How many times have you resolved to change a bad habit only to fail again and again? Or how many times have you confessed the same sins, feeling so bad about your seeming inability to change?
I think most good people have had this kind of disappointment. You wanted to be better. You wanted to avoid hurting people. All you’ve ever intended is to do God’s will for your life.
What happens, however, is that as soon as you resolve to avoid a certain sin, a multitude of temptations seem to come your way. What you thought would be an easy victory easily turns into a huge defeat.
Why does it seem so hard to be a good person?
This seems to be a question we ask while we cry over our weak human nature.
During such moments, I feel that I understand a little more about what original sin is like. Our fallen state makes us vulnerable to many sins. Our will to do good is weak. Our capacity to avoid temptations is lacking.
It’s no wonder that St. Paul himself said:
“For I know that good does not dwell in me, that is, in my flesh. The willing is ready at hand, but doing the good is not. For I do not do the good I want, but I do the evil I do not want.” (Romans 7:18-19, NABRE)
Fighting Our Tendency To Despair
This constant disappointment and shame in sinning over and over again can make us think that we are hopeless. We can think that since we’d always fail in resisting temptation, then maybe we should just give in. Maybe also we should just give up being a saint!
How many good people have fallen into despair because they couldn’t see how they could possibly change for the better?
The evil one can take this opportunity to accuse us and make us feel condemned. In our despair, guilt and shame, we can forget to look beyond our weaknesses. We can forget to look for our hope in God.
The Power of God’s Grace
God Himself came down from heaven to save us for the precise reason that we cannot save ourselves. He knew that no matter how hard we tried, we couldn’t reach heaven by our own efforts.
Only His grace can set us free from sin. Only His love can remedy our deepest fears.
When we look at ourselves, we may see a never-ending series of disappointments. But when we look at God, we can find His infinite mercy. And all our greatest sins are nothing compared to His boundless love.
To despair is to persist in focusing upon ourselves. To be saved is to accept God’s unfathomable mercy.
God Is Still at Work In Your Life
Let us never forget that God can still do so much for us. It isn’t finished for as long as we have breath. God is continuously guiding you, helping you and leading you to holiness. He wants you to be like Him someday. But He also knows that everything is a process.
Because He knows how fragile we are, He approaches us slowly, gradually and steadily. He reveals Himself to the extent that we can know Him. He keeps us from committing greater sins and encourages us to rise again after each fall.
“I am confident of this, that the one who began a good work in you will continue to complete it until the day of Christ Jesus.” – Philippians 1:6 (NABRE)
Have Patience With Yourself
You must therefore have patience even with yourself. If you can be patient with your neighbors, why not also with yourself?
Sometimes, our impatience is a sign of a deeper pride we have yet to discover in ourselves.
Must we think we should be holy in an instant and never fall into temptation after professing our faith in Jesus Christ? While there are saints that have been granted this grace, many of us would face a lifetime of struggle to overcome our sinful nature with the help of God.
This brings us also to the virtue of humility.
Our weaknesses can help us realize how deeply we need God.
Our Spiritual Progress
When I had marvelous realizations about faith, I thought it would be easy to become a saint!
What God made me realize, however, is that the path of holiness is often like the path of Jesus on Calvary. We must struggle with carrying our cross every day. Along the way, we may fall so many times.
But despite all these, we must not give in to despair as Judas did. Let us instead imitate St. Peter who, despite his deep sorrow for denying Jesus held on in faith and received His mercy.
God is good. And God provides us with every grace we need to reach heaven. If only we entrust everything to Him and keep our gaze upon His love!
Jocelyn Soriano is the author of Mend My Broken Heart, Questions to God and 366 Days of Compassion. She also writes about relationships and the Catholic faith at Single Catholic Writer.
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