What keeps you away from God? Sin, right? So, then, what leads you toward sin? Hmm. What leads you away from sin? “In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding blood” (Heb 12:4). Christian martyrs, like St. Paul Miki and companions, actually did struggle against sin to the point of shedding blood. Rather than deny Jesus Christ, rather than exchange the truth of the gospel for a lie, rather than sinning, they endured torture and death. They suffered briefly on this earth in the hope that God would save them. How right they were!
What about your struggle? In the tenth additional direction of his Spiritual Exercises, St. Ignatius proposes a tool for us: penance (SpEx 82-90). “Interior penance,” he says, “consists in sorrow for one’s sins and a firm purpose not to commit them or any others.” On the other hand, “exterior penance… consists in inflicting punishment on ourselves for the sins we have committed.” If Hebrews chapter 12 is correct, suffering is really discipline from a loving father. If St. Ignatius is correct, then penance is a way for us to participate in that discipline (SpEx 87.2).
You have a busy day as it is, already filled with many struggles, nevertheless, I am asking you to prioritize one struggle in particular, the struggle against sin. Do penance. Fight the good fight (2 Tim 4:7) as St. Paul did and as St. Ignatius did. In other words, take your place in our Church militant.