Choices 

   When I wake up in the morning there are several choices that I will need to make throughout the day.  Some are easy, some are of no great importance.  Others will affect how I live my life, whether I am full of hope or despairing.

   I can choose to grab my phone or turn on the television and check out the news.  The problem with this choice is that the news is biased no matter who is reporting and is never good.  If it’s not bad news it usually doesn’t see the light of day.  The news is one of those things that will lead to despair, stealing the peace I seek.

   Instead, I can open the blinds and greet the new day.  Taking a long walk at dawn is a wonderful start to the day.  I can pray, I can think of God and all the many blessings He has given me.  As the sun rises I can enjoy the beauty of the new day, the brilliant colors cast by the sun through the early mist of a foggy day.  I can hear the birds waking up and greeting the day and see the squirrels beginning their daily search for breakfast or just chasing each other about as if playing.

   As the day progresses there will be many other choices to make.  I can choose to stay at home, doing really nothing with my day.  I can waste the day sitting in front of a television that brings every evil known to man right into my home.  I can spend the day doing nothing of value, just moving from sunrise to sunset in a stupor.

   Or I can live my day noticing the beauty and majesty of God’s creation.   I can go to Mass and worship my God and receive the body, blood, soul, and divinity of Christ in the Eucharist.  While there I can visit with friends who share my faith, friends who give me strength in living my faith.  I can be thankful for the good things He has given me rather than complain about the bad things of the world.

   The choices are quite clear.  I can live for God or for self.  Living for self brings pride, sinfulness, and despair.  Living for God brings joy, happiness, and eternal life.  The choice is simple, choose God.

 Let Christ Lead 

   “My child, permit me to do with you what I will, for I know what is best for you.”  (“The Imitation of Christ”, Thomas à Kempis) 

   It’s difficult to relinquish control of our life, even to Christ.  Our society, from our earliest years, teaches us to be self-reliant.  We are told to stand on our own two feet, to be true to ourselves.  The problem with this attitude is how very little we really know about what is best for us.  Like the blind leading the blind we will fall in a ditch.

   If I try to take the lead, I will become lost.  I will confuse things of little importance with those that are vital if I am to know eternal life in heaven.  Standing on my own two feet, I sometimes feel as if I’m standing in quicksand rather than on solid rock.  Christ is the rock on which I must stand, the rock that is always strong and steady.

   My wisdom is that of a man, not of God; I must seek His wisdom.  In order to become holy, to reach God’s heavenly kingdom, I cannot lead the way, I must follow Him. 

   “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, on your own intelligence do not rely; in all your ways be mindful of him, and he will make straight your paths.” (Proverbs 3: 5 – 6). 

 Encouragement 

   “And this is the verdict, that the light came into the world, but people preferred darkness to light, because their works were evil.” (John 3: 19) 

   The early Christians lived almost as a separate community, apart from the rest of society.  Because of severe persecution, they worshipped together and, in some cases, lived in Christian communities separate from the Jewish communities and the Romans, both of whom wished to destroy the new “way” as it was called.

   In today’s society Christians and all they stand for are more and more under attack and the attacks are becoming bolder and more public.  The government seems more intent on corrupting our morals than in protecting our religious freedom.  More and more laws are being enacted to make the faithful deny their faith in public or at least keep quiet about it.  Christians are ridiculed, demeaned, and often despised by the majority of society.

   I am blessed to have friends who are faithful and enjoy sharing that faith with others.  I draw great strength from them.  It’s good to associate with those whose faith is strong, who strive to live by the will of God and want to share that strength with others.

   The parish I attend is also a great source of strength.  The priests are true shepherds of their flock, guiding us on the right path even though there are those who are offended by their frankness.  Sadly, I find that some priests and pastors seem more concerned with the collection plate than with tending the flock.

   The forthrightness and candor of my priests strengthens my faith and encourages me to live according to the word of God.  The fellowship and support of my friends in faith give me strength and comfort.  Without such encouragement I would be lost.

 

   “Therefore encourage one another and build up each other, as indeed you are doing.” (1 Thess 5: 11)

 The Sins of Others 

   A young monk once went to an elder and told him that one of the brothers had told him about the sins of one of the other brothers.  The elder advised him not to trust the word of another in such things and the monk answered that he too had seen the sin with his own eyes.

   The elder then picked up a small straw from the ground and asked the monk what it was.  He replied that it was a straw.  The elder then touched the roof of his cell and asked, “What is this?”.  The monk answered that it was the beam holding up the roof.  At this point the elder said, “Keep remembering that your sins are like this beam and that brother’s sins are like this wisp of straw.

   I offer this rather long story for a reason.  I find it easy to notice the sins of others while taking little or no account my own.  It’s so easy to do; self-assessment is never easy.  And yet, I find it quite easy to concern myself with the sins of others.

   Jesus once said, “Why do you observe the splinter in your brother’s eye and never notice the plank in your own?  How dare you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the splinter out of your eye’, when all the time there is a plank in your own?  Hypocrite!” (Matt: 7: 3).  I take it quite seriously when, in the eyes of my Lord, I am a hypocrite for judging others when I am full of sin myself.

   In a world full of sin, it’s so easy to become judgmental, to call out others for their sinfulness while ignoring or minimizing my own.  I pray that others will come to recognize their sins and turn from them, but it is not up to me to be their judge.  In my own life there are enough faults and sins for me to correct without looking for the sins of others.

 Trust In God 

   “Do not let your hearts be troubled.  Trust in God and trust in me.” (John 14: 1) 

   There is so much wrong in the world today.  It is not now, and never will be what it was created to be.  The paradise of Eden was lost by sinful pride and rejection of God’s truths.  It will not be regained in this world.

   In such a world, one wonders who can be trusted.  Even those we view as most worthy of trust often betray us.  Parents who are to love and care for their children sometimes mistreat and abuse them.  Religious leaders who are to be pastor to the flock sometimes mislead and use their position to abuse those they are to lead.  Friends, family; sadly, even these are sometimes unworthy of our trust.

   Politicians?  Well, what can I say, they are virtually all liars whose only concern is there own reelection.  Gone are the days of service to country, service to self is their motto.  No lie, no underhanded trick is low enough for some if it means they can keep their job.

   But there is one who can be trusted.  Trust in God is sanity; it keeps the wolves of despair at bay.  It gives me hope and brings joy to my heart.  If I allow myself to focus on a world that is broken, one that will pass away, it robs my peace, it steals my calm.  Rather, I place all my trust in God.

 Resisting Satan 

   “Give in to God, then; resist the devil, and he will run from you.  The nearer you go to God, the nearer he will come to you." (James 4: 7 – 8) 

   I once wrote that when we pray, Satan cringes.  I believe that to be true.  When we are in communion with God in prayer Satan must flee.  Perhaps he cannot tolerate closeness to the Father, but whatever the reason, prayer sends Satan away.

   Prayer is not only the time I spend in what might be called “normal” prayer, those well-known prayers we all say.  Prayer is not just my private prayer, when it’s just me and the Lord together.  Prayer is also the way in which I live my life, the way I approach others with the love of Christ.  If I offer all I do to the Lord, all I do becomes prayer.

   When I sin, it is because I’ve taken my eyes off God.  Some try to blame Satan for their sins, claiming that the devil made them do it.  But nothing could be further from the truth.  Satan cannot force me to sin, he can only tempt me.  He can make sin appear to be pleasurable, enjoyable, and even good in some twisted way, but I must submit to the temptation and agree to commit the act.

   The more I keep God in my thoughts and actions, the less opportunity Satan has to draw me into sin.  I pray that I can always draw nearer to God, pushing Satan further and further away.

 Start Today 

   “You can’t go back and change the beginning, but you can start where you are and change the ending.” (C.S. Lewis) 

   I wish I could go back and redo parts of my life.  My past sinfulness and disregard of God bother me greatly.  But I cannot go back in time, I can only move forward.  As I move forward I try to resist Satan and his temptations, to follow the will of God.  Of course, I fail at times, but I believe my efforts are pleasing to God.

   In one sense it is good that I am conscious of and regret the evil I have done in my life.  By remembering, I am cautioned against repeating those mistakes.  But, on the other hand, there is the danger of becoming so concerned with past sins that I dwell on them rather than praise God for His forgiveness, even though I am unworthy. I see this as a tool of Satan intended to convince me that I can never be saved; my sins have made me an abomination before God.

   I am certainly unworthy of God’s love, my sins insult and offend Him.  But that doesn’t change the fact that He loves me and forgives me.  It’s important that I strike a balance between regret for past sins and acknowledging that God has forgiven them.  If I can’t forgive myself even though God has forgiven me, how can I forgive others?

   The past is done.  Past sins may not be forgotten, but they are forgiven.  The future lies ahead, and I have no way of knowing what it may bring.  I can’t live my life in the past, I can’t change the beginning.  But I can start anew and change the ending.