I was reading a blogpost by a Protestant, who humbly shares about her past addictions and short comings. Christina brings up some interesting points that I think are very relevant to Catholic Christians.
She writes, “I’m learning that transparency is one of the keys to godly freedom. The world is known for keeping faults, sins and short comings to itself.”
I couldn’t agree more. As Catholic Christians (which I am), we have the sacrament of Reconciliation (one of the things most parodied by non-Catholics). But I think the reason people make fun of us, is because of the mentality of “It is just between me and God,” on the part of some Protestants and secular Christians. I will be the first to tell you that Confession is not the most fun thing to do, and that I’d much rather keep my faults, short comings, and sinful ways to myself. But, the graces and mercy that Christ offers in the sacrament are beyond words. People often mock that which they do not understand. And so I pray, “Father forgive them, for they know not what they do.”
“I knew that I wanted to live right but was I willing to give it up? I put all the [things that were tempting me] under my bed, you know out of sight out of mind thinking that I could keep them just in case. It took all of one day for my addiction to kick back in.”
I can relate to this! Our Faith understands this, that the “near occasions of sin” leads to sin. Sacred Scripture gives this analogy, “If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one of your members than to have your whole body thrown into Gehenna. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one of your members than to have your whole body go into Gehenna.” (Matthew 5:29-30)
If we want to live Holy lives, or break addictive habits, we must separate ourselves from the things that cause us to sin. And we don’t have to do it all on our own! We can ask the Holy Spirit to help us overcome temptation in our lives and to strengthen our relationship with Him. Our cooperation with the many graces Christ sheds on us, when we humbly come to Him in the Sacraments, is very powerful to overcome sin in our lives. Christ is the way, the Truth, and the Life!
It is also written in Scripture that “Bad company corrupts good character.” (1 Corinthians 15:33) I’m sure there are other verses, but these are the ones that come to mind.
“I talked to a few people about it, none of which were living godly lives, and they all rationalized it saying it was ‘cool because I wasn’t having sex with anyone else.’ However, the Lord kept convicting me that it was wrong and not in His plan. So I took the ‘product of sin’ this time and threw it in the trash.”
Awesome!
“Are you still pleasing yourself? Freedom is available…Get into the Word of God, prayer, fellowship and counseling. Let porn and masturbation have its last day in your life! Fight for FREEDOM! Christ has it waiting for you.”
Great advise to any and all Christians who struggle with addiction in one form or another.
