What path are we on?
(c)Sue Kathman 2008
J.M.J.
February 27, 2013
Dear Family of Mary!
"Dear children! Also today I call you to prayer. Sin is pulling you towards worldly things and I have come to lead you towards holiness and the things of God, but you are struggling and spending your energies in the battle with the good and the evil that are in you. Therefore, little children, pray, pray, pray until prayer becomes a joy for you and your life will become a simple walk towards God. Thank you for having responded to my call." (02/25/13)
What a picture Our Lady paints for us in this message! A fundamental picture of the human condition, the state of things in this world. She tells us, "Sin is pulling you towards worldly things..." And she tells us "I have come to lead you towards holiness...." Here is the picture I see:
We, who know Our Lady, who are responding to her call in Medjugorje, are each standing in the present, standing in time, here and now. We have two companions with us in the present moment. One is sin. Sin (the desire to do something outside the will of God) is holding on to lines of rope or string which are connected to our hearts. Those ropes are our attachments to certain things of the world, things that look advantageous, helpful, desirable, like power, money, fame, beauty, ease, self-indulgence, pleasures, etc. We feel pulled towards those things. We want them, desire them, need them, wish for them, connive for them, etc. We are being pulled in their direction. They can even drive us crazy with desire. Of course, it is satan pulling on those attachments, using them to draw us away from God and our true selves. But we see only the things we desire, not the person behind them who is using them to enslave us. We may not even recognize them as sin. They just seem like stuff.
The other companion is Our Lady. She stands before us, without disguise. She doesn't touch us, pull on us, or impinge on us in any way. She only stands by, speaking gently to us, encouraging us, offering us another set of desires, desires that are not sin, but are good. Those desires are things like love, peace, joy, hope, faith, forgiveness, service, trust, life with God, eternal life in heaven, etc. She offers to lead us towards holiness, towards a life united to God and His will for us. We are free, not pulled, by Mary. She respects and protects our dignity. Unlike sin, which takes away our dignity (pulling us by force), Mary confers it upon us, even when we don't deserve it!
These two companions each want to direct our steps. One longs to deprive us of our freedom and our salvation, the other longs to give us both. The trouble is we need to recognize the undue pressure and influence of sin and evil in our inner being, so that we can better choose the way to go. We need to unmask our desires and see them for what they are. What are we attached to that is leading us away from God? What have we made agreements with that is binding us to evil? What are we struggling with inside? What do we need to let go of so that we can end the battle between good and evil within us?
This is the task Our Lady has asked us to take on, the examination of conscience. What am I attached to that is pulling me away from God?
One key to this question may be to discover what is "pulling" at me with unfair advantage, what lures me against even my own will, forcing me into behaviors that I know are wrong? That pulling is a sign of the evil one.
As we examine our consciences, we may find many attachments that have to be ended! And it can be done, through the sacraments. We are not helpless before them. Pull as they might, we can be freed of their influence. Mother Mary will help us, if we pray. She is with us to lead us gently in the right direction! Let's look at Our Lady, not at sin. In our present moment, let's let Her guide us away from all that would hurt us and bind us.
In Jesus, Mary and Joseph!
Cathy Nolan
©Mary TV 2013
PS. Pray, pray, pray, for Pope Benedict XVI!!! We can offer our Wednesday fast for him today!!
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