serious about our sins

St John Cassian talks to us about fighting our sins today in A Year with the Church Fathers. He says that we should focus on our biggest sins first, and bring all the strength of our fasting and prayers against it, until it is vanquished.

Do you take your sins that seriously? Do you fast and plead with God to remove them? Most people I know don't, and that unfortunately includes myself. My anger in traffic? I confess it, and I try to do better. But I don't fast or ask for the intercession of the holy spirit to remove that sin from my life. My anger toward unpleasant customers? My apathy toward those who are hurting? Sure, I try to correct those things. But I don't take them so seriously that I see the kind of change that St John is talking about.

Let's take a hard look at our sins, and ask God to give us the determination to actually make a difference in our lives... to grow in love and holiness, and lay aside those sins that so easily entangle us.

God, thanks for using your saints to teach us to take our sin seriously.