RBWords

     The first scripture for today comes from the Letter of James, which some scripture scholars believe to be a document of moral teaching that added a few "Christian" touches. It seems to have been addressed to an exclusive Jewish audience, perhaps primarily the Jerusalem community.  Be that as it may, it is fully consistent with other New Testament moral teaching and contains some real gems for consideration.  Today's passage is no exception.  The quotation above seems to echo what Jesus said to the crowds about what defiles a person - the forces from within and not from outside.

     Occasionally I ask someone in the Sacrament of Reconciliation, "Why are you doing this to yourself?"  I will often get a response like this, "I don't know.  I just do it!" or "Satan is giving me a hard time."  When the behavior in question seems clearly to be an addictive or compulsive form, additional prayers are not going to be very helpful with that behavior.  Then a person needs to seek good counseling.  Addiction is an illness that begins with a moral decision, but once the illness takes over, the person can lose the ability to make a choice for or against it.  We need God's help in overcoming such things, but the harder thing to admit is that we may need human help as well!  Submitting to the "higher power" is only the first step in overcoming destructive moral behavior.   For ordinary, run-of-the-mill temptations, good old will power works well with prayer.  With Lent coming up, we have the opportunity to discover how "dependent" we have become on various things and make some good decisions.  The addictions require outside help.  AMEN