October 20, 2026

 October 20, 2026

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What are you using for your prayer? Daily Scripture? One of the Examens?

 

 

The grace to use before each prayer

 

During your meditations this week, ask God to reveal within you what needs to be freed, liberated, loosened, healed, strengthened, and transformed. Let God reveal to you those areas that need to be uncovered, discovered, or transformed. 

 

Activities. and Sin

 

All human experience can be divided into activities and passivities. Activities are what we do by our own effort. They include our choices and intentions as well as our physical behavior. Passivities are those things we undergo or endure and we usually have little choice. They are often the things done to us.

 

Since sin must be a free and conscious act, it can only occur and the realm of activities, specifically in activities of diminishment.

 

We can use our efforts and activities in two ways. One is by intending and choosing to do that which promotes growth and development. The other in by intending and choosing to do things that we can and diminish us. Activities of diminishment when we use our free choice that harm ourselves or others. They can be actions that are destructive, harmful, and corrupting. These are actions that we traditionally called sinful. Actions that diminish us or another person are activities that somehow diminish the Body of Christ.

 

Activities that I have failed to do

 

There are activities of omission as well. These are consciously chosen actions to be left undone and they are in the realm of diminishment. Sin may be found whenever there is unwillingness to try something for Christ. The price project keeps the cosmic body of Christ evolving towards its fullest and most complete expression. Doing whatever one can to keep the body of Christ evolving is our goal on earth. Therefore, the most obvious sin is to know that you are called to promote the Christ project but you consciously refuse to commit yourself to doing it.

 

Examples of this may be when we have an opportunity to make a positive difference but we don't follow through because of fear or failure or rejection. We may have anxiety about the negative opinions of others, lack self-discipline, or have insecurity about our abilities. Also, we can be lured away from these opportunities by attractive and pleasurable diversion. Therefore, sin is knowing when there is something you can do to further the development of yourself, others, or the earth, and you freely choose not to do it or don't even try.

 

Consciousness is defined as awareness plus appropriate response. This will depend upon your time, talent, health, family obligations, family situation. While refusing to do any of these would not be seen as traditionally sinful, they could be seen so by someone committed to the building of the body of Christ.

 

The Destructive Power of Doing Nothing

 

Our traditional way of thinking doesn't see human destructive events is being shaped by science events. We don't usually think of sin as inactivity or just standing by to see what happens. Edmund Burke: the only thing necessary were able to triumph is for good people [men] to do nothing.

 

The word only is important. Silence and inactivity provide the necessary and sufficient conditions for devolution. There are do nothing kinds of people: the cynic, the blamer, the bystander, for those who play the victim.

 

It is not easy to press beyond the status quo when others resist but try to derail your efforts. It's a struggle to push against inertia because of fear and laziness around you. Apathy seeks only comfort and pleasure and does not want to be bothered. [Nobody likes change, but they like the status quo even less.] In an evolutionary spirituality, failure to act when action is called for is the worst kind of sin of omission.

 

Jim Keenan, SJ defines sin as a failure to even bother to try to love. (Good Samaritan)

 

 

The Ignatian Adventure

 

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Song: Seek Him who maketh the seven stars, by Jonathan Dove

 

The text is Amos 5:8. There are various YouTubes videos available, but the sound quality is not great on YouTube. It might be better if people at least listen through headphones, and not just their computer speakers. If they have Spotify or Apple Music etc., it's worth searching for there.