If you are like me, you have a hard time keeping your soul perfectly clean. Sure, you don't commit any mortal sins, but you just can't seem to get away from those venial sins. They come when you least expect them and then you feel like kicking yourself after it's all over. What are you supposed to do about it? Well, maybe this little thought might help you.
Last night, after praying the St. Michael Chaplet, I had an idea. Let's say that there are these two master swordsmen. In their culture, it is tradition for the two first borns of each family to meet at a certain age and fight to the death. The first swordsman is already in the room. He sits and waits for his opponent. Then, after a couple minutes, his rival comes in the door. Now, what do you imagine the human reaction of the first swordsman was? Well, his heart would start beating really hard, he'd stand up, draw his sword, look at his opponent and focus intensely on how to best defend himself and win the match. What he would NOT do, is act carelessly about the whole thing and treat the match like it was no big deal. If your life is on the line, you're going to be as prepared as possible for whatever comes your way. Period.
The conclusion I came to last night is this: In order to help ourselves fight venial sin better, we must be aware of the presence of demons. Now, this does NOT mean that we should fear them. For if you are in line with the will of God, you can accomplish all things. Also, with your guardian angel there with you at ALL times, the fallen angels only have as much power over you as you give them. However, that's exactly what we are trying to fix: the fact that we allow them power to convince us to do what is wrong even if only in small matters. The way I have found to help do that is to be aware that it is very possible AND HIGHLY PROBABLE that there is a demon in the room right now just waiting, watching, and hoping for you to open even the tiniest crack for him to go through. Even if you are in a holy place such as mass, the demons will sometimes go through terrible pain just to be there to try and tempt you. However, we must be like the swordsman and be aware that our enemy is near and means to harm our souls. By keeping this in mind as often as we can, we are far less likely to fall into sin because we are aware that what we are tempted to do is opening the door to something we have now thought about (because of this mindset), and have concluded it is not right.
In conclusion, I challenge you to constantly remind yourself of the presence of the demons and why you must be careful not to fall into their traps. That way, the next time you are tempted to do something you shouldn't, this mindset will make you think twice about it. Thanks for reading and please be sure to check out my YouTube Channel and Facebook Page. God bless you all, and have a grace filled day. Viva Cristo Rey!
-TheCatholicApologist
Extremely helpful, thank you very much.
ReplyDeleteIan