{"id":163281,"date":"2025-03-17T01:00:27","date_gmt":"2025-03-17T05:00:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.regnumchristi.com\/en\/?p=163281"},"modified":"2025-03-09T08:42:56","modified_gmt":"2025-03-09T12:42:56","slug":"lent-2025-day-13-the-strength-to-decide","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.regnumchristi.com\/en\/lent-2025-day-13-the-strength-to-decide\/","title":{"rendered":"Lent 2025 &#8211; Day 13 &#8211; The Strength to Decide"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-post\" data-elementor-id=\"163281\" class=\"elementor elementor-163281\" data-elementor-post-type=\"post\">\n\t\t\t\t<div data-particle_enable=\"false\" data-particle-mobile-disabled=\"false\" class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-cbf6437 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"cbf6437\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-117d08e elementor-widget elementor-widget-html\" data-id=\"117d08e\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"html.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<iframe class=\"lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/embed\/episode\/3947LE0RL4wZcpL0tG3eMA?utm_source=generator\" style=\"border-radius:12px\"  width=\"100%\" height=\"152\" frameBorder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"\" allow=\"autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; fullscreen; picture-in-picture\" loading=\"lazy\"><\/iframe>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-bee7262 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"bee7262\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><b>Day 13<\/b><\/p>\n<p><b>The Strength to Decide<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Called to salvation through faith in Jesus Christ, \u201cthe true light that enlightens everyone\u201d (John 1:9), people become \u201clight in the Lord\u201d and \u201cchildren of light\u201d (Ephesians 5:8), and are made holy by \u201cobedience to the truth\u201d (1 Peter 1:22).<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> \u2014 St. John Paul II, Veritatis Splendor, 1<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">By loving God with all our mind, we open ourselves to receive light and guidance about the right path to take through life. Our intellect is bathed in and nourished by the truth of God\u2019s revelation, and the ignorance and confusion we inherited from original sin is gradually corrected and purified. But knowing something is not the same as doing something.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The intellect is not the only spiritual power in human nature. We also have the power of free choice, of decision: The human intellect and the human will must work together, under the light of faith and the strengthening of grace, in order to move us forward on the path of spiritual maturity. We must know the truth more and more deeply, but we also must freely choose to act in accordance with the truth we know, and we must make that choice repeatedly, day after day, situation after situation. The wild horse of our soul must have a rider that both knows where to go and is fully determined to get there. To grow in our love for God, then, includes loving him not only with all our mind and all our soul, but also with all our strength.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>The Sad Young Man<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Gospels relate a memorable encounter that vividly illustrates how a weak will can impede spiritual progress. A rich and godly young man had heard about Jesus, the wonder-working rabbi from Nazareth. He had heard enough to come to believe in him, to believe that Jesus had the answers that his soul yearned for. And so, he went out to seek the Lord.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When he found him, he was so excited and eager that he \u201cran up, knelt down before him, and asked him, \u2018Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?\u2019\u201d (Mark 10:17). This was the right question! He wanted to know the deeper truth, and he believed Jesus could reveal it to him. His mind was open to the light.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Jesus recognized this and engaged in a conversation with him. He first told him to follow the commandments, since those were the path to fulfillment built right into human nature. But the young man replied that he was faithful to the commandments, and he wanted to know what else was missing, because he felt that his heart was still empty in some way. Again, we see that his mind was open to the light of truth; his conscience was making solid judgments and pushing him toward deeper immersion in God\u2019s revelation.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">At that point, Jesus, \u201clooking at him, loved him and said to him, \u2018You are lacking in one thing. Go, sell what you have, and give to [the] poor and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me\u2019\u201d (Mark 10:21). Jesus gave him the answer. Jesus revealed to this sincere and well-instructed young man what was holding him back: an inordinate attachment to his wealth, and to the comfort and the apparent self-sufficiency that wealth brings. Jesus showed him the true path to deeper communion with God. The young man now knew the truth about how he could take the next step toward spiritual maturity.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In the man\u2019s response to this illumination, the Scriptures reveal the most common obstacle to spiritual growth: a weak will, a will enervated by inordinate attachments. St. Mark describes how the young man reacted to the answer he had been so avidly seeking: \u201cAt that statement his face fell, and he went away sad, for he had many possessions\u201d (Mark 10:22). This man\u2019s capacity to choose the true good, his freedom \u2014 the precious gift we receive in order to enable us to love consciously and dynamically what is good, as persons, and not simply to follow unconscious instincts, like the rest of the animals \u2014 was hampered. He was not free to follow the higher good, the good he knew and desired, because his will was enchained, at least in part, to a lesser good.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>The True and the Good<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Jesus always linked knowledge of the truth with action in accordance with that knowledge. In his conversations with the Jewish leaders of his time, as well as his conversations with his own disciples, he repeatedly emphasized this connection. It is not enough to know and believe God\u2019s truth in the abstract; we must also choose to act and live in harmony with our faith \u2014 otherwise our union with God is impaired, and our wills remain divided and separated from God\u2019s will. And in fact, even knowledge of God\u2019s revelation remains immature without a growing obedience to that revelation:<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Jesus answered them and said, \u201cMy teaching is not my own but is from the one who sent me. Whoever chooses to do his will shall know whether my teaching is from God or whether I speak on my own.\u201d (John 7:16\u201317)<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The spiritual life, as Jesus has revealed it, consists not merely of some secret or magical knowledge, as many non-Christian religions and heresies have asserted through the centuries. Rather, the spiritual life, the life of grace and growth in holiness, is an interpersonal relationship. More than just learning about God, it involves getting to know God. And getting to know someone means walking with them and living at their side, not only sharing common knowledge, but sharing life with them, being united in thought as well as in will, in both our spiritual faculties.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Jesus himself made this starkly, even frighteningly, clear at the end of his Sermon on the Mount. After pouring out his instruction, his light, his revelation regarding God and regarding the path to true happiness, he wraps things up with a stern warning against being satisfied with a mere knowledge about those things without advancing, through obedience, to a knowledge of them:<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cNot everyone who says to me, \u2018Lord, Lord,\u2019 will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, \u2018Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name? Did we not drive out demons in your name? Did we not do mighty deeds in your name?\u2019 Then I will declare to them solemnly, \u2018I never knew you. Depart from me, you evildoers.\u2019\u201d (Matthew 7:21\u201323)<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The bridge between knowing and doing is built only by the spiritual power of our will. Engaging this power in our relationship with God is how we come to love him with all our strength. At this point, you may be wondering how you can do this better. That\u2019s what the following chapters will cover.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Questions for Personal Reflection or Group Discussion<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What idea in this reflection struck you most and why?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Can you think of any inordinate attachments in your life, now or in the past, that have shackled or limited your freedom?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Jesus said, \u201cAmen, amen, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is a slave of sin\u201d (John 8:34). What do you think he meant? How is this relevant to your own spiritual journey right now?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">St. Teresa of Avila, the sixteenth-century Spanish foundress and doctor of the Church, used to say that an eagle could be kept from flying either by chaining it to the ground, or simply tying it there with a little string. It\u2019s important for us to be humble and honest in our self-examination about what might be holding us back in our spiritual journey, so that God\u2019s grace can really get to work.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Take some time to ask Jesus in prayer to show you, as he showed the rich young man in Mark 10, what is lacking in your efforts to follow him more closely. At the end of the day, take some more time to reflect on what he showed you, and then renew your commitment to \u201cdo whatever he tells you\u201d (John 2:5).<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I will take some time to sit alone with God and ask him what the rich young man asked him: \u201cLord, what must I do to keep growing in my relationship with you?\u201d Prayerfully reflecting on this question, I will write down all the things that come to mind.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I will consciously look for an opportunity today to do a good deed, a deed that fulfills, even in a small way, the commandment \u201cLove your neighbor as yourself\u201d (Mark 12:31).<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I will look at my list of daily duties each day this week and start with the least enjoyable item, the one I would rather put off until later. I will offer this as a sacrifice to God, uniting it to Christ\u2019s redeeming cross through a little prayer.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">(Write your own resolution) I will<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>Concluding Prayer<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">O Mary, Mother of Mercy, watch over all people, that the Cross of Christ may not be emptied of its power, that man may not stray from the path of the good or become blind to sin, but may put his hope ever more\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">fully in God who is \u201crich in mercy\u201d (Ephesians 2:4). May he carry out the good works prepared by God beforehand (see Ephesians 2:10) and so live completely \u201cfor the praise of his glory\u201d (Ephesians 1:12).<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> \u2014 St. John Paul II<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Day 13 The Strength to Decide Called to salvation through faith in Jesus Christ, \u201cthe true light that enlightens everyone\u201d (John 1:9), people become \u201clight in the Lord\u201d and \u201cchildren [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":359,"featured_media":163102,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"default","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"default","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"set","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[6893],"tags":[2965],"post_folder":[],"class_list":["post-163281","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lent-2025","tag-lent"],"pp_statuses_selecting_workflow":false,"pp_workflow_action":"current","pp_status_selection":"","pp_force_visibility":null,"pp_subpost_visibility":null,"pp_inherited_force_visibility":null,"pp_inherited_subpost_visibility":null,"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v28.8 (Yoast SEO v28.8) - 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John Bartunek, LC\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/622fd36594e05daecbf3cb6f50d7151c3066ae3991815fa200dc7c1865bc6a7e?s=96&d=blank&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/622fd36594e05daecbf3cb6f50d7151c3066ae3991815fa200dc7c1865bc6a7e?s=96&d=blank&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/622fd36594e05daecbf3cb6f50d7151c3066ae3991815fa200dc7c1865bc6a7e?s=96&d=blank&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Fr. John Bartunek, LC\"},\"description\":\"Fr. John Bartunek, LC, S.Th.D, received his BA in History from Stanford University in 1990. He comes from an evangelical Christian background and became a member of the Catholic Church in 1991. After college, he worked as a high school history teacher, drama director, and baseball coach. He then spent a year as a professional actor in Chicago before entering the religious Congregation of the Legionaries of Christ in 1993. He was ordained a Catholic priest in 2003 and earned his doctorate in moral theology in 2010. He provided spiritual support on the set of Mel Gibson\u2019s\u00a0The Passion of the Christ\u00a0while researching the 2005 Catholic best seller,\u00a0Inside the Passion, the only authorized, behind-the-scenes explanation of the film. Fr. John has contributed news commentary regarding religious issues on NBC, CNN, Fox, and the BBC. He also served as the English-language press liaison for the Vatican\u2019s 2005 Synod of Bishops on the Eucharist. His most widely known books are The Better Part: A Christ-Centered Resource for Personal Prayer and 60 Days to Becoming a Missionary Disciple. His most recent book is\u00a0Spiritual But Not Religious: The Search for Meaning in a Material World. Fr. John resides in Atlanta and serves as Territorial Vicar for the Legionaries of Christ. See all books, Regnum Christi Essays, Retreat Guides, posts, and online classes from Fr. 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