Dear Katie:

Temptation is not a sin. Lust, however, is a sin. Since Jesus did not sin; he did not lust.

Jesus may very well have been tempted by some woman. I imagine the Devil would had setup a situation for that. But, Jesus would have rebuffed the temptation.

Jesus was tempted by the devil as described in the Bible. But, was there any real chance that Jesus would have considered the temptation? No.

We often think of temptation as something within us. But, in reality the temptation is outside of us. Temptation is a solicitation to sin. If someone comes up to you and asks you to join rob a bank, that is a solicitation to sin; it is a temptation by definition. Now, I am sure that you have no interest in robbing a bank and thus you are not attracted to that solicitation. Nevertheless, by definition, the offer was a temptation (solicitation).

When we say, "I am tempted to rob a bank", then we are really saying, "I am attracted to the idea of robbing a bank". This is a different, non-theological, use of the word "tempted", since temptation does not necessary mean "attraction" or "inclination".

Jesus was not attracted to, or inclined to accept the devil's temptations, yet the Bible says he was tempted by the devil. The devil made the solicitation and Jesus rebuffed it.

The formal definition of temptation in Fr. John Hardon's Modern Catholic Dictionary is:

[Temptation is the] Solicitation to sin, whether by persuasion or offering some pleasure. It may arise from the world, the flesh, or the devil. Temptation from the world is the attractiveness of bad example and the psychological pressure to conform. Temptations from the flesh are all the urges of concupiscence, whether carnal or spiritual, where man's fallen nature has built-in tendencies to the seven capital sins. Demonic temptations arise from instigations of the evil spirit, whose method is to encourage every form of avarice or selfishness, in order to lead one to pride, and through pride to all other sins.

Temptation has several levels. For example, someone can tempt me to get drunk. That solicitation (temptation) will not work with me because I think getting drunk is stupid (as well as sinful) and I have utterly no desire to do it.

Now if someone tempts me with German Chocolate Cake that will have an "attraction" for me and I will feel a "desire" rise in me that I would REALLY like a piece of that cake since I love German Chocolate Cake.

My predisposition to want the cake makes the temptation stronger and more difficult to resist.

Jesus was not pre-disposed to sin with lust or any other sin because he lacked concupiscence (the natural tendency toward sin). Thus, he was able to physically resist the temptation without committing a sinful thought of it either.

For me, drunkenness is not an attraction. German Chocolate Cake is a big attraction.

Now let us talk about lust specifically. The formal definition of lust is:

An inordinate desire for or enjoyment of sexual pleasure. The desires or acts are inordinate when they do not confirm to the divinely ordained purpose of sexual pleasure, which is to foster the mutual love of husband and wife and, according to the dispositions of providence, to procreate and educate their children. (Etym. Anglo-Saxon lut, pleasure.)

Lust is the "inordinate desire for sexual pleasure." The definition of "inordinate desire" is that the desire does not "conform to the divinely ordained purpose of sexual pleasure..." (which is that between husband and wife).

Thus, if a woman comes up to me and presents herself with an obvious intent of seduction and inducement to sexual thoughts the temptation has been made (her solicitation has been made).

The issue now is what I do with that temptation. With the presumption that I do not accept her invitation, I still have my mind to worry about. I can rebuff it or I can indulge it in my mind.

Whether or not I rebuff or indulge the temptation in my mind (lust in my heart) will have a lot to do with whether or not I am attracted to the woman and how disciplined I can be with my thoughts.

We are talking about indulging the thoughts. A fleeting thought that the woman is attractive is not sin. To ruminate and indulge the thought leading to thoughts like "I'd really like to get with her" then becomes lust, which is sin.

These dynamics are a problem for us who have the curse of concupiscence, but Jesus and Mary lacked concupiscence (which is a consequence of original sin) because Jesus was conceived of the Holy Spirit and thus without original sin, and Mary was preserved at the moment of conception from original sin.

It would be nice to not have the proclivity to sin, but we do and we have to deal with it.

Bottomline to your question about where the lines are drawn: A fleeting thought that someone is attractive to you is not sin. To ruminate and indulge that thought becomes lust, which is sin.

I hope this helps.

God Bless,
Bro. Ignatius Mary