Infirmitates | Weaknesses

“This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin.” – Hebrews 4: 15 (NLT)

 

We all know that although we have been saved by the grace of God in Jesus Christ, we still could fall into committing sin. For Jesus himself encourages us to pray and guard ourselves from temptation, as the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak (Matt 26:41).

Temptation lurks everywhere. The world offers worldly pleasure that would cause us to lust and forget the holiness expected from the followers of Christ. Love for the world is also including running after money and make it our main goal. Not to mention the everyday sins - be it impatience, anger, arrogance, uttering harsh words, favoritism in loving people, neglecting our loved ones, laziness to seek God in praying or reading the Bible and many more.

Based on my personal experience, sin would make me feel far from God. As a kind of perfectionist, I was ashamed with myself and thus unable to pray and read the Bible well. I would stay away from God. A friend of mine once shared his struggle on fighting sin. He said, “But where else could I go except to Jesus…” which I found so deeply true.

Where else could we go to get ourselves cleansed? To get rid of the frustration as we fight over sin? Our reading today reminds us of our High Priest, Jesus Christ, who has made the atonement once and forever for us. He is able to empathize with our weaknesses as he has been tempted in every way – yet he did not sin.

When we sin, let us not even run away from Jesus. No matter how heavy or shameful the sin might be. He has won over sin by sacrificing His own life and receiving the wrath of God as a replacement for us. “Therefore he is able, once and forever, to save those who come to God through him. He lives forever to intercede with God on their behalf.” (Heb 7:25).

How great it is to know that Jesus lives to intercede on behalf of me before God the Father! I was touched by His understanding. He knows who I am. I am only dust - incapable of doing good things, but enabled by the Holy Spirit who works inside me. I thank Jesus Christ for because of Him this verse is real – Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need (Heb 4: 16). All the glory be to my God in Jesus Christ. Amen.

 

Reflection on Hebrews 4: 14 – 5: 10 by Desire Litaay

(Listen to the Podcast here)

Attendite (Lk. 12:1)

 

Interestingly, in today's gospel, it is told that Jesus delivered special teaching for His disciples. Jesus taught them in a crowd of people, even as they were temporarily jostling. This is certainly not a coincidence. Because that was the method of Jesus’s teaching to the disciples. Jesus knew very well the situation of the disciples at that time. They are temporarily "in pride". They were praised by many people even by Jesus himself after returning from his mission. Walking closest to Jesus and being witnessed by many people was a great pride!

Beware! Beware is an alarm that reminds and even wakes up the disciples to stay awake with their situation. Jesus wanted the disciples to realize that they were being tempted to think, feel, and act like the Pharisees and the scribes. Disciples need to get out of such temptations quickly. Jesus wants none of His disciples to be carried away by the current of the environment but to remain strong in their mission and ministry with humility and sincerity.

Being praised by many for doing something good is a temptation to be proud. The Lord Jesus' warning was addressed to the disciples, is also a warning to us all. Jesus also doesn't want us to be tempted to be like the Pharisees. We may also be infected with the hypocrisy of the Pharisees, who are concerned with appearance and prestige alone. Let us repent and stay away from all things that make us hypocrites. Realize that hypocrisy will one day be exposed. What is covered by man, will be opened by God who looks into the heart.

By Fr. Fransiskus M. Diaz, SVD.

Immundus spiritus (Lk. 11:24)

 

Sometimes, we realize that we have been struggling with a certain sin in our life.  This sin has been committed over and over again.  Eventually, we resolve to confess it and overcome it.  After confessing it we feel overjoyed, but then we see that the next day we are at the same point as before. 

Although we repented, the demon does not stop tempting us. The more pious we are, the more he comes and attacks with even greater force again and again. The demon is at war against our soul. The devil invites his fellows to fight against our souls. Consequently one day we fall into the same sin again. We give up and prefer not to resist the devil's temptations.

The reading of the gospel encourages us to conquer sin. The tighter we cling to sin, the greater strength we need. Overcoming sin can be quite painful and difficult.  Overcoming sin requires deep spiritual purification and complete submission of our mind and will to God. Without spiritual purification and submission of the will to God, the temptations of the devil will be impossible to overcome.

By Fr. Fransiskus M. Diaz, SVD.

Sanctificatio vestra (1 Thes. 4:3)

The way we walk and live according to our Lord’s word is a good indication of how well we please Him. What is God’s will for us His children? He is pleased by our constant sanctification which is a continuous search for purity in our whole being, spirit, soul, and body. First of all, we must recognize that there is an omnipotent God, so the fear of God is the first step to our sanctification and the search to please Him alone. To search to please Him means that we are interested in pleasing His heart and that means diligently searching His Holly Word to know what steps we must take to reach it.

We can find an extensive list of things that we must reject or avoid in our lives to keep our souls of sin against God. In summary, we must reject all work of darkness and all fruit of the flesh that only brings death and damnation. If we try to do so by our own effort and strength, we will be on the verge of complete failure because the word of the Lord says that we can do nothing outside of Him. When trials and bad times come to our lives, the first and last resource of help must be our Lord and Savior who experienced in His own flesh and human nature all kind of temptations without failing, hence He understands our human condition and is a very present help in trouble (Psalm 46:1).

Whether we are going through moments of joy or difficulty, we must remember that it is God's will that we give thanks at all times, that we pray for each other without ceasing and that we do not lose the joy of our salvation that is in Christ Jesus, our savior. His plans for us are perfect and of goodness at all times, Glory be to the Lord, His mercies are forever!

By Nydia Flores, US.