Oftentimes, when we're bound by sins of weakness, we think that all we are is weak. When we experience that everyone who commits sin is slave of sin, we think all I am is a slave. No, here's what I need you to do. Hi, my name's Father Mike Schmitz, and this is Ascension Presents. So one of the things that happens to a lot of us is we find ourselves falling into the same sin again and again. And typically, these kinds of sins that we fall into again and again are sins of weakness, right? So it's so discouraging. It can be so defeating to fall into these sins of weakness because it's just like, my gosh. And we can have that prayer of like, God, please, will I always have this experience? Like, will I always be captured by this scripture that says anyone who commits sin is a slave of sin? And it's so easy to feel exactly like that, a slave of sin. If I keep falling back into these sins of weakness, what do I do? Number one is this, go to confession. Well, yeah, I don't want to go to confession because it feels like I'm taking advantage of God's mercy. It feels like I'm using his mercy. Well, maybe. It's more likely what's happening is, maybe I've said this before, but I'll say it again. The evil one, he's a liar. Like the devil's a liar. He's saying, hey, listen, go ahead and sin because you can go to confession afterwards. Hey, you can sin. They have confession tomorrow before mass. Just go ahead, just do it. Whatever, it's fine. And then what happens is after we sin, he says, you can't go to confession. Are you kidding me? Are you kidding me? You just, you sinned actually intending to go to confession? You could not possibly. You're now beyond God's mercy. See, on one hand, he says you need to resume upon God's mercy. On the other hand, he said you can't trust in God's mercy. And so if you find yourself having fallen into sin because of weakness, don allow discouragement or believing that your sins are greater than God mercy to keep you from receiving his love Because that what he wants to give you I've said it a thousand times, I'm gonna say it again. When you know that God exists, when you know that Jesus is God, when you know that Jesus gave us a church, and then in that church, he's given us a sacrament to heal. Like that when we're at our worst, he's given us the sacrament of his grace and his mercy in confession, that he wants to restore us, he wants to renew us, he wants to heal us. If we know that, I will say this, the only weapon Satan has left is discouragement. The only weapon he has left is that sense of like, oh my gosh, I'm just too tired of asking God's forgiveness to ask again, or I'm beyond his help, or I can't trust his mercy, or I'm just too weak. Discouragement is the enemy's only, his only weapon left. which means our response has to be twofold. It has to be humility and hope. Humility in that sense of, okay, yeah, this is true. This is true about me. This is true about me is that I fell in weakness. What's true about me is I fail to be courageous in the moment of choice. What's true about me is I'm either as weak as I thought or I'm weaker than I thought. Humility. What's true about me is I need Jesus as grace. and hope. Hope particularly when we feel discouraged. And what I'm hoping is, I'm not hoping in myself. I'm not saying, okay, I'm going to do it this time. And sometimes we think that, right? Sometimes we think that, okay, this confession, this is going to be the last one because I'm going to be so good. No, no. I am this weak, but I hope in him. I'm weaker than I thought, but he is better than I thought I not going to hope in me I not going to hope in my future future perfection I gonna hope in him What we need is humility and hope To go to confession Here is what you need to do in the meantime. If you're listening to this, you're watching this, and you're like, that's me, I'm stuck in sin. Oftentimes, when we're bound by sins of weakness, we think that all we are is weak. When we experience that everyone who commits sin is a slave of sin, we think all I am is a slave. No, here's what I need you to do. particularly if you have this repeated habitual sin, whatever the sin is, taking the Lord's name in vain, gluttony, intemperance, lust, anger, all the things. If in weakness you sin, in freedom, claim the Lord. If in weakness you sin, in freedom, make the resolution every day. I will spend time in God's presence, in Christ's presence every day. I'm on a college campus. We have a chapel here that's available to students all day, 7 a.m., 10 p.m. I would say this. If you're gonna fall into sin because of weakness, let every day there be a declaration of like, but here I'm free and I'm gonna even spend three minutes. I'm gonna stop by the chapel for three minutes. And that's my declaration that no, while yes, I am bound by sin, yet I'm beset by weakness. Yes, I am a slave in this moment, but I am not entirely a slave, that I have freedom and that in my freedom, I choose God. Now, here's this incredible thing to realize this about you and about me, maybe all of us, that oftentimes we sin because of weakness. But when you go to confession, what are you doing? When you go to confession, oftentimes we're going to confession again in humility and hope, but in strength, in freedom. And to realize that when you and I are the most free, we choose him. We choose the Lord. When you and I are most weak, yeah, I fall into sin But when you and I are most free when we are most the people that we want to be what do What do you choose You choose God grace You choose holiness And so not be discouraged by this do not be broken by this do not be dissuaded or turned away from allowing the Lord to give you his mercy because I'm too weak. Yes, in your weakness you sin. But when you are your most free, you say, Jesus, I want you. So I'm telling you, plant your flag. Plant your flag in his presence. Say, this is where I belong. This is where I want to be, even if it's three minutes every day. But to be able to, even if you're in the midst of sin, like I'm in the middle of a mortal sin, and to be able to say, but I'm gonna stop by the chapel, stop by your local church, whatever that is, and I'm gonna be there, park myself there for three minutes. And this is my declaration of dependence. My declaration that, yep, it's true. While in my weakness, I failed and fell. In freedom, I claim him. And then when the time for confession rolls around, you claim him again. The old piece of knowledge is this. Serious sin and serious prayer cannot coexist. One will kill the other one. So if I find myself in serious sin and weakness, then serious prayer and freedom is what you and I need. He will win. But today, plant your flag. Today, go into the Lord Jesus' presence in the Eucharist and plant your flag and say, I'm his this is what I choose when I'm most free and your life won't be the same for all of us here to send you presents my name is Father Mike God bless I gotta get up and be on the road by 2.55 in the morning tomorrow morning it's 9.13pm it's coming soon here we go
