Men's Rosary

Love is a wonderful thing, until it is not.  It depends on who or what we are loving and why.  Too often, we tend to love the wrong things, for the wrong reason, and ourselves above everyone else; including God! In our pridefulness we focus on ourselves and neglect all around us.  We do that which makes us “happy” and “feel good”.  The problem is it leads to vices and a sinful existence.  We over eat, drink too much, listen to music with morally questionable lyrics – movies as well, we are selfish, uncharitable, lazy, and we keep company with those who wish to stay in this state of being.  We are all the same.  All have shouldered the effects of original sin.  This struggle is concupiscent desire.  We continue to do the things we know we should not. “For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate.” (Romans 7:15) As we give into the desires of the flesh, loving ourself and giving us what we want, we love ourselves into sin.  In effect we can love ourselves to death – a spiritual death, missing out on the reward promised by Christ. “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 6:23)

Sin is insidious.  This is why it is so dangerous.  It is the easy path, and so the path most traveled.  The problem is what awaits at the end of the path.  We give in to our desires and we think, “its not that bad”, “its just a white lie”, “its just a harmless joke or story”, etc.   But sin is like going up to a bucket of water and dropping dirt in it.  You can’t see just a little bit that easily.  But day after day of little bits makes the the water murky and opaque.  Such does sin do to our souls.  Even though we may pause from the behavior, the damage is done and the dirt lies as sediment at the bottom ready to be stirred up at a moment’s notice and keep us on an unrighteous path, a path toward spiritual death.  It is never too late though.  We have the sacrament of Reconciliation. Through it we are able to have the sediment removed and the water purified. Our soul is restored to a state of grace and returns us to a state of purity, much like that at Baptism. “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”  (1John 1:9)

We are called to love ourselves less and love God more.  We are called to be detached form earthly things and desires of the flesh.  Given the nature of the world today, this becomes more difficult over time.  To combat this we must attach ourselves to the behaviors and practices that bring our focus from ourselves onto others and God. Prayer, fasting and almsgiving are three of the most effective practices.  In prayer, especially the Rosary, we stay connected to God through the life of Christ and his Passion, Death and Resurrection.  It is much more difficult to sin when you are regularly praying!  In fasting we stay detached from our desires and wants and remain in control of our being.  We remember our nothingness and dependence on God in all things.  It helps us to grow in humility and keep pride at bay.  In almsgiving we depart from self-absorption.  We understand more that what we have here on earth in terms of time, talent and treasure, is only temporary.  However, the reward of sharing these is eternal. 

Life is not a solo journey.  We are all members of the body of Christ.  As such, we have a responsibility to love one another.  To love is to will the good of the other.  Are we doing that?  We have free will and many freedoms.  How are we using them?  Caution must be exercised that we serve others. “For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.” (Galatians 5:13) In living a life of service we will find that it is hard to focus on ourselves.  Selfishness does not exist much along side of charity and generosity.  Part of the idea of loving, as in willing the good of others, is correcting wrong behavior.  And if we are to be loved by others we should expect and accept correction from our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ.  In temporal matters we would not let one we know continue in a destructive manner without warning them of what we saw and perhaps offering an alternative.  Why would we do any different in matters of faith and morals?  “Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God. But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today”, that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.” (Hebrews 3:12-13)

May we focus less upon ourselves and our wants and desires and more on the person God wills us to be.  Let not serve ourself so much as to neglect serving others. May we all walk the path less traveled, the path that is more difficult and longer, but the path that has the reward of eternal life at its end.

“We do not detach ourselves from things in order to attach ourselves to God, but rather we become detached from ourselves in order to see and use all things in and for God.” (Thomas Merton)