I’ll Come Around Some Day: Sin and Sanctity

First, let’s consider habitual sin. This sort of sin ranges smaller seeming sins, like stealing office supplies on the regular, to larger seeming sins, like masturbation or treating others with cruelty. Most of us have at least one of these. Many of us have more. The vast majority of us all would find any one of them embarrassing to mention, to say nothing of three or four, and so we often attempt to sweep these sins under the rug. Perhaps because to see these faults in others likewise shames us, bringing to mind our own hidden transgressions. Due to this, we are just as likely to pretend others, particularly others we like and respect, are free from such sins as we our to pretend that of ourselves. It is far easier to hide these secret shames than face the creeping spread such sins might have in our lives and those of others in our community.

On an absolutely practical level with sins of this sort, the first thing to remember is that habits suck to break and Jesus loves you. Secondly, whatever your habit may be, you always have a choice. Your choices might generally look pretty terrible, depending on the decisions you made that got you here, but you have them, and you can pray for the grace and accord with that grace to choose the best of them. You might also fail to make good choices consistently. But, you cannot give up. Fighting with all God’s and your own strength to break a sin, even if you fail, is far better than abandoning yourself to such sin. This is why, for those of us seeking freedom from habitual sin, we must have recourse to the Holy Spirit and beg that He gives us the infused virtue of theological hope. Cessario speaks about hope in the context of habitual sexual sins when he writes:

What effective means to maintain the virtue of chastity are restored to the soul as a part of God’s merciful forgiveness? The theological virtue of hope alone enables the person to trust in God’s merciful aid and powerful forgiveness.

Hope. Hope that we will not sin again. Hope that should we sin again, God will not stop loving us. Hope that in the end, our participation in Divine Life will have nothing to do with our own flailing power and everything to do with God’s perfect love. Hope that someday our love for God will outweigh our love of all else, including our habits. Hope that even if that day is therapy we breathe our last breath, that Christ will save us not because of ourselves, but because of His love for us.