Do you tend to treat sin without the seriousness that it deserves? Do you allow yourself to toy with temptation as well? - Daily Reflections September 17,2015

RELYING WHOLLY ON THE GRACE OF GOD

 

In the course of my priestly ministry, I come across people who believe that  they do not really need Jesus to save them. They do not believe their sins are all that bad. It may be true that a person has never committed a mortal sin — it is often said that St. Therese of Lisieux never committed one — but that does not mean that we don’t need Jesus to save us. Every sin hinders our  relationship with God and it is only through the grace of the cross of Jesus that our sins are forgiven. Whether we like it or not, the only way we will be saved is through the salvific work of Jesus in His cross and resurrection.                   

       One of the great temptations of Satan is that he tries to get us to diminish the effect of sin in our lives to the point that we can even become comfortable with it. I see this time and again in the confessional. I also know personally the temptation to fall into this trap. This is why in the writings of the saints, we will discover a horror for sin, no matter how small. They have embraced the call to rid their lives of all sins, not just the big ones. In this regard, we need to follow their example.

       Little sins are the stepping stones to bigger sins. If we are honest with ourselves, we will be able to identify that dynamic precisely in our own lives. Sin should never be trifled with, not even in the smallest way. The wise and sensible person runs as far as he can from sin as soon as he recognizes it.

       We need to cultivate a hatred for sin that never compromises our call to holiness. We should be truly serious about pursuing the call of salvation. Jesus never trifles with sin; He labels it for what it is and then turns His back on it. We should always do the same. Fr. Steve Tynan, MGL

 

REFLECTION QUESTIONS: Do you tend to treat sin without the seriousness that it deserves? Do you allow yourself to toy with temptation as well?

 

Holy Spirit, grant me the grace to understand the full import of sin and temptation, so that I will never tolerate it a microsecond longer than when I first recognize it.