Letting Go Of Sin

A Reading from the Holy Gospel According to Mark
     At that time, John said to Jesus,
     "Teacher, we saw someone driving out demons in your name,
     and we tried to prevent him because he does not follow us."
     Jesus replied, "Do not prevent him.
     There is no one who performs a mighty deed in my name
     who can at the same time speak ill of me.
     For whoever is not against us is for us.
     Anyone who gives you a cup of water to drink
     because you belong to Christ, 
     amen, I say to you, will surely not lose his reward.
     "Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin,
     it would be better for him if a great millstone
     were put around his neck
     and he were thrown into the sea.
     If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off.
     It is better for you to enter into life maimed
     than with two hands to go into Gehenna,
     into the unquenchable fire.
     And if your foot causes you to sin, cut if off.
     It is better for you to enter into life crippled
     than with two feet to be thrown into Gehenna.
     And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out.
     Better for you to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye
     than with two eyes to be thrown into Gehenna,
     where 'their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched.'"

     Christ has given us an abundance of love. In fact, He gave of Himself in the most loving way possible - dying on the cross to save us from our sins. As Catholics, we strive to reciprocate that perfect love. We are called to die to ourselves by giving up certain sinful pleasures of the world.

     Sometimes, however, we give into our sinful desires. Sometimes we give into temptation. Sometimes we constantly fall back into our sin due to a recurring temptation we can’t escape from. Christ addresses all of this and more in this week’s Gospel. 

     Christ tells us in the Gospel, “If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for one to enter the kingdom of Heaven maimed than having two hands to go into hell.” (Mk 9:42) This probably sounds a little extreme! What Christ is really saying here is to get rid of anything in your life that causes you to sin. Nothing in this world is ever worth more than your salvation. It could be a person, a job, a relationship, a friendship, or something else that becomes a near occasion of sin for you. Whatever it may be, Christ tells us it is not worth it; get rid of it.

     It can be hard to let go of our near occasions of sin. The best advice I can give to anyone who needs to break away from their temptation are these three things:

     First of all, remember and reflect on the sacrifice Christ gave for us on the cross. Our sins hammered the nails into his hands. Is keeping your near occasion of sin in your life worth driving nails into the hands of the Man who loves you more than anything? 

     Secondly, completely step away from the temptation. Remember how it’s better to rip off a bandage rather than pull it off slowly? If you slowly pull away from the near occasion of sin there is a better chance you’ll continue to go back to it. Remember Christ’s sacrifice for you and ask Him for the strength to completely walk away from temptation.

     Lastly, stay close to the sacraments. Getting rid of your near occasion of sin will probably be difficult. You need to constantly regain your strength by staying close to Christ through the sacraments.      

“Virtue is nothing without the trial of temptation. For there is no conflict without an enemy, no victory without strife.” - Pope Leo The Great 

About the Author: Brooke McCall was born and raised in Baton Rouge and is a recent homeschool high school graduate. In her free time, she loves photography, graphic design and running her blog on Instagram called The Jesus Talk. Before she begins college, she will be taking a gap year to be a missionary with Regnum Christi Mission Corps in Washington D.C.
How do you like your coffee? I loveee vanilla iced coffees!
Who is your favorite saint at the moment and why? My favorite saint at the moment is St. Therese of Lisieux…I’ve been reflecting a lot on her beautiful and simple missionary heart.

Learn More About Red Stick Catholics


The Well is a weekly reflection series from Red Stick Catholics that was created to allow young adults from the Diocese of Baton Rouge to reveal how God is speaking to them through prayer and Scripture. Each reflection contains the upcoming Sunday’s Gospel, a reflection written by a young adult from the Diocese of Baton Rouge and prompts for how to pray with the Gospel and reflection during the week. If you are interested in writing a reflection, please email Nicole at njones@diobr.org.