Memorial of Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton, Religious

No one who is begotten by God commits sin, because God's seed remains in him; he cannot sin because he is begotten by God. In this way, the children of God and the children of the Devil are made plain; no one who fails to act in righteousness belongs to God, nor anyone who does not love his brother.

As children of God, we are called to be saints, not sinners. We are asked to be righteous and not evil. We are asked to give up the easy and wide path of sin and choose the difficult and narrow one to holiness. We may fall and falter, but if we are children of God we recognize our faults and do something to rectify them. We confess our sins with humble and contrite hearts, do penance, and strive to avoid temptation and sin. If we find ourselves falling into the same sins again and again, then we need to change something about ourselves and the way we live so we can steer clear of our weaknesses and protect ourselves from our flaws. We should always put our best foot forward in resisting temptation and growing in righteousness so we might be worthy heirs to the Kingdom.

Are we righteous? How can we cultivate our sense of good and evil so we can act in accord with our Heavenly Father’s Will in all things? What can we do to avoid sin, especially those sins we are most tempted by?

O Lord, we want to belong to you... body, mind, and heart.

Amen.