How Can You? Why Can't You?
How to Deal With Sins

Are you trying to give something up for Lent? Some bad habits, perhaps? Some disordered attachment? How can you? If you're thinking that way this season, listen to Jesus when he says, "Why can't you?" Turn “How can you?” into “Why can't you?” and then “Why don’t you?”

In this regard we can take inspiration from Saint Augustine. As is quite well known, he himself struggled with sin for years before the Holy Spirit helped transform him from a reluctant observer of Christianity who said famously, "Give me chastity and continence, but not yet” into one of our greatest theologians, rightly known as the Doctor of Grace.

Our habitual sins may well whisper to us as they did to St. Augustine as he was trying to break free from them “how can you send us away”?

To which Jesus might well reply “Why can’t you with My help?” And at our particular judgment upon our death he might well ask “Why didn’t you?”

In his great autobiography Confessions, St. Augustine describes how his carnal desires, his “vanities of vanities, my ancient mistresses” as he put it, plucked his “fleshy garment”, whispering softly, saying in effect "Do you cast us off? Shall we never be with you again?”

Fortunately and famously St. Augustine was indeed able to repent of his former sinful ways and was baptized into our faith at the Easter Vigil in 387 AD.

His account of his embracing Catholicism can indeed inspire us today as it has for many over the centuries. Again, some sinful or disordered attachment may say to you when you try to give it up at Lent “How can you?”.

May you prayerfully be inspired to listen to the divine promptings that say, "Why can't you? Why don't you?”, instead!

Lent is traditionally a great time for some “Spring Cleaning” of our souls, even though it starts in winter. Part of giving up something that may or may not be sinful is to make more room for Our Lord to work His will in your soul.

We say in the Lord's prayer, both in our own prayers such as the rosary and at daily mass: "Thy will be done." But how many of us would rather say "My will be done" instead?

The great thing about the Lenten season is that it offers a great opportunity to work what I would call your muscles of abnegation. That is to say, your ability to see what is and what is not important in your life, and where you might be keeping God from helping you to weed out your bad habits and heal your wounds, either self-inflicted or, as in many cases, those from others as well.

How can you, why can’t you, why don’t you?

Giving up something such as chocolate, a Lenten standard, or perhaps excessive screen time on phones or tablets; or laziness, gluttony or vanity are all great examples of attachments that can hinder your relationship with our Lord. The danger of course is that after Easter we all face the temptation to revert back to old bad habits.

The renowned Venerable Archbishop Bishop Fulton J. Sheen once made reference to the personal civil wars that each of us face from our fallen nature leaving us vulnerable to the demands of our lesser nature.

In addition it's hard not to get caught up in the traps of presumption, thinking that you've got everything figured out and just assuming your salvation; or perhaps worse, despair, thinking that your sins are so awful that you can't possibly face God for His forgiveness, healing and grace in confession.

Remember, in this regard, that as we read in the book of the prophet Isaiah God says “Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean..cease to do evil. Come now let us reason together…though your sins are like scarlet they shall be white as snow, though they are red like crimson they shall be white as wool’’. (Isaiah 1:16, 18)

Indeed Lent begins in the Ash Wednesday readings with an inspiring word from Saint Paul to remind his flock in Corinth, and by extension all of us as well centuries later, that now is an acceptable time to turn to God for righteousness.

In the Ash Wednesday readings at the beginning of Lent we read St. Paul’s admonition in his second letter to the Corinthians “On behalf of Christ be reconciled to God… Working together with him, then, we entreat you not to accept the grace of God in vain. For he says, ‘At the acceptable time I have listened to you, and helped you on the day of salvation’. Behold, now is the acceptable time behold, now is the day of salvation” (2 Cor 5:20, 6:1-2).

Jesus wishes to show as many of us as possible his mercy in the manner of his chasing after that one lost sheep in a flock of one hundred (Matt 18:12). However, we have to be willing to ask for it and then act on it in gratitude by living in such a manner that conforms with our obedience to the Ten Commandments.

After all, didn’t Jesus say “If you love me you'll keep my commandments (John 14:15)? St. John says in his first letter in the New Testament “For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome” (1John 5:3).

Indeed our Lord also once referred to those who He said “labor and are heavy laden” that, they should come to Him, because, as He put it, “my yoke is easy and my burden light” (Matt 11:28, 30).

Now is an acceptable time indeed for a good thorough examination of conscience. You can find many sources on the Internet that make for adequate preparation for a good confession such as these ones here and here to help expunge guilt for sins, both mortal and venial.

Indeed Bishop Sheen once pointed out that many people sought to deal with their sins by having them explained away from a psychoanalytic couch rather than to have them forgiven in the confessional.

So when some sin, habitual or otherwise, sings a seductive siren Satanic song like one of St. Augustine’s “mistresses” saying when you wish to give it up, even if it’s just a day at a time, “How can you?”

Listen instead to our Lord’s voice when He says instead, offering His help and grace “Why can’t you?. Why don’t you?” Otherwise He may say at your particular judgment when you pass away, “Why didn’t you?

God Bless,

Christopher Castagnoli
for www.ourcatholicprayers.com

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