Don’t blame the Devil for your sin; Angels: Day 161

It’s true that the devil tempts us to sin, says St. Cyril of  Jerusalem. But the sin itself  is entirely our own doing. We have the power to give in or to resist.

But you may say, “What can sin be? Is it a living thing? An angel? An evil spirit? What is this working inside us?”

It is not an enemy from outside fighting with you, but a shoot of evil growing from inside you. “Let your eyes look directly forward” (Prov. 4:25), and lust does not exist. Keep what is yours, and do not take what is someone else’s, and there is an end to theft. Remember the judgment, and neither fornication, nor adultery, nor murder, nor any other unrighteousness will prevail in you. But as soon as you forget God, you start to think up wickedness and do evil.

But nature is not the only cause of this evil. There is another who miserably urges us on to it—the devil. He urges everyone, but he prevails only over those who listen to him. If you indulgently allow yourself to think of lust, through your imagination, it will strike its roots into you, and captivate your mind, and drag you down into the pit of evils. And don’t say, “I’m a believer, so it won’t gain control over me, even if my mind dwells on the objects of lust.” Don’t you know that even a rock is split after a while by a root that clings to it for a long time? Don’t let the seed in: it will break your faith in pieces. Root out the problem before it blooms, or, because you were lazy at the beginning, you may have to attack it with axes and fire later. –St. Cyril of Jerusalem, Catechetical Lecture 2, 2

IN GOD’S PRESENCE, CONSIDER . . .

What small sins do I let the devil persuade me to indulge in—sins that might be growing roots? A little bit of gluttony? A smidgen of lust?

CLOSING PRAYER

Lord, protect me from the snares of the Evil One, make the evil odor of my soul fragrant again, and purify me with the sanctifying power of your Holy Spirit.

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