My dear brothers and sisters, may the good Lord bless you on this day which we dedicate to him as he has asked that all Sundays be a day of rest with him.
In today’s first reading from Genesis, we see our Lord God in the Garden of Eden with Adam and Eve, trying to help them with an examination of conscience. Through a line of questioning, that he fully knows the answers to, he is trying to get Adam and Eve to look deeper into their actions. His first question to Adam was simply why he had broken the commandment. Same question was posed to Eve when Adam shifted the blame to her. Eve in her turn shifted the blame to the devil. Now while it is true that the devil tempted them, it is also true that they had a choice and chose wrong and are now failing to own up to it.
It is so important then, for all of us, to admit our sins, and try to do better, to try to choose better. Because if we continue to live in a continual state of indifference and denial, we will never make progress and in fact we will decline into further states of despair.
Getting to the root of the problem is so important in that a lot of times we judge from exterior appearances and fail to search deeper. There are reasons why a person may be confused or disheartened. There are also reasons why we can’t seem to overcome a certain vice or habitual sin in our lives. At times it can be a matter of deep wounds that need healing, and at other
times it could be something as simple as a habitual lack of sleep. If one is not aware of these things that may be leading to other behaviours and other outcomes, we risk making imprudent and illogical decisions that can lead us to even more difficult situations and states of being. We need to get to the bottom of things and this is the first thing the good Lord pursues in his love for his first born of human creation—Adam and Eve.
In today’s second reading, Saint Paul reminds the Corinthians of how we are renewed daily by God’s grace and he renews us continually with a purpose. He renews us towards fulfilling God’s will more readily, consistently, and wholeheartedly… for what purpose? For the purpose of preparing us for life in heaven, within the beatific vision. This entire life, yes, is a preparation for heaven. And if we aren’t completely purified at death, in his love and mercy, he has provided purgatory for this purpose. Now all the saints tell us, we really don’t want to be in purgatory. We want to live in such a way now, through God’s grace and mercy, where we can bypass purgatory all together, but this takes cooperating with God’s grace more consistently, more humility.
Things we definitely need to get rid of, if we hope to bypass both hell and purgatory is sin, and all the prideful things we do which lead us into sin. We are not as strong as we think. That’s usually our human nature talking. The motivational speeches, the inspirational videos we watch… if they do away with God, if there is no mention of Him and the grace we need from him, they will lead you to emptiness. Jesus quite simply put it this way: “Without me, you can do nothing” John 15:5. And he was here talking in his capacity as God. It is God who allows for every breath we take. It is he who has provided the air, the trees to produce that air, the water that those trees need to survive. It always all comes from him, and without him, there is only nothing and void, darkness and utter emptiness in our hearts. “Man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God” Matthew 4:4
Let us then trust him as the saints did. Let us embrace him as the Queen of Saints embraced him, pondering his goodness, in her heart, all the days of her life. And let us always remember that he is preparing us for heaven. May the passion, death and resurrection of Jesus continue to bless you this day and always, my dear, dear brothers and sisters. Amen.
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