Our Tendency Toward Sin

Dear Lord,
in order to overcome
my natural inclination to sin,
I need Your grace in great abundance.
Our human nature tends toward evil,
even from the days of our youth.
That nature was defiled by sin
through the disobedience of the first man,
Adam,
and the penalty of that stain
has been inflicted on all of humanity.
What a dreadful insult it is
to your Divine Majesty
that the very nature
You made good and upright
has now succumbed to sin and corruption,
to the extent that its purely natural inclinations
always draw us toward evil and base desires.

And so the little remaining strength
and inclination toward good we possess
are of no greater significance
than is a small spark of fire
nestled among the ashes.
Nevertheless, that tiny spark
even though surrounded by much darkness,
is our natural reason,
which is able to discern good from evil
and the truth from what is false.

However, it is unable to always faithfully follow
the path to goodness that it discerns
as being in accord to Your Will,
nor does it possess the full light of truth.

Thus, it is true, O my God,
that inwardly in my soul
I take delight in Your Law
and in Your teaching
For I know that what You command
is good, just, and holy,
both for the reproval of all evil
and for the avoidance of all sin.
Yet, when I prefer to obey my senses
rather than my reason,
I serve the law of sin.

Therefore, even though I will do good,
I fail to accomplish my goal
because of my weakness.
I often make good resolutions,
but because grace is lacking in me,
I frequently turn back in my weakness
and yield to the slightest temptation.

I well know the way to perfection
and can see clearly what I ought to do.
However, weighed down by the burden of my corruption,
I do not rise to the heights of greater perfection.

Dear Lord,
how essential is Your grace for me,
not only to begin that which is good,
but also to persevere with it
and to accomplish it.

Without You I can do nothing,
but when Your grace strengthens me,
I can do all things.

Imitation of Christ: Book III, Chapter 55
- Thomas a Kempis (1380-1471)