Thank you very much, dearest God our Father for knowing me so well like St. Paul, of how I constantly have to wage that battle against evil deep within me.
Brothers and sisters: I know that good does not dwell in me, that is, in my flesh. The willing is ready at hand, but doing the good is not. For I do not do the good I want, but I do the evil I do not want. Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. So, then, I discover the principle that when I want to do right, evil is at hand.
Romans 7:18-21
There is an ongoing war deep within each one of us between what is right and good and what is wrong and evil; there is always that inner struggle that even if we know the right thing to do, sometimes we choose what is wrong and sinful not simply because we are weak as humans; like St. Paul, we are not offering an excuse to you but ask for your grace for us to be responsible to our decisions and actions for it is only in admitting our guilt and sinfulness can we truly see and follow you.
This inner battle between good and evil within us are in fact the very roots of the bigger wars and strife we have among nations and peoples, of the more pernicious indifference and self-centeredness we choose daily in the face of widespread poverty and hunger, corruption and deceptions not only in our streets but also right in our own homes and houses of worship.
Send us your Holy Spirit, Lord Jesus to enlighten our minds and our hearts to be able to read spiritually the things happening in us and around us, that we may be able to judge for ourselves what is right.
Let us grow in the courage and wisdom of St. John Paul II, your great Pope who lived and served us with great example of his life waging war against the many evils of our time, standing for what is true and good, your voice in this wilderness, telling us to "be not afraid" to love like Jesus your Son with Mary his Mother. Amen.
