The Teeter Totter

We are all born with the effects of Original Sin in our souls which leave their mark by a proclivity to sin. We can see that most clearly in our disordered desires. Some examples would be: desiring junk food, over-eating, over-sleeping, over-drinking, spending too much money on frivolous things, gossip, base humor, feelings of superiority, judging other people, need for attention and admiration, lust, etc. All of this is further compounded by our personal sins which lead to sinful habits. 

As we cooperate with the grace we receive from the Mass and the sacraments - especially in the Sacrament of Reconciliation & in receiving the Sacred Heart of Jesus in Holy Communion (on a regular basis, in the state of grace, with an open heart, & a desire to offer ourselves completely in, with & through Christ to the Father for the salvation of the world) our disordered, worldly desires slowly but surely - gradually - change into God’s desires. Eventually, we don’t like sin any more and we desire holiness and goodness.

Eventually, our good desires become stronger than our disordered desires and it is our good desires that draw God’s grace into our souls more fully.

But...even the graces from Holy Mass and the sacraments can’t be enacted without the regular (daily) practice of mental prayer. Mental prayer - Christian Meditation - prepares our hearts for a fruitful reception of Holy Communion and it allows the grace we receive in Holy Communion to work more efficiently - to change our desires and to empower us to act on our good desires. It actualizes the grace we have received. It stirs it up so to speak. (see methods of mental prayer here)

How does this happen? Spending time with God in prayer allows Him to work on our hearts & desires directly - in ways that are not detectable to our senses - but it also allows Him to work on our hearts and desires in ways that are detectable by showing us our disordered desires so that we can work on them together. In prayer God inspires us to make resolutions to practice the virtues that will change our hearts and our desires. As we go about our day, his grace helps us to complete the resolutions we have made and when we fail, it helps us to get back up and try again without giving into discouragement.

One thing we should keep in mind, however, is that we never completely lose our sinful desires while we exist on this side of death. But, we can make great strides in this battle, strides that exceed by far what the human will can accomplish on its own. We can become heroically virtuous people due to the effects of grace, especially the grace that we receive from Holy Communion combined with mental prayer. Struggling to fight a sinful, disordered desire is very pleasing to God even if for the rest of our life we have to struggle with it - fighting manfully to overcome it. This struggle can be the very means for a deeper union with God as St. Paul taught us :

“Therefore, in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me” (2 Cor. 12: 7-9)