In his Thursday homily at Casa Santa Marta, Pope Francis spoke of the concept of resistance as a good trait, one which is present in every person's heart. However, he said resistance should be used against sin and not against the grace of God.
POPE FRANCIS
'I will tell you not to be afraid when each of you, each of us, sees that in his heart there is resistance. But say this clearly to the Lord, 'Look, Lord, I try to cover this, I did this by not entering into your Word'. And to say these words so beautifully? No! 'Lord, with great force, help me. Your grace will win the resistance of sin.' The resistors are always a result of original sin that we carry. Is it bad to have resistance? No, it's beautiful! The bad thing is to use it as a defense against the Lord's grace. Having resistances is normal. Say, 'I am a sinner, Lord, help me!'â?
However, the pope said that constantly giving excuses for actions committed is not of God, but has the 'bad smell of the devil.â? He said Christians do not need to justify themselves, because they should rely on the Word of God as their justification.
EXCERPTS OF PAPAL HOMILY
(Source: Vatican Radio)
'We all have hidden obstacles; we must ask ourselves what is their nature. They always surface to stop a process of conversion. Always! But, in these cases we must passively and silently allow the process of change to take place. Think of when there is a process of change in an institution or in a family. I hear you say: 'But, there are obstaclesâ?¦ Those kinds of obstacles are put there by the devil, to stop the Lord from proceeding.'
'There is the obstacle of words that justify: thatâ??s when a person constantly justifies himself â?? he always finds a reason to oppose. Too many excuses do not exude the good 'aroma of God,' but the 'bad stink of the devil.' a Christian has no need to justify himself: He is justified by the Word of God. This kind of resistance is a resistance of words which I use to attempt to justify my position when I do not follow what the Lord is indicating.'
'I will tell you not to be afraid when each of you, each of us, sees that in his heart there is resistance. But say this clearly to the Lord, 'Look, Lord, I try to cover this, I did this by not entering into your Word'. And to say these words so beautifully? No! 'Lord, with great force, help me. Your grace will win the resistance of sin.' The resistors are always a result of original sin that we carry. Is it bad to have resistance? No, it's beautiful! The bad thing is to use it as a defense against the Lord's grace. Having resistances is normal. Say, 'I am a sinner, Lord, help me!' This reflection will prepare us for this upcoming Christmas.'
MB
CTV
-F
-BN
Up:JD
