During his homily at Casa Santa Marta, the pope warned against small sins that can lead one to inadvertently distance him or herself from God.
POPE FRANCIS
'Letting ourselves slide slowly, because it is an anesthetized fall. You don't even realize it, but slowly you slip. Things become relative and faithfulness to God is lost'.
The pope said this was the case with Solomon. He didn't commit one scandalous sin like his father, King David. Rather, he gradually moved away from God by committing small sins that eventually led him to worship other gods.
EXTRACTS FROM POPE'S HOMILY
Vatican
“The women led his heart astray, and the Lord rebuked him. ‘You turned away your heart.’ This happens in our own lives. None of us is a criminal; none of us commits great sins like David did with the wife of Uriah. But wherein lies the danger? Letting ourselves slide slowly, because it is an anesthetized fall. You don’t even realize it, but slowly you slip. Things get relativized, and faithfulness to God is lost. These women were from other peoples – they had their own gods – and how often do we forget the Lord and begin to deal with other gods: money, vanity, pride. But this is done slowly, and without the grace of God, everything is lost.”
“For us this slippery slide in life is directed toward worldliness. This is the grave sin: ‘Everyone is doing it. Don’t worry about it; obviously it’s not ideal, but…’ We justify ourselves with these words, at the price of losing our faithfulness to the one and only God. They are modern idols. Let us consider this sin of worldliness, of losing the authenticity of the Gospel, the authenticity of the Word of God, and the love of God who gave His life for us. There is no way to maintain a good relationship with God and with the devil.”
“Let us ask the Lord for the grace to understand when our heart begins to weaken and to slide, so that we can stop. His grace and love will stop that slide if we ask in prayer.”
