Have you ever started a workout routine only to give up within the first day or two? Or how about a Lenten promise that you fulfill for maybe a week before you fall flat on your face? This seems to be a frequent occurrence for me. Part of my problem is that I tend to go so big with my goals that no human being could ever achieve them, so I inevitably fail. I say I am going to cut out all carbs and sugar and work out for 30 minutes each day on January 1st and then there I am on January 2nd eating a donut. It’s a struggle.
I think this is a struggle that we can all relate with because it is a human struggle. Well, more precisely, it is a fallen human struggle. We were never meant to struggle like this. In the beginning, we didn’t struggle with sin and did not have weakness. Can you imagine going back to that time? I find myself relating very closely to Paul in today’s first reading. We do not do what we love and we do what we hate.
Thankfully, we can still make progress. Even though we live in a fallen world and have fallen inclinations, we do have something that the people in the Old Testament did not, which is sacramental grace. This is why staying close to the sacraments is so important. The sacraments give us the grace to overcome the weakness we experience from The Fall.
This is why Paul makes it clear that only God can deliver us from this mortal body. Here, Paul is not putting the body down. He is getting to the point that our body without the spirit and grace of God is dead. We are like walking zombies. If we are zombies without the help of God then we are superheros with his help. We can overcome anything with the strength and grace that God gives us through the sacraments.
I think most of us reading this go to Mass regularly, but we sometimes forget or get too busy to take advantage of the other sacraments. Imagine what would happen to the world if we all frequented the sacraments and took on the power of Christ in all that we did. Oh, how the world would change!
From all of us here at Diocesan, God bless!
¿Alguna vez has empezado una rutina de ejercicios y luego la abandonaste al primer o segundo día? ¿O capaz has hecho una promesa de Cuaresma que cumples por tan solo una semana antes de fracasar? Esto me ocurre con frecuencia. Parte del problema es que tiendo a ponerme metas tan altas que ningún ser humano podría alcanzarlas, así que inevitablemente fracaso. Digo que voy a eliminar todos los carbohidratos y el azúcar y hacer ejercicio 30 minutos cada día el primero de enero, y luego ahí estoy el segundo de enero comiendo una dona. Es una batalla constante.
Creo que esta es una batalla con la que todos podemos identificarnos porque es una batalla humana. Bueno, más precisamente, es una batalla de la humanidad caída. Nunca se supuso que batalláramos así. Al principio, no batallábamos con el pecado ni teníamos debilidad. ¿Te imaginas volver a esa época? Me identifico mucho con Pablo en la primera lectura de hoy. No hago el bien que quiero, sino el mal que no quiero.
Afortunadamente, aún podemos salir adelante. Aunque vivimos en un mundo caído y tenemos inclinaciones caídas, tenemos algo que la gente del Antiguo Testamento no tenía: la gracia sacramental. Por eso es tan importante mantenernos cerca de los sacramentos. Los sacramentos nos dan la gracia para superar la debilidad que experimentamos a raíz de la Caída.
Por eso Pablo deja claro que solo Dios puede librarnos de este cuerpo mortal. Pablo no está menospreciando el cuerpo. Está llegando al punto en que nuestro cuerpo, sin el espíritu y la gracia de Dios, está muerto. Somos como zombis andantes. Si somos zombis sin la ayuda de Dios, entonces somos superhéroes con su ayuda. Podemos superar cualquier cosa con la fuerza y la gracia que Dios nos da a través de los sacramentos.
Creo que la mayoría de nosotros que leemos estas reflexiones vamos a misa semanalmente, pero a veces olvidamos o estamos demasiado ocupados para aprovechar los demás sacramentos. Imaginen lo que sucedería en el mundo si todos asistiéramos a los sacramentos y asumiéramos el poder de Cristo en todo lo que hiciéramos. ¡Cómo cambiaría el mundo!
De parte de todos nosotros aquí en la Diócesis, ¡Dios los bendiga!
Tommy Shultz is a Business Development Representative for Diocesan. In this role he is committed to bringing the best software to dioceses and parishes while helping them evangelize on the digital continent. Tommy has worked in various diocese and parish roles since his graduation from Franciscan University with a Theology degree. He hopes to use his skills in evangelization, marketing, and communications, to serve the Church and bring the Good News to all. His favorite quote comes from St. John Paul II, who said, “A person is an entity of a sort to which the only proper and adequate way to relate is love.”
Feature Image Credit: Matea Gregg, unsplash.com/photos/a-man-sitting-in-a-pew-in-a-church-OA8aSKq0e6A
The views and opinions expressed in the Inspiration Daily blog are solely those of the original authors and contributors. These views and opinions do not necessarily represent those of Diocesan, the Diocesan staff, or other contributors to this blog.
1-800-994-9817