GET ON THE RIGHT TRACK
"How can it be,"
Paul wonders, "that when all I want to do is good and yet all that seems
to come out of me are things I don't want to do?"... It is God who will
make all the difference in our lives if we are only willing to allow Him to
enter in and do His work within us!
How good are we at reading
signs? Jesus expects His disciples to read the signs of the times accurately!
While modern technology gives us greater accuracy for pinpointing troublesome
tempests and quakes, our ability for discerning spiritual trouble and averting
spiritual disaster seems to be in need of desperate repair, or at least
improvement. Jesus used a vivid illustration to point out the urgency of
getting on the right path with God. We cannot do this on our own. Each of us
stands in constant need of God's mercy and love.
In today's first reading from
Paul's Letter to the Romans, it is consoling to remember that the great saints,
like St. Paul, and all those we honor during this month, were human like us and
needed help from God to get on the right track, especially in their spiritual
life. They struggled and became discouraged and confused, and ultimately had to
depend completely on God's grace. Today's reading clearly shows a man who is
struggling to be a better person. Paul is discouraged by his apparent lack of
progress. Above all, he becomes confused.
"How can it be,"
Paul wonders, "that when all I want to do is good and yet all that seems
to come out of me are things I don't want to do?" I suspect that the same
happens to all of us from time to time. Perhaps we can see clearly enough to
notice when we need to be more loving toward a particular person, or we when we
must give up our rash judgement of other people and their motives. It may even
be that we hate to have within ourselves a "holier-than-thou"
attitude without being able to do much to overcome it. Why is it that we seem
to make such little progress?
St. Paul cries out, "Who
can free me from this body under the power of death" (Rom 7:24)? His
answer is only implicit at the conclusion of our reading wherein he says,
"Thanks be to God, through Jesus Christ Our Lord" (Rom 7:25)! From
later parts of his Epistle, it becomes clear that he turns in praise to God
because he knows that only God can help by the power of His Holy Spirit. The real
problem is that we tend to depend too much on ourselves rather than on God. We
have the attitude that we are the ones who must accomplish our progress rather
than placing ourselves completely in God's loving care.
In the Responsorial Psalm we
acclaim, "Teach me wisdom and knowledge, for in Your commands I trust... Lord
teach me Your statutes" (Ps 119:66, 68b). Ordinary people like us become
holy (saints in the making), not by their own efforts, but by being open to
God's grace. It is God who will make all the difference in our lives if we are
only willing to allow Him to enter in and do His work within us! God's light
reveals what is in our hearts and His grace frees us. His call is urgent and
His grace is available for complete transformation in Jesus Christ.
May we be ready for His grace
and action in our lives!