An Observation

I’ve long noticed that if I fall into a particular sin after being away from it for a while, it’s all too easy to keep at that sin – as if the previous resistance was all for naught. I think I’ve finally recognized one of the engines of that mechanism. If it’s a sin that I get particularly worked up over, I’ll feel a good deal of shame. Sometimes I’ll use that shame as an excuse to avoid prayer. It’s easy to conclude that the prayers of someone in the state of sin are worth little, but I can think of many times when I was veritably smothered in mortal sin and my prayers were answered resoundingly. (I especially think back to times when I prayed for contrition over sins that I wasn’t willing to leave behind.) As so many other (and holier) members of St. Blog’s have mentioned, the secret to success at prayer is just to keep at it. Now ‘tis time for me to try that.