two strokes and two rounds of cancer.
I needed to hear this. I'll definitely be subscribing. Lust is a daily struggle with me. I've been addicted to porn since I was 14. At 33 I'm a recovering drug addict along with abstaining from porn and masturbation. 91 days clean from drugs and 7 days from masturbation. I know the struggle is worth it
Miracle! God bless!
You can do it bro!! Im battling this with you we will defeat this in Jesus of Nazareth mighty name!
@@johnnydayton1431 thank you brother and God bless
@@johnnydayton1431 Amen✝
@@kingvegeta420 Amen✝
I'm autistic and so I deal with a real bad problem of negative feelings. Sometimes it's because I look directly into a light or a noise hits me differently. But a lot of it has to do with my problems with socializing. On top of that all my senses and emotions often feel like they're turned up to 11.
Needless to say, I need God's grace and asking help from Saint Anna (the Godman's Holy Grandmother), The Theotokos, Saint Ephraim of Arizona, Saint Joseph the Hesychast, Saint George and Saint Seraphim of Sarov have really helped me make inches of progress since becoming Orthodox.
My two cents (If I can even offer anything haha) is that we should let this addiction humble us. That's the point of it otherwise God would easily get rid of this issue.
The beauty of being autistic is that it can make one much more sensitive to incoming stimuli: touch, sounds, visions, thoughts, feelings, etc. But that's also its challenge: how to manage and respond to these intensified stimuli. This can make your battle much harder, but it also gives you opportunity for greater holiness. May God richly bless you in your efforts!
Respect. As an autist myself, I must say that you're more capable than you know, and through him, all things are possible
May God bless you
Amen 🙏
God bless you
Having intensified sensitivities that are usually an aspect of autism are, definitely, an uncomfortable burden - with even that descriptor often being an understatement of the trying effect they can have on one's life. Our hope is that, if allowed, God will use our burdens to draw us closer to Him. May this be the experience of the person(s) about whom you write.
I am 19 and i started watching father moses about a month ago and i try to get better everyday. The best thing about him is that he is so straight with everything. He doesnt say what you want to hear but what you need to hear.
Father Moses man these outlined points help me so much your the only content creator I see in this Christian space giving real points to apply in daily life and not just telling but actually teaching we appreciate you father❤ God bless 🙏🏾
Don't call nobody father on earth
@@user-uw3fi2zg4thonor your father and mother
@@user-uw3fi2zg4twhat about my dad?
God bless you, Father. Your timing is impeccable
True
Don't call nobody father on earth
@@user-uw3fi2zg4t Why did you feel the need to comment that?
Indeed it is
@@user-uw3fi2zg4tThat’s his title, though?
I'm not sure if it was you or another orthodox clergyman who said it; that when people take the steps towards coming closer to God, such as expressing interest in becoming a catechumen, that is when a person is attacked the worst, and falls for temptations that never bothered them before. I've found that to be accurate. It's like deciding you wanna fight, and getting shot before you can grab a weapon.
Santa Teresinha em seu livro "castelo interior" alertava exatamente isso.
Your "weapon" is the Word of God
This very accurately describes my situation. It’s like the enemy sees you growing closer to God and so he shoots arrows of temptation at all your weak spots. I find myself slipping up into worse sins now then when I didn’t know God
Same thing
Holy shit you just blew my mind, maybe it’s a case of confirmation bias but this makes so much sense to me. I’m going through it rn and I’ve recently been committing to my Roman Catholic faith 100% and this is the one thing I’m struggling with at this very moment.
I noticed over the past 5 years this desire to pursue that content is diminished in direct proportion to my participation in the Eucharist. If circumstances have me away from the Church for a couple weeks these attacks redouble and become almost vicious in their tenacity.
Prayer. Prayer. Prayer. Prayer.
Go to a physical Church. Take Confession and Communion. Over time your focus just…leaves these thoughts or you are more easily able to defeat them.
God bless.
Great word, father ☦️❤️
They lord has used you and the man who showed me this video to reach me.
I’m angry and tired and I’ve had enough. No more being a coward and turning away from discomfort.
Thank you for creating this content. It’s life changing.
It ends today.
I don’t think there’s been a better time for me to see this video than now. I prayed last night about a woman who I lustfully looked upon at my friend’s house. I didn’t even realize I was looking at her so much, I was fascinated by her. I asked God to forgive me for what I’ve done, and here now I’ve seen 2 important videos about lust this morning. Thank you Father Moses
Why do you automatically assume it is lust? Are you married, for that to be the case? If you're single, then it's fine to be attracted to a woman, and perhaps talk to her and get to know her? How do you think courtship is supposed to work anyway?
@@markeedeep I was attracted to her based off of selfish desires, she reminded me of someone who I lost my virginity to 10 years ago. I wasn’t interested in her personality or anything she had to offer. I was thinking of her from a fantasy aspect. How I could use her, etc etc. It wasn’t right
@@NotNykoh no, that's just your obsessive thoughts naturally being triggered by your past experience. You just have to learn to separate the reality which was this perfectly ordinary female standing in front of you, from the fantasy you created in your own head. Perhaps you will even find something genuine and worthwhile in her, after all. How do you think you're supposed to get married eventually, without first going through this basic process anyway?
Stop trying enable his desires, he knows his struggles and has examined his thoughts and has a better idea of what’s going on than you do.
@@Orthowave1 okay. Show me exactly where I am "enabling his desire", in anything which I've written about so far?
Married men, please understand this addiction can destroy your marriage in so many subtle ways. Don’t be ashamed to pray. That’s what the enemy wants.
This video came at a time when I’m really struggling. Thank you, Father Moses.
Thanks father.a christian from 🇱🇧
In Lebanon women are dressing immodestly too?
@@jollygoodgordon5580 some
@jollygoodgordon5580 thanks God Almighty better than the west but still going downhill ( note: a Lebanese Orthodox Christian/ just love Serbia and name for fun)
@@jollygoodgordon5580as a Catholic Lebanese, even Maronites have been poisoned from secular modernist innovations and heresies unfortunately, women even dress immodestly in Churches and some put makeup, no Respect for Jesus Christ in the Church, the Priests don’t even warn them that immodest clothing are a sin and from my own experience in catechism class the priest would hardly mention to us on the existence of hell, mortal sins and Baptismal innocence, it is just Some Bible Verses and the classic “yea Jesus is Love” whilst ignoring his justice atmosphere.
I have to learn on my faith from searching the church catechism and teachings of the Saints as St John Chrysostom, sadly the majority of Maronite priests do not give helpful sermons even, only some few Maronite priests warn people of mortal sin and these good priests are persecuted for “scaring the people” Lord have Mercy, Pray for Lebanon even our Christians are not practicing anymore!
( note: there might be modest people still and more good priests and churches but from my experience in keserwan and Beirut, it’s really bad especially the youth and teenagers of my age, hardly anyone has any faith )
@@jollygoodgordon5580 some
1.5 min in and it's so true. The addiction comes not from focusing on the good feeling, but rather from wanting to escape and cope with negative feelings
This came in at the right time. Sadly struggling for most of my life with lust, and again this entire morning, mixed with the wrong people online to the point of spiritual confusion that's making me feel terrible. Thank God for His grace showing me about the orthodox church recently and want to go to one near me. Thanks Father Moses for being the mainly help we men need. If anyone can pray for me please I'll be really grateful. God bless you.
Praying for you.
One of the most difficult things as I returned to the faith was how many of my values were ultimately at odds with the teachings of christ. Even as someone with a more conservative background and politics, liberal views on seggs (trying to avoid youtube filter) still controlled my mentality, and i would constantly try to justify to myself why pr0n use and engaging with niche fetishes wasnt actually a problem.
@@epicfortnitekid8536 Thanks for your prayers. I was going through a lot and feared I was losing Jesus, made me despair a lot. My constant disobedience towards the Lord made me fall hard on my face. God is good and gave me strength, I was desperate and doubting what was reality itself, and doubting Jesus cause of whispers of evil spirits so went to a church near me and asked someone to pray over me, and was delivered after demons manifested and were cast out.
Be careful with lust and pleasures brothers it drives you further from God.
@@epicfortnitekid8536 Thank you for your prayers. I was going through crazy amounts of confusion in what is reality and true, someone even mentioned reincarnating, it was crushing me. All because I opened the door to these evil practices. I went to a church cause I couldn't bear it, was prayed over and even manifested demons. Now I feel like I'm starting from 0 and learning to exercise my faith. The world is not worth it. Jesus Christ have mercy.
Thank you so much, I needed that words. Porn is one of the hardest addictions for me to overcome, i will start No-Fap tomorrow.
God bless you 🙏🏾
Father, once again, delivers yet another W. This is an issue I stuggle with IMMENSELY. I feel you're one of the few priests who actually knows how to speak to young people on this issue. Thank you, father.
Greetings from Brazil, father!!
I have 18 years old, Roman Catholic, and your videos help me a lot in the spiritual battle and in the construction of my personality.If I would say something about this, I've said to run of the tentation. Almost always were I've tryed to test myself, or feeding the desire (thinking I would not fall in the end) ou diaogue with the tentation of the lust, I've lost. "Cut the bad from the roots" as we say in Brazil: when a form of impurity comes, turn your head and make your yes, yes and your no, no.
nunca ouvi essa frase na minha vida mas está valendo a mensagem hue
@@Vincent_Sallow a frase é "cortar o mal pela raíz", não sei se ingles fez sentido hahaha
Em inglês se fala “I am 18 years old”, eu sei que a tradução literal do português não faz sentido mas fazer o que… outra coisa, o certo seria “run from” ao invés de run of. Sei que to sendo chato, mas é uma crítica construtiva pra te ajudar nas próximas vezes.
@@ThiagoCT9 ta sendo chato não, po, agradeço a correção, meu inglês é bem ruizinho hahah
Father, this is right to the point. Psychologists play with words and theory. You approach it like a soldier preparing for battle. Thank you, Fr.
May the Lord have mercy on us and strengthen each of us. Let us be strong together, my brothers, in prayer, fasting, and love for Christ our God. When we fall, let us rise up and try again and beg the Lord to strengthen us in mastering the sinful desires of the flesh.
Thank you father Moses for your words and guidance.
The way not to feed it is to look at it for what it is, which is "pathetic" this is probably the best video on the topic I've found, not only that, but it comes from a manly priest, awesome, to not fall into lust means growth and putting aside childishness, beautifully put, i write this as a reminder. Thank you Father Moses. Every single day is the Battle for the purity of the soul.
Just earned a sub.
Today it is almost a lifestyle not to watch porn, since it is so common among people:
You are a legend for helping people. GOD bless you all and may GOD have mercy on you.
"It's a humiliation ritual" That was gold. Never thought of if it like that. Loving this perspective.
I found that staying busy keeps your mind away from this stuff stay out all day being productive and then come home tired. No energy to engage in that stuff. Pray and then sleep and repeat
St. Seraphim of Sarov mentions this aswell
This is the MAN the whole world needs. God bless him!!
I'm Catholic but love your videos. God bless you, Father.
We need Catholic priests with a drive like Father Moses
This is a tough one, been fighting this battle for many years. It’s such an escape mechanism, but holds you back from bonding in your relationship, drains your energy, takes up so much time, and truly holds you back from becoming a better man. Nothing on my life has had a hold on me like pornography/sexual sin.
Same
God bless you father Moses, the amount of tenacity you show in your lectures are truly amazing they push me to be a better man
Thank you for encouraging anger as a positive expression, Father Moses.
I feel like I've suppressed that emotion too far, and that's weakened me. It's good to hear another take on it, and how it can be used to heal. This gives me clarity in what I've been missing.
Likewise, an encouragement for perfection is needed to hear. Too many Christians do away with perfection, in almost a defeatist attitude, and I think this lets down their guard, and gives them an excuse to repeatedly fall into sin. Intensity! I needed to hear this. Thanks you.
Awesome and motivating video. I will add to it: never stop rising up after falling until the day we die
I really do feel like Christ has led me to this channel and has given me the tools to beat lust. I need to pray every day and I’m becoming closer to Christ. I’ve learned how to pray the rosary, I’ve gone to church more often and I’m going to go tomorrow. But as a soldier thank you for saying it’s kill or be killed because that’s how it is on the battlefield I have to compare that to fighting lust as well. God bless you sir.
The priest who told the guy to call him before or after is a great man.
As a catholic, this really helps me alot. Thank you So much Father Moses!
"humiliation ritual". nail on the head once again.
Isn't religion itself a humiliation ritual?
Yes, religions teach us to abstain from sex, but sex is about power, and so is religion.
I tried all the big religions, and failed to find a single holy book that doesn't humiliate women, support slavery, or justify abuse in some way or form.
@@adorp Religions do not teach you to abstand from sex at all. Where did you hear that you should abstain from sex? If you don't agree with a religion it's fine not to follow it.
I'm not religius but I do like spiritual people. At least some. We all need to find our own way. And I like to listen to these people once in a while.
@@mestayno plenty of religions teach abstinence.
The idea is, you should only have sex for having chindren, not for pleasure, and once you have all the children you need, sex becomes unnecessary.
Islam is the only religion that teaches men to "plough" their wives as the men please, but muh "context" ...
When something sounds terrible without context, it should have been rephrased.
@@adorp I get you. I like the buddhist middle way. But I also believe you don't need any kind of religion really. But at least some spiritual thinking helps navigate life better than say purely psychology or philosophy.
@@mestayno Isn't Buddhism inconsistent as well? Especially its distaste of women is quite obvious.
All Eastern religions begin by claiming that everyone is equal, then proceed to explain why some people are more equal than others. Hinduism is based on panetheistic Advaita Vedanta, yet has over 100 castes.
I found you through weight lifting and training, but your words from the Lord have made me stronger than the weights have.
This is really as dangerous as a drug, you can't imagine the damage this can cause, for many years I have been addicted to adult content but recently I started to ask for help and look for a way to grow spiritually, I will do everything possible to stop this.
Good video greetings
So many people with Gorky PFPs oh wow…
Keep fighting it brotha
GOD BLESS YOU FR. MOSES! JESUS IS USING YOU TO HELP ME WITH THIS BATTLE..THANK YOU SIR!
Father I’m a late Gen Z with a heavily influenced background of GEN X, and I always stress to my friends how disgusting and evil anime. I think it’s a large security blanket for younger guys because they relate. I tell them to read the gospel and they’ll end up relating to it more and more as they move through life. Much love to you in Christ, keep up
The awesome videos!
Having the intensity to fight the devil back like he fights you is the realist thing ever. Thanks Father Moses
For who this may help, this discipline has kept me clean from watching garbage for the past 7 months:
My priest preached St John Chrysostom’s message about what to truly fast from, beyond food at the beginning of Lent, ie, sinful behaviors and thoughts. I was determined that before I had my first confession and my family and I were Chrismated this past April, I would cease viewing rubbish and engaging in self abuse.
I prayed 3 Lord’s Prayers, 3 Hail Mary’s and the Nicene creed every AM followed by praying the Jesus prayer 100X.
I also determined **all** my listening would consist of scripture, the saints, or spiritual writings and sermons.
I have not viewed that junk since, and I’ve been steadfast in my prayer and sacramental life since, glory to God.
Having a spiritual father that I would have to confess this to is of course, another great restraint.
If this helps anyone, again, Glory to God.
Glory be to God.
I’m a young man who’s started an organization for young Christians in my area, and I’m looking to Pastorship and Ministry after high school. List is my biggest struggle and this has helped me immensely. Thank you Father. Though we disagree on certain aspects of our faith, may our Heavenly Father bless us all who aspire to teach and lead others. God bless you and thank you for following the lead of the Holy Spirit.
Nice video sir. This stuff is so real. I was on the internet social media a while back and I found myself looking at things I should have. I knew it was wrong and just "peeked" but then found myself sitting there looking more even though I knew it was wrong. That very night I had sleep paralysis and woke up with soaked underpants. I opened myself wide open and was literally raped in my sleep. 3 years celibate, its a tough battle but we keep going. This stuff is so real
I always love and admire orthodox fathers’ wisdom in every subject of our lives. Thank you father!
As usual, the father is cooking with fatherly advice and with perfect timing🔥
Your explanation of what this is all about in the first two minutes or so is the most accurate I’ve ever heard. 💯
Yes Fr, I am a complete loser and have no chance with women 😂🤧 but may the Lord help us with these temptations ✝️
Yes, brothers, let us pursue this spiritual goal of overcoming lust.✝
Brilliant!
Thank you for bring me here.
I appreciate the word "lust addiction" instead of porn addiction. Thanks be to God and our blessed lady, I've stopped watching porn for some time now but I still very much have a lust addiction
This is unbelievably helpful. Thank you father and God bless
Father, God bless you for this helpful explination! 🙏🙏🙏
I do personally not know any priest/ Father, who would do, what you do or the Father you mentioned about. What you are doing is so great and it‘s such a huges help for the one, who wants to change himself or herself.
Your help it‘s a BLESSING!!! 🙏☦️
Thanks for the advice. I am 19 and a university student, all around campus are all of these beautiful women that dress so provocatively. While they shouldn’t be doing that, I also need to participate in fasting of the eyes, and not giving them the attention they are trying to get. This is for the good of my own soul as well, so I don’t fall into fornication.
You need to understand that lust is not the same thing as the mind noticing the beauty of a woman. If you beat yourself up over an automatic reaction to look at them, you’re going to fail and mess yourself up psychologically. What matters is seeing through that beauty to the presence of God, beauty itself, rather than degrading them (and him) by fantasy. Chastity is about rightly ordering the eye, not hating the body. You might be interested in Archbishop Erik Varden’s book, it was really eye opening to me and this approach has helped a lot
@@James-f5p8t you pretty much echo my own explanations elsewhere in this thread. The problem I have with priests teaching on this particular subject matter online, is that the focus always seems to be directed towards dealing with the negative, rather than guide towards that which is positive and beneficial- love and marriage. I don't yet see enough realisation that the scourge of sexual sin in wider society now seems to be leading to another extreme, in which young people are assuming a belief that all sex is unclean and can therefore never be made clean. I know this already from personal experience, and have also identified similar traits in other men especially. They dwell so much on the immorality, they end up freezing into complete impotence. It's wrong and it genuinely angers me.
@@markeedeep based. it’s really a kind of gnostic response and it prevents real godly love and sexuality
@@markeedeep well, it is misogynistic, yes. it is your responsibility to develop a rightly ordered eye and to not dehumanize women by obsessing over them
@@James-f5p8t you'll probably notice fr Josiah Trenham regularly posts on the desirability of marriage and procreation, but then young men in particular see posts like this referencing the scourge of pornhub and it's obvious they become completely confused as a result. For me personally, it doesn't even have to be about conceiving godliness in love making, it's simply about rediscovering traditional, *normal* sexual harmony within the confines of Christian marriage. It could literally be as easy as that.
One quote I heard from Andrew Huberman was “no matter how far you drive the ditch stays the same distance.”
God bless you Father Moses, Thank you for these teachings and for Christ is Risen Amin! ☦️
From a catholic, God bless and this is excellent. Especially, the context of how it’s explained regarding escapism etc. The supermarket bit really resonates
I wish more older spiritual fathers in the Orthodox Church were able to provide this type of explanation or guidance. The younger generation I feel understand how serious this addiction can become, older men not so much. This will destroy your family and your soul, like Fr. Moses said...it's kill or be killed. Stay strong my Orthodox brothers and sisters!!
Wow, that bench press analogy was spot on! Thank you for your wisdom, sir.
Lust is a battle we will have to fight for as long as we are on earth. Stay strong, brothers. Remember to stay grounded in Christ! 🙏🏾
This is gold. Women fight with this too. Love this priest and his real practical advice. Some of the comments are awesome too.
Thank you for this. It was really needed. Struggling from 11 years old until 43. What really helps is regular rosary prayer + weekly confession + deep repentance and decision to fight it at all costs. But I was always missing something and I found it in your video. God our Lord, bless you. Your Catholic brother in Christ.
this format of videos suits me a lot
Fr Moses, you are the priest we have been waiting for to address this issues! Thank you so much!
A Catholic here. Pray Holy Rosary , Divine Mercy and Jesus Prayer daily.
Noted, thanks and God bless you
Just to add to this from my personal experience:
I got dragged through the mud until I realized my helplessness: "without Me, ye can do nothing".
If you think you can wrestle and beat this you are already trapped.
The only way is up, look up for salvation not to yourself.
The moment you feel like you are doing something, a fall is imminent.
I got dragged through the mud because I thought I could do something.
Thank you Father Moses, you have the ability to articulate these things better and more simply than most others.
Please pray for me, I have been fighting for years.
imagine having to call your priest saying "hey man, I just busted a nut" that would bring me shame too for sure
Father Moses, thank you for your godly counsel on this most personal subject matter. I listened carefully to your talk. God bless you Father. Jim
Was not expecting to be encouraged by Orthodox Alex Jones this morning.
😂
Thank you for this message. I am nondenominational but I’ve been thinking of becoming Orthodox Christian.
As a woman we struggle with this so much too. It’s hard to find help since most things are addressed to men. I’m open minded and learn from men too but it does make it hard to be seen and helped since it’s commonly seen as a male issue and the languaging is only for men. The title is misleading to women since the title is not gendered it just says how a priest deals with lust addiction and the video itself is addressed to men. So I click hoping to relate or be seen. We women are not motivated by the same things men are or have self concept in masculinity. So it’s hard to relate some things in the video or be “seen” in the sense the advice is not towards me. Especially in Orthodoxy most leaders are men and address men. I’m just venting. Thanks for the video. I watched porn from the age to 11 to 28. Been porn free for 3 years but still masturbate. Need to let go of that level now.
I honestly don’t find it’s different for the genders, both use it to emotionally regulate.
Is there other differences I’m missing, perhaps, but the core of the addiction requires accountability, discipline and prayer. That’s true for both genders.
Thanks alot Father Moses. May God be glorified forever
I may never have a spiritual father. Two years of my presence in the Church and I have only ever felt isolation, and lonliness. But faith is not based on emotion. I know this. Suffering is the path of those who follow the Lord and "pick up their cross." We must seek the cross even when it is not beneficial.
Yet, such distrust, such fear, such insurmountable torment... I have not brotherhood or community, I am a burden to existence itself. How can I trust? It is as if I am not human, but a phantom destined to suffer since conception. I am pain, and under that mantle of pain I remain unseen.
Hold on my brother. God is with you, and he sees all of your suffering. Pray for him to bring you community and do not be afraid. It is true that suffering is the way to holiness, but it is also true that Jesus' yoke is easy and his burden is light. Come to see how much God delights in you in prayer, fight like mad against sin, ask God to fill your needs, and don't ever give up. I have often felt exactly like how you say, but I am beginning to understand what it means that the Spirit sets us free. I will pray for you.
He has not hidden his face from the scorned one. But has listened to his cry for help. He sees you, my friend.
Luckily, at least you may hear the advice of Father Moses. Maybe you can find your spiritual father as someone else inside or outside your church. Maybe even in another church. I know that for myself I dont have a spiritual father either, as I go to a church with very good people, but no father: a protestant church. I wish you the best brother.
Many religious live lik this in monasterys, deserts, or walking around the world. Saint Therese dont had showed his suffer to their sisters, because she liked that only god can see that. God bless you, brother.
in conclusion: your hard situation can be a strong way to santificated yourself. And God never permite something bad for us, if this can not help us become stronger: He knows more than you what is better for you.
Thank you Fr Moses. Im a Catechumen from Roman Catholicism (was a Secular Franciscan). And this is the sin that clings so close, like a thorn in my side. I am happily married .etc yet this awfulness just wont budge. Your method here seems very practical and worth trying. Each day a new battle is fought!
Once you realize it is kink, you realize it is not real, not from nature. I mean for older 35+ people specifically. No idea for younger people.
Thanks so much Father, you've made me realize that this lust addiction is a literal battle and you've given me the tactics needed 🙏📿 May God have mercy on us and pray for each other!
The formula is right. Frequent confession, prayer and fasting with intense dedication to win is the key.
It's so alarming how Priests don't follow-up on men who confess this vice. Thank you so much for doing that, Father.
One more thing i would add in overcoming this vice is MARRIAGE. Marriage is actually an institution that allows sex when the passion of lust arises (which is a good thing). I don't know why Priests don't teach this even though it's taught in moral theology. The next thing they jump to is prayer. Do you tell a hungry man to pray? When someone craves sexual pleasure, you tell them to get married, as St. Paul said. It's a natural instinc
Secondly, pornography and masturbation deform the desires that even after stopping, you may still not enjoy normal sex. I know this from experience. Hence, you need constant sex and moral or therapeutic support to rewire the brain back to the natural means of sexual climax. So a wife is necessary for becoming whole in this. She would help, too, for accountability reasons as you help her with her own vice.
Many men stop this vice when they start having sex constantly and are connected with someone they love and can rely on. I can tell you from experience that there's an intense connection you have with a woman whom you have sex with, climax or not, that pornography would rarely come to mind. We marry too late in this generation. Priests should encourage early maturity and marriage. Trying to suppress a desire that begins at 15 until the individual is 30 and marry is not scalable.
Prayer and Penance is good because from experience God takes away this vice from me almost miraculously, but i fall back because many natural means are not in place. It's easy for a lonely man who doesn't have anyone who cares for him to easily fall back into this time and time again. Connection with someone else either in marriage or the monastery is necessary. "It's not good for man to be alone."
Thank you.
One other aid is responsibility.
Many people have stopped multiple kinds of addiction when they marry and give birth. Now they have to think of someone else.
Maybe thinking about someone else for a change helps one not think so much about themselves, hence, spending way less time thinking about sex or lusting.
Many men are not really doing anything heroic or serious. They are just lonely and bored. Even the monks have more things to do than most men in the world.
Oh Lord, men need responsibility and things to do. We are mind splitting bored nowadays. No wife, no children, just a computer job that takes all your time, doesn't mean you are necessarily doing much, therefore no recreation, no play. Men just get dull, bored, and lonely.
Agree with you on many levels, but marriage does not always help you overcome lust completely. That varies per man. I still struggle with lust, regardless of being married. It's a tricky one...
@@SpyridonChriste oh marriage is not a magic wand. No one believes that lust disappears, in fact it never does as the Priests says but I am sure you are better off, than if you were single. Mortification, Penance and the other things the Priest said hold still even though you are married.
I don't know what religion you belong to, but I am a Catholic, and we believe marriage is a sacrament, that means it is a means of obtaining graces (sanctifying grace) in order to live the married life and save one's soul. So I would tap into that if I was married.
Honestly, I feel people feel marriage doesn't help with this if the wife isn't supportive. Definitely if the wife isn't supportive, it would be worse. I don't know your marriage dynamic, but one would be better off married than not. Don't you agree?
@@ugomariapablo certainly, in many ways.
@@SpyridonChriste Thank you so much Sir
I never saw it as a humiliation ritual. Oh my this is spot on.
But what if I become addicted to Father Moses videos?
Father, the timing of your video for my life is so perfect it's shocking. Woke up from a series of dark dreams that I can only call a spiritual attack and saw this in the recommended of a video I searched and you had posted it not even a day before. I fell back into sin, and let dark forces back into my life because of it.
Thank you for the stern, no nonsense message. God bless you father.
I’m a woman who battles with since very young age. And the thing is I rarely even imply anything sexual in m a s turbation. It always worked for me as stress relief and I never felt that something is inherently wrong with it until I came to church. Please pray for me it feels like there’s no way out. I’m running in circles
Hormones around ovulation can be crazy!!! It’s rough!
Ask God to help take it away.
And thank God for giving you hormones that help to give you a desire to reproduce and allow Gods new human creations!
And to help you find an appropriate husband.
I relate, but also struggle with fantasizing. It used to be just stress relief when I was younger. It’s definitely difficult. I’ve only tried to stop in the last year or so and have slowly been able to go longer periods without it. Keep praying and confessing.
Also I wish there were some kind of support group I could find for women who deal with this
@@nataliedeister4152 same with me sister, same with me. May Lord have mercy on us.
Awesome video Moses. I find what works best is fasting for self control and fitness for emotional regulation
Can you explain why catholic priests are celibate? Most other churches operate within a marriage. The wife supports the priest.
I am Eastern Orthodox, married 22-years, 5-sons. :)
No clue about the Catholics, it makes no sense to me.
@@fathermosesmcphersonit should make sense though because being celibate for God has always been a tradition in Eastern Orthodoxy and is to this day among monks and bishops etc. This tradition in the west is and has always been very highly regarded even when west and east were united. There’s no need to look down on catholic priests for practicing celibacy.
I support most of this message, and you’ve obviously spoken to more young men about this struggle. That said, the young men I’ve spoken to are escaping from shame and guilt (among other things) by “falling.” The more they call their actions pathetic or shameful, the more they sink into it.
Addiction is one of the hardest battles to face because it requires tackling the root cause and being mindful of how the temptation occurs; willpower alone is usually insufficient long-term. You sometimes have to correct the rest of your life before you’ve built up the strength to win the fight. Take accountability, practice discipline, and get support, but do not let your guilt control you if you realize it’s doing more harm than good.
Exactly. Yes lust can be a very destructive force but I believe for a priest to call someone a loser is wrong. "Loser" is a term used by world by a bully who only feels alive by putting down others. "Loser" is a term to identify someone who doesn't have worldly success or less than someone else. As a Christian there are many times where I have been viewed as a so called "loser" for following the path God has laid out for me
Hello Father Moses, I’m struggling with lust, but I find myself falling easiest into content that is some combination of unconventional, fetishistic, not actual people, or even somewhat homosexual in nature. I do not typically fall into self abuse over real women. I desire to become a father with a Godly woman, but my sexual desires don’t strongly align with that. Can or should I realign my desires? How would I do this? Is it still possible for me to live the life God wants me to live?
Pray like your soul depends on it!!!
Thank you, Father.
Recently, God's guidance has been very impactful in my life, more than usual, and I've been sober, but I know the battle is not over and I am not free from this sin yet, so your advice is very valuable and something to remember moving forward. God bless you.
A great help to me was the recognition that this is a mortal sin, and that after committing this sin I was no longer in a state of grace and had to confess my sins to a priest before I could again receive the Eucharist. This way, you can hold yourself accountable when your head is clearer, and over time you will make gradual steps to resist the temptation