The people of Jeremiah’s time had become so disobedient, so rebellious, so hardhearted, that God was lamenting that “Faithfulness has disappeared; the word itself is banished from their speech.”
So blind to the truth were some of the people who witnessed Jesus casting out a mute demon, that they claimed the Son of God was casting out demons through the power of Satan. In other words, they were saying that instead of Jesus being the incarnation of God who is love, he was an agent of evil.
The old catechism states that sin lessens the love of God in our hearts. It also clouds the mind, darkens the intellect, and blinds us to truth. Sin closes the heart to God’s love and truth.
Sin is so dangerous that it can lead to the rationalization of evil actions. It can cause Christians to forget about their responsibilities to be faithful to their baptismal promises and the call to holiness, to serve and promote human life and to fulfill our religious obligations.
It can cause someone who attended Catholic school for 12 years to question the ancient truths. “Does it really matter if I attend Mass? Does it really matter if I pray daily?”
Any sin, even venial sin, is a spiritual disease that devastates the soul and clouds the intellect and therefore our judgments and attitudes. The longer we let these spiritual diseases live in us, the more damage is done. The good news is that Jesus Christ, our Divine Physician, heals us with his grace.
Our Lenten prayer, fasting, and acts of mercy enlighten our mind and invigorate our spirits because they bring us into contact with he who is Truth and Light and Love. The light of His truth eradicates darkness and casts out evil. Our faithfulness to the Lenten disciplines are instrument Jesus uses to bring deep healing and light and love into our minds and souls and hearts, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.
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