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"Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you.
Cleanse your hands, ye sinners;
and purify your hearts, ye double minded."
James 4:8
"Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation:
the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak."
Matthew 26:41
"Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you.
Cleanse your hands, ye sinners;
and purify your hearts, ye double minded."
James 4:8
"Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation:
the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak."
Matthew 26:41
I recently started a ritual of daily fasting, where each day of the week I give up something that I consider a trouble spot of wasted energy and time (food,internet,music, etc.). For Fridays, I have chosen the traditional food fast, and as I did the Sorrowful Mysteries to the sound of a growling tummy, something about Matthew 26 seemed to speak to me as never before.
As someone who always considered that Jesus was merely showing His great mercy in "but the flesh is weak", it was only in context that I realized that this was more a warning. Christ was telling the apostles which part of their nature to use to, to focus on, to control the other, so as to "not enter into temptation".
It seems we too often use "our weak flesh" as an excuse to sin, or to allow others to dwell in temptation-land; where we should be focusing more on the strength of Christ's spirit, "which is willing", inside us that beckons us all to "watch and pray".
Sadly, we are too often, as James writes "double-minded",thinking we can feed both the "spirit" and the "flesh", forgetting that to there is only enough food for one.
As someone who always considered that Jesus was merely showing His great mercy in "but the flesh is weak", it was only in context that I realized that this was more a warning. Christ was telling the apostles which part of their nature to use to, to focus on, to control the other, so as to "not enter into temptation".
It seems we too often use "our weak flesh" as an excuse to sin, or to allow others to dwell in temptation-land; where we should be focusing more on the strength of Christ's spirit, "which is willing", inside us that beckons us all to "watch and pray".
Sadly, we are too often, as James writes "double-minded",thinking we can feed both the "spirit" and the "flesh", forgetting that to there is only enough food for one.
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