“If your right eye causes you to sin,
Matthew 5:29
tear it out and throw it away.”
Reflection
Jesus tells his disciples that although the law says not to commit adultery, he is now commanding them that even looking at a woman with lust is adultery. Likewise, if their right eye causes them to sin, they must pluck it out, for it is better to lose one body part than for the whole body to be thrown into Gehenna.
What are the sins in your life that Jesus wants you to cut out? While he doesn’t expect us to literally pluck out our right eye if it causes us to sin, he is asking us to get rid of the source of the temptation. It is better to root out a sin and its cause than to leave it and be subject to hell – are you willing to do so?
Some habitual sins have become so familiar to us that we no longer recognize them as sin. While it might seem easy to say we will gladly lose ‘one of our members’ to avoid hell, when we start to examine those sins, we sometimes realize it is very difficult to cut them off. This is when we need to ask the Lord for the grace and courage to take a leap of faith and leave the sin behind, only following Christ.
Reflect on what sins you can begin to cut out of your life. Start small and work diligently, asking the Holy Spirit for guidance and strength.
Saint of the Day
St. Anthony of Padua: 1195 – 1231
“Christians must lean on the Cross of Christ just as travelers lean on a staff when they begin a long journey. They must have the Passion of Christ deeply embedded in their minds and hearts, because only from it can they derive peace, grace, and truth.”
St. Anthony
The Healing Word 