Day 6: Act of Contrition, 6th Line

to sin no more, and to avoid whatever leads me to sin.

Some things bring us closer to God, and help us become more aware of His presence. Other things disrupt our connection with Him, and leave us more vulnerable to sin. When we take an honest look at our own patterns, we can see that certain environments, relationships, forms of entertainment, etc. do not bring out the best in us. On the other hand, there are some places, people and art forms that lift our spirits and help us on our path to holiness.

When we consider the circumstances surrounding our most sinful moments, we can usually see how we did not set ourselves up to succeed. We can ask ourselves: who was I with? What influenced my state of mind? What could I have done differently? Then, we make adjustments accordingly based on the answers we find.

True repentance is such a difficult commitment, not just because we’re taking responsibility for something that’s already happened, but because we are making a commitment to change ourselves so that the same thing doesn’t happen anymore. That's really hard. But it goes back to what we said yesterday. We can do it with God's help.

Care to share?

This reflection is a part of By Heart: A Lenten Prayer Project.