Where’s the line between appreciating someone’s beauty and falling into lust? Dr. Sri breaks open St. John Paul II’s wisdom from Love and Responsibility to help us understand the inner movements of attraction, temptation, and purity. With clarity and compassion, he explains the three stages that lead from innocent attraction into lust—and how resisting temptation, even imperfectly, is already a victory of grace. 

Shownotes

3 Stages of Lust (from JP II’s Love and Responsibility)

1. Spontaneous Sensual Reaction – Noticing beauty; morally neutral.
2. Sensual Concupiscence – Feeling a pull to “consume” the body; still not sinful if resisted.
3. Carnal Desire – The will consents and begins actively using the person (even in imagination). → This is where sin begins.

Practical Takeaways

• Have humility: fallen nature means temptation is normal.
• Take courage: resisting—even with interior struggle—is meaningful spiritual victory.
• Return to mercy: when you fail, God’s love remains constant and unconditional.
• Use confession: not only for forgiveness but for strengthening purity.

Scripture references

 2 Samuel 11

The story of David and Bathsheba, used to illustrate:

• Spontaneous reaction (David notices her beauty)
• Curiosity turning into concupiscence (inquiring about her)
• Full consent (sending for her and committing adultery)