“I, the LORD, your God, teach you what is for your good, and lead you on the way you should go. If you would hearken to my commandments, your prosperity would be like a river, and your vindication like the waves of the sea.” (Isaiah 48: 17-18)
Sometimes we feel that rules prevent us from being free, they prevent us from being unique, but most of the time they are for our own protection and our own good. One of the rules in our home that the boys sometime complain about is going to Mass every Sunday. Our youngest son is in high school now and has tried to get out of Mass a couple of times but there is no flexibility to that rule. He knows this but will occasionally test it and when he is told that he is going to Mass there isn’t any more grumbling. When we are home for dinner we all eat together at the table and the television is off, there is no texting or phones at the table either. Sometimes there are grumblings about this rule too but we all see the benefit in us gathering together and sharing with one another what is going on in our lives. We are all so busy and there are so many distractions in our lives that we really need to provide protected time for us as a family.
God’s commandments are there out of love for us. They aren’t there to make life hard for us or to keep us from being ourselves. They provide us freedom instead of enslavement to our sins. If we love the Lord and follow his precepts, we are strengthened by them. And the more we follow them, the easier it becomes to turn from sin and to do the will of our heavenly Father. I like the Examination of Conscience that is used to help us call to mind our sins and failings before approaching the priest in Confession. When you run through the commandments you may think, I didn’t kill anyone, I didn’t commit adultery, I didn’t steal anything. But the Examination of Conscience requires you to look deeper. Did I participate in gossip? Did I refuse to control my temper? Did I watch TV or movies that promoted sex outside of marriage? Do I try to live in the spirit of Gospel poverty or am I a slave to consumerism? All of the questions take us to a deeper level and allow us to really look at what is in our hearts and also give us a better understanding of the commandments.
When we struggle with sin, we need only to call upon the Lord for strength. He is always there for us and with this divine grace we are able to stand firm against the snares of the devil. And when we do fall into sin, the Lord is always there for us to approach with humble and contrite hearts and he will lead us back to the path of righteousness.
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