Reflections from the Heart – September 29, 2024

Twenty-sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time
by Fr. Ivan Olmo

“From wanton sin especially, restrain your servant; let it not rule over me.” Sin is God’s enemy and your enemy as well, for sin seeks to destroy you, disassemble your life, and takes apart all God creates which is good, holy, worthy of love and eternal. Sin hates God, opposes him, mocks God, therefore sin hates you because God loves you and remains faithful to his love for you. Sin rejects love for God is love. Sin hates life for God is life. Sin makes fun of those who believe in God; the believers who make themselves insignificant, poor in spirit, who are blessed by God for God is the source and object of your faith, has made himself tiny, helpless and poor as a baby in a manger for your sake. Sin is so jealous of God for sin can never create, love or be-loved. Sin is so jealous and envious of you because God loves you so much he gave his only Son in exchange for you to ransom you from sin and death. Yet most of the time, we love our sins more than we love our God. It is true. If it wasn’t true, why do you still sin? Do you think or say, I am only human? So is Jesus and Mary and they never sinned. Our nature is to be good, holy, obedient, loving, and faithful like Jesus, like Mary, like Joseph. You might say “but they are holy and full of grace,” but so are you created in God’s image and likeness and filled with his Holy Spirit and infused with Holy Communion. Do you think or say, I cannot help it? You can’t stop sinning or you choose not to stop sinning. You can’t or you won’t? Our sins betray God. They dishonor our friendship and relationship with him. We lack covenant fidelity when we sin. We lack faithfulness to commitment when we commit sins. We lack honoring our baptismal vows when we refuse to renounce sin and Satan and all his empty words and works. We commit spiritual adultery every time we sin. Infidelity to God, to life and to eternal love. Sin confuses truth but we allow it. Sin even distorts lies but we continue to lie, tell untruths, withhold information, and deceive others with our deceptions, false allegations, and fabricated details that we further embellish, inflate or conveniently leave out. Pray for the grace and the desire to stop sinning, to be truly free from sin and not let sin rule over you anymore.