“An analysis of Google data, conducted by the New York Times, shows that ‘porn’ is most commonly searched for between the hours of midnight and 2am - with a sudden, sharp increase from 8pm.”
The devil is the “prince of darkness;” Our Lord Jesus Christ was falsely arrested and taken away under the shroud of darkness; and the Apostle Paul said (Ephesians 6:12): “Our wrestling…is against principalities and powers, against the rulers of the world of this darkness.”
Not surprising, at night, most men will fall into the temptation of pornography and masturbation: the household is asleep, one is alone, and seemingly protected from discovery. As I also discovered in the gay lifestyle, the most perverse debaucheries were almost always scheduled to take place well into the evening: the darkness seemed to offer some measure of anonymity; you felt freer in your comings and goings – away from judgmental eyes; also, at the end of the day – you could sense a certain amount of charging-up: of feeling primed and ready; also, there was this rather contradictory and uncontrollable desire for peace – that an explosive sexual experience would finally create the ultimate narcotic. What normally happens in men is a temporary, but powerful, high – followed by an immediate and crushing low. The night promises much, but never delivers. Yet, the Lord can turn darkness into Light, and, if we are humbled, He will pull us away from the hopelessness of confusion – with the isolation and suffering of the night serving as the highest purgation: “…God takes you by the hand and guides you in darkness, as though you were blind, along a way and to a place you know not. You would never have succeeded in reaching this place no matter how good your eyes or your feet.”* Subsequently, in the hell of pornography and homosexuality, the Lord discovered my near lifeless body as I desperately tried to reorient myself in the darkness, only – things had gotten so bleak, that I never could have done it alone. Suddenly, He turned the most frightful day of my life into the most joyful.
Some tips for staying porn free at night:
-turn off the computer at an early hour – perhaps before dinner; then, leave it off.
-instead of watching television before bedtime – read a book; preferably something of a spiritual nature.
-schedule special prayers in the evening: the Rosary, the Prayer of St. Michael; the Ancient Prayer of St. Joseph.
-got to bed at a set time.
-right before sleep, perform an examination of conscious: thank the Lord for all you did right during the day; ask for forgiveness for the things you did wrong; and pray for a better day tomorrow.
*Taken from “The Dark Night” by St. John of the Cross.