Nov 3 Tue
Should I go back to God and begin again?
Along with our defeats, God has left us a bucketful of hope.
Some of God’s people often remind us of how much we must accomplish on earth as we journey toward Glory. The Church, like a loving Mother, sets before our eyes the words of that convert who, after deciding to follow Christ, never looked back. It is an exclamation from Paul-Saul that contains a strong warning: “Do not throw God’s grace into the wind!"
Let us not squander grace, let us not lose it, let us not render it useless.
We all need light. When it is kindled, let us not extinguish it!
We all need God’s waters. When they come, let us not defile them!
Time is a treasure that the Lord places in our hands; let’s make the most of it. Do not let it slip away empty-handed.
May the wicked (and who is excluded from that list?)… may the wicked abandon their ways and return.
Come back! You’ve gone too far. You’ve strayed too far from the path. Come back!
You want me to start over? Yes, start over!
We must follow in the Master’s footsteps; that is why we must abandon the wrong paths, retrace our steps, and return.
After a fall, ask for forgiveness
Let us take refuge in the great—truly great—mercy of our God, the God who forgives, and let us begin our Christian life anew!
Holy men are always struggling, and those who fight often fall, but when they do, they get up again. And if the sins are great, so too are the penances. Men of God perform many deeds filled with love for the Lord, and sometimes, because of their weakness, they commit small acts of unfaithfulness or great blunders.
“When a soldier in battle is wounded or retreats a little, no one is so demanding or so ignorant of the ways of war as to think that this is a crime. The only ones who do not sustain wounds are those who do not fight; those who charge most ardently against the enemy are the ones who take the blows.”.
The Lord allows setbacks and relapses in the lives of those who serve Him so that, once they repent, they may resume their usual journey with renewed vigor. Even when acts of disloyalty are very serious, the sorrow is also great, and the resolve to make amends is sincere. And then… everything leads not only to continuing on the path, but even to rising to heights never before reached in one’s previous supernatural life. Everything can help us. St. Paul tells us that all things work together for good for those who love God; St. Augustine adds that this includes even sins.
Thus, these souls are filled with humility, with a lack of confidence in their own strength, with a resolve to give of themselves generously, and with a deep desire to make amends for the sins they have committed, and they rise higher and higher and higher in the life of Love.
Trilogy (1), excerpts from J. Urteaga.