“He who has resolved to contend with his
flesh and conquer it himself struggles in vain. For unless the Lord destroys the house of flesh and builds the house of the soul, the man who desires to destroy it has watched and fasted in vain.”
-St. John Climacus
For Reflection:
How can I build “the house” of my soul so that I may overcome any temptation to sin against chastity? What are three specific ways I can employ beginning now?
(See tomorrow’s Grace Line for one saint’s suggestion.)
Introduction Page 11
Worst of all, there is nothing we can do about this curse on our own. We can try very hard to be good, but that doesn’t put right the inner wound. In the face of the sin problem, being good is like putting a Band-Aid on your belly to cure cancer. The illness of sin is deep and terminal, and it needs a cure far deeper and more costly than we can provide ourselves.
