DAILY HOMILIES #conscience

Whether we like it or not, sin robs us of our peace of mind. It is always more profitable to avoid sin than to live with guilt. The pain of avoiding sin is brief but the pain of a guilty conscience lasts an entire lifetime. The book of Hebrews this morning mentions certain sins that we could regret forever; unkindness to strangers, indifference to prisoners, defiling the marriage bed, love of money and lack of contentment. As the book of Hebrews tells us: It is only when we avoid sin that we can confidently say: “The Lord is my helper, I will not be afraid; what can man do to me?”

Let us not be overcome by the pervasive evil around us. If you cannot beat them, don’t join them. Continue to raise your heads high in virtue and never give in to sin because your redemption is close at hand.

Consider a privilege each time you meet someone poor or in need of your help, and treat them with kindness even if they are not strong enough to ask for your help. If you have what you need, remember that whatever is extra doesn’t belong to you. You are blessed to bless others.

When next you feel a strong urge to correct someone, post a condemnatory video on social media, cry out about an act of injustice, or even gossip about someone to a friend, please examine your conscience thoroughly. Examine your heart, correct yourself, point the torchlight inwards so you can see the log, then remove the log first before you go ahead to judge or criticize. Maybe, while removing your log, you will discover why it has been so difficult for others to remove their specks. Maybe, the lessons you learn will help to refine how you condemn. Maybe, in the end, you will realize there is just no need to condemn anyone at all but to simply begin to do that which you desire to see in others.

Take time every day to examine your conscience and you will become better at fighting temptations. The man who knows his fence is broken will be more alert to armed robbers than the man who goes to sleep without realizing he has no security.

Our Gospel passage calls for a thorough examination of conscience. Are there things that I am doing under the guise of religion that God is not happy with?

Each time you become enraged at the offenses of others or partake in jungle justice, ask yourself: “Am I also guilty? If I was in this person’s shoes, would I have acted differently?

Let us examine our consciences and repent. We should not be so interested in attempting to convert anyone as much as we should be interested in living in the light ourselves.