Thursday, February 16, 2012

SOMETHING TO PRAY OVER: SIN / VIRTUE

 
A REFLECTION TO LEAD YOU TO PRAYER:
 
Begin this reflection by reading The Letter to James  1: 12-18
 
Follow it up with this reflection and let it all lead you to pray about how sin and virtue impacts your life:
 
"In this reading, James discusses events and feelings within us over which we have no immediate control.  We are not complete masters in our own house.  James locates the source of sin in a primal disorder we all carry around.  The stab of jealousy, the crease of hatred or the darker passions that surge from some dark center within us can be triggered by almost anything.   Left unguarded, such isolated sentiments have their own momentum.  Dark emotions coalesce into a frame of mind;   a disposition expresses itself in actions;  actions merge into habits;   habits lead to spiritual death.   But the Word is also implanted within us with its own life-cycle.   Emotions of forgiveness or concern also form a frame of mind that can concretize itself into good habits and spiritual vitality.  We are not helpless and passive bystanders in a cosmic struggle between good and evil.  The arena of conflict is within ourselves."
 
(reflection is by Fr. S. Joseph Krempa, as found in Alba Houses'  Daily Homilies for Ordinary Time - Year 2)
 

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