Tackling our sinfulness
Not to be exaggerated, neither to be underestimated, the reality of our weaknesses and frailties, our mistakes and failures, our sins and treacherous attraction to evil is all there to be seen and suffered by all of us.
St. Paul's incisive and pained cry continues to reverberate in the heart of each one of us: "I am carnal, sold into the power of sin. For I do not understand what I do, for it is not what I wish that I do, but what I hate, that I do." (Rom 7,14-15)
Thus, we often wonder why even in some most solemn moments, dirty, ugly thoughts, desires and movements of the flesh can assail us. We try our best to look good and decent, knowing fully well there's something nibbling at our heart.
Imagine how things stand when we are in our more vulnerable moments, as in when we are sick, tired, resting, distracted, confused, lost, etc. What a sitting duck we are to our own weaknesses and the temptations around!
And this, in fact, is the common reality. Given how things are now, we hardly are in some ideal condition to live our life cleanly and honorably. The sad truth is that we are swimming in waters made dirtier each day.
Just look at the papers, the TV, the Internet. We are constantly bombarded, teased and titillated with spiritually and morally not-so-healthy images and messages.
The youth, the uninitiated and inexperienced in the ways of asceticism are the most vulnerable. The worst scenario is when people start to lose the sense of sin. Sadly, this is happening in many places.
But this is a phenomenon we should not be surprised about. Neither should we deny it. These don't help at all. They worsen things instead. We have to do something about it. Woe to us when we ignore this fact of life.
We have to remember that if we view this stubborn, inescapable reality with the fullness of Christian faith, we actually have reason to be happy, since just as St. Paul also said, "It's when I am weak, that I am strong." (2 Cor 12,10)
Let's once again get the full consoling quote to remind ourselves of how we ought to think toward this sad fact: "My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in infirmity. Gladly, therefore, will I glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may dwell in me." (2 Cor 12,7)
Our problem is that with all our immediate concerns and our obsession to be politically correct in our words and actions, we tend to marginalize this reality. We have to quit that attitude.
We have to remember always our sinfulness, but also always with faith. This will lead us to be humble, which is a basic and indispensable virtue that helps us to tackle this condition properly.
Humility leads us to always seek the presence of God, stay away from occasions of sin, and combat temptations resolutely. It helps us to develop a spiritual and supernatural outlook in life, nourishing our faith, hope and charity, all these done discreetly.
Humility makes us simple, transparent and docile to elders. It prevents us from being reckless and imprudent as we get to have a clear view of how weak we are.
Humility convinces us that there's no point doing balancing acts with temptations. It teaches us the effective ways of doing ascetical struggle, using prayers, sacrifices, sacraments and other spiritual and human means.
Humility leads us to develop an abiding sense of penance, knowing how to be sorry for our sins, confessing them to priests to ask for forgiveness, and to do continuing acts of penance and atonement, through mortifications and works of mercy.
Humility makes our conscience sensitive and delicate and at the same time strong and more resistant to the lures of evil. It checks on our tendency to succumb to what St. John refers to as "concupiscence of the flesh, the concupiscence of the eyes and the pride of life." (1 Jn 2,16)
Humility practically makes us immune to the persuasive logic of our sinfulness. The flesh, the world and the devil cannot gainsay and contest the arguments of humility. This is how we attract the power of God to dwell in us. We should do all to grow in this virtue!
(Fr. Cimagala is the Chaplain of Center for Industrial Technology and Enterprise (CITE), Talamban, Cebu City. Email: roycimagala@hotmail.com)