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Sin, calluses and brittle hearts

Today is Jan. 16, Thursday of the First Week in Ordinary Time.

At today’s Mass, we read in Scripture, “Take care, brothers and sisters, that none of you may have an evil and unfaithful heart, so as to forsake the living God. Encourage yourselves daily while it is still ‘today,’ so that none of you may grow hardened by the deceit of sin” (Heb 3:12-13).

“From hardness comes unbelief,” says St. John Chrysostom. “As in bodies the parts that have become callous and hard do not yield to the hands of the physicians, so also souls that are hardened yield not to the Word of God.” On my recent trip to the Holy Land, as often happens when I travel, my poor feet were worn out! Blisters and their subsequent calluses, I suppose, are a mark of pride for a pilgrim. I walked. I suffered. And there was evidence.

Sin leads to indifference of God

But there’s a risk that the kind of battered wear that happens to the soles of our feet can happen to our immaterial souls. Worn and weary from the paths of sin, our hearts can become indifferent to the word of God, unyielding to the spiritual good that the Lord wants for us.

Sin mars the soul. It leaves a trace. There’s a temptation to think that sin is simply falling short of an ideal, of not measuring up to a rule or standard. But it’s far worse! Sin harms us, turning our hearts brittle, ossifying them. Every sin wounds our heart, wearing on us.

Today, heed the warning from Hebrews. Just like you take care of your feet on a pilgrimage or a hike, take care of your heart! If there’s a habitual sin you’re struggling with, have hope! Even a little progress is a sign of God’s grace beginning to win back your heart.

Let us pray,

Attend to the pleas of your people with heavenly care, O Lord, we pray, that they may see what must be done and gain strength to do what they have seen. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever. Amen.