Near Occasions of Sin

All of us are vulnerable to sin, especially when we place ourselves in situations that are near occasions of sin, and those situations can be different for different people.

I love the books by Susie Lloyd, Bless Me Father, For I Have Kids! and Please Don't Drink the Holy Water! Susie puts a humorous spin on some of the "near occasions of sin" that we may find ourselves in as mothers. I love how the subtitle of one of these books is "Homeschool Days, Rosary Nights and other Near Occasions of Sin." I laughed, and cried, my way through both of those books and am so appreciative of her humorous and heartfelt insight to the challenges of mothering during these times. It is so nice to know we are not alone on this journey and other people have the same crazy thoughts as us.

On the more serious side of this is that sometimes, because of my struggle with a bad temper, I feel as though my whole day can be considered a "near occasion of sin." But the truth is that God's grace makes me stronger and He will always help me when I am living and working within my vocation and calling from God. He presents us with opportunities through these struggles to make conscious acts of the will to overcome our weaknesses, and when we fail, to come to Him in repentance and seek His forgiveness. We receive more graces as we turn to Christ in the Sacraments, particularly in Confession and in the Eucharist. I also believe that Mary, our Blessed Mother, is right there with us to help us overcome temptation and to provide us with a role model in looking to Her Son for all we need.

Then there are the more serious near occasions of sin that are outside of our vocation and call from God. These are the near occasions of sin that we must avoid by conscious acts of the will, lest we place ourselves in an extremely vulnerable position. We are all susceptible to falling into grave sin, and to think otherwise is spiritually dangerous. All of us are in the crosshairs of the evil one, and he will find every opportunity to bring us down. Sure, we will fail on an everyday basis due to our own concupiscence; we are human, and we will sin. But to put ourselves in situations that are outside of God's calling for us and open ourselves up to attack is something that we need to be vigilant about avoiding, particularly when it comes to addictions or relationships that present a danger to our vocations. Speaking as a married person, sometimes there are subtleties to these relationships in that they seem like a good thing, but then our hearts are given more and more to another person who is not our spouse. And the same thing can apply to priests or religious sisters and brothers.

Thinking about near occasions of sin has been on my heart a lot in pondering about what has happened with both Fr. Euteneuer and Fr. Corapi. In one instance, wrongdoing was found and Fr. Euteneuer admitted to his sins and in the other, Fr. Corapi has denied the allegations and an investigation is still underway. Both of these beloved priests and many others have been so strong in their battle against evil and in providing guidance to us as we fight our own spiritual battles. And yet, they are human and can fall. We must love them for who they are, God's creation, and in a special way, for their sacrifices to bring us the Sacraments. We must pray for them and not abandon them or the Holy Church even when they fall. There is great scandal caused by these sins, but we must remember that God's Mercy is greater than all of this, and we must pray urgently for the protection of priests, religious, family, friends and our own souls. We must do our own part by making conscious acts of our will to avoid serious occasions of sin and to turn to God immediately when we fall. He is there for us in our darkest moments. Let us be honest with Him and with ourselves and seek His Mercy always.

St. Joseph, terror of demons, pray for us. Immaculate Heart of Mary, pray for us. Sacred Heart of Jesus, Have Mercy on us. Through Your Holy Name, Amen.