"When the unclean spirit departs from a man, it roams through arid wastes searching for a place of rest and finding none. Then it says, 'I will go back where I came from,' and returns to find the dwelling unoccupied, though swept and tidied now. Off it goes again to bring back with it this time seven spirits more evil than itself. They move in and settle there. Thus the last state of that man becomes worse than the first." (Mt 12:43-45)

We have to replace the vices we seek to rid ourselves of and incorporate virtues. Many times we think that just because we have confessed our sins then we are good to go. But the reality is, if there is no sincere desire to recognize sin as sin and to have a horror of sin, to see sin as God sees sin, then the habit of sin remains and eventually returns.Good intentions are not enough.  There must be a sincere desire to deal with sin not on the surface but at its root cause. Example: Bad weeds will continue to grow and take over a garden if only we cut the tops off. There is need to dig to the core or nut of the weed, uproot it totally from the ground, if we wish to rid the garden of weeds. The same is true with sin. Until, with God's grace and strength, we get rid of the root of our sin, it will return to control us.