ACCRM’s 40 Days With Christ For Lent: Day Nine

Frailty of Human Nature

[exerpts from “My Daily Bread” by Anthony J. Paone, S.J. [1954]

Images by artist, Greg Olson

CHRIST:

MY CHILD, all human beings are weak.

1. Do not think that you are stronger than others. Circumstances do not create the weakness of a man. They simply draw it out and show what he really is. You must be convinced of this fact. Your will is weak, and your blind human desires are strong.

2. It should not be too hard for you to admit your frailty. See how often you are troubled by a small matter! At times you resolve to become a better man. Then along comes a small temptation, and away goes your resolution. just when you think you are safe, when you least expect it, you find yourself pushed over by a slight temptation. Even when you do not give full consent to it, your feelings and desires confuse you. Hateful imaginations rush in on you and refuse to leave.

3. Before you can become serious about self-perfection, you must be convinced of its necessity. See how weak you are! You often tend toward what is wrong. You confess your sins today, and tomorrow you commit the same faults again. You resolve to be on your guard, and an hour later you act as though you had never made the resolution. You are so weak and unsteady. It is only right, then, that you should humble yourself and refuse to think too highly of yourself.

4. You are more inclined to go backward than forward. You do not remain in the same state of mind for any length of time. Your moods and attitudes change with the changing hours of the day. If you would only turn to Me! I can help you rise above these changing moods. Let your heart turn to Me and find its rest in Me.

THINK:
My human nature is like a spirited horse. It must be controlled at every step. It would like to run free and uncontrolled. Therefore, I need not be surprised at my changing feelings and moods. They are not the higher self within me. God will honor me only for what I am trying to be. I would improve much faster if I begged His help more frequently by prayer and the sacraments. Too often I fail to put up a fight against my unreasonable feelings and blind desires. At other times I try to fight them alone. Only with God’s help can I make any permanent progress. With the knowledge He gives me through His holy Church, and with the strength He offers me in His sacraments, I can live a holy life in spite of the restless lower self within me.

PRAY:
Dear Lord, my smallness and weakness are perfectly known to You. Have pity on me. Pull me out of the mud of self, so that I may not be stuck in it forever. Consider the labors and trials of my daily life. Please stand by me in my efforts. Strengthen me in my resolutions. I have often failed because I depended on myself alone. Now, however, I shall seek advice and direction as often as I need it. Only in this way can I hope to make progress in true and solid virtue. Make me wise and honest in my daily efforts, so that I may no longer waste valuable time. I hope to become at last the kind of person You want me to be. Without You I can do nothing. Lord, help met. Amen