Our Lord wants us to do all we can every day to avoid the occasion of our sins, especially habitual ones
Reflections on the readings for the Twenty-sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time (September 30, 2018): NM 11:25-29; PS 19:8,10,12-13,14; JAS 5:1-6; MK 9:38-43,45,47-48
MISSIO offers “Mission In Scripture” to nurture a missionary heart, providing reflections on the missionary themes in the readings of Sundays, Feast Days and Holy Days.
Christ takes His relationship with every one of His followers very seriously, and He wants us to do the same.
The Son of God who became man to free us from the chains of sin and the finality of death desires us to be truly His own. He asks us to empty ourselves of the self-centeredness that dominates our lives and to allow Him to fill us with His own goodness and holiness. That means we need to break away from anything and everything that comes between us. “If your eye cause you to sin, pluck it out. Better for you to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye that with two eyes to be thrown into Gehenna, where their worm does not die, and the fire in not quenched” (Mark 9:47-48). These are stark words. And we must pay attention to them.
God loves us. We are His children. He does not want us to cause ourselves physical harm, rather, He wants us to take whatever steps are necessary to repent of our sins and keep from committing them again. If, for example, we tend to lie or disparage others, we should prepare for the temptations that lead us to fall into that trap again and again. Whatever particular situations entice us to turn away from God’s will and choose our personal cravings must be recognized. We need to pray for the grace to become the unique, holy, precious individuals our Eternal Father created us to be.
Suggested missionary action: We can resolve to make a daily examination of conscience so we can better understand the way sin damages our union with God. Then we need to do all we can to avoid temptation.
