Sometimes when God shows us the "thorn in the flesh" it is for us to realize that we can't of ourselves do anything, except cry out to God. God will not remove it before we deal with it in our weakness. We have refused to forgive, we have held on to the situation, either out of guilt or needing to hold the other under some control. We have exercised power of control, now we need to exercise the power of weakness by forgiveness. "My grace is enough for you, for in weakness power reaches perfection." "And so I willingly boast of my weaknesses instead, that the power of Christ may rest upon me." (2 Cor 12: 9)  In my pride  I refuse to forgive, but in the power of Christ I can and choose to forgive. I want to be free. In surrendering I become free. The paradox!

As we deal with the roots of persistent sins, one of the graces of the Sacrament of Reconciliation is the grace of destroying the root of sin. Sometimes we limit the Sacrament to the forgiveness of sins and fail to open ourselves to the additional grace of eradication. Sometimes the root remains because we deal with the symptoms of sin and not the cause or source of sin. To get to this root cause or source I need to ask God to lead me into my past where this particular sin began to take root in me. Who, when , where, how are the questions to ask. Because a particular situation happened in my life either in fact or in perception, which was never fully reconciled through mutual forgiveness, then the root of the past continues to lead me into sin today. We are talking about the grace of healing of memories.  A person may be struggling with anger not as an occasional sin but as a core sin in life. Each time we go to confession we confess the sin of anger. We never ask the question what is the root of my anger? We never ask God to lead us to the root or source. If we do and find that a certain person was the source of anger, then we need to bring this to the Lord.

"When the unclean spirit departs from a man, it roams through arid wastes searching for a place of rest and finding none. Then it says, 'I will go back where I came from,' and returns to find the dwelling unoccupied, though swept and tidied now. Off it goes again to bring back with it this time seven spirits more evil than itself. They move in and settle there. Thus the last state of that man becomes worse than the first." (Mt 12:43-45)

We have to replace the vices we seek to rid ourselves of and incorporate virtues. Many times we think that just because we have confessed our sins then we are good to go. But the reality is, if there is no sincere desire to recognize sin as sin and to have a horror of sin, to see sin as God sees sin, then the habit of sin remains and eventually returns.Good intentions are not enough.  There must be a sincere desire to deal with sin not on the surface but at its root cause. Example: Bad weeds will continue to grow and take over a garden if only we cut the tops off. There is need to dig to the core or nut of the weed, uproot it totally from the ground, if we wish to rid the garden of weeds. The same is true with sin. Until, with God's grace and strength, we get rid of the root of our sin, it will return to control us.

Feast of the Holy Trinity Gospel Reflections Mt 28:16-20  B

The eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had ordered them.
        “Eleven”: as of yet Judas had not been replaced. This happens when the disciples return to the Upper Room and wait for the coming of the Holy Spirit. There they elect Matthias.
· This final scene in Matthews’ Gospel occurs in Galilee; in Luke’s Gospel it occurs in Judea, on the Mt of Olives outside of Jerusalem. The difference is the theological perspective of each writer.

When they saw him, they worshiped, but they doubted. 
         “to worship, while doubting” sounds like a contradiction. Seeing Jesus in his risen and glorified state of being brings them to bow down before Jesus in adoration and wonder. At the same time, their doubt may be their own role, their future, what they are to do as disciples. Their doubt will be cleared up with Jesus’ next statement.
· Have we ever experienced some doubt about our role in life, our future?

Then Jesus approached and said to them, "All power in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 
· Jesus as the Son of God had all power. But now Jesus, in his glorified humanity and as the Risen Lord and Savior, states that all power has been given him by the Father. Now, he, in turn, empowers the apostles and those who follow them with a share in that power and authority.
·         The effectiveness of that power will await the anointing of the Holy Spirit.
          What power of Jesus do you share?

Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.
Their mission is clear: a)make disciples; b) baptize; c) teach, d) obedience
Outside of baptism, we are called to make disciples and to teach the truth by word and deed in obedience to Jesus. How well are we fulfilling this commission?

And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age." 
Knowing that Jesus was about to leave them was a concern to them. But knowing that he promised to be with them always must have been a consolation. He gives us that same consolation. How conscious are we of this presence of Jesus?
What is not said here is that the Spirit also will be with them and us. How conscious are we of this reality as well?
What does this passage say to you? How do you apply these words of Jesus to your life?

"You must lay aside your former way of life and the old self which deteriorates through illusion and desire, and acquire a fresh, spiritual way of thinking. You must put on that new man created in God's image, whose justice and holiness are born of truth." (Eph 4:22-24)

As we deal with the roots of sin in our lives, we have to learn a "fresh, spiritual way of thinking." What does that mean? Instead of focusing on ourselves, seeking what pleases us, we must choose to focus on God, to see ourselves as God sees us. God sees us as his beloved sons and daughters. That is our true identity. To become more fully this, we need to turn away from what denies that, namely sin, and choose to live in the light of who we truly are. The more I desire to be a son or daughter of God, the more I will have the determination to turn away from what prevents me from living this new life in Christ. This is not easy. But with the grace of God it is truly attainable no matter my past.

"I do not do what I want to do but what I hate....the desire to do right is there but not the power. What happens is that I do, not the good I will to do, but the evil I do not intend....This means that even though I want to do what is right, a law that leads to wrongdoing is always ready at hand. My inner self agrees with the law of God, but I see in my body's members another law at war with the law of my mind; this makes me the prisoner of the laws of sin in my members. What a wretched person I am! Who can free me from this body under the power of death? All praise to God, through Jesus Christ our Lord! So with my mind I serve the law of God but with my flesh the law of sin." (Rom 7:15-25)