Tepidity: The Habitual Deviation from the Road
February 24, 2010 | VII.
Grace: for light to see the disorder of tepidity in my life and to be disgusted by it, to seek forgiveness for it, and the grace to amend it.
Text for Prayer: Matthew 25: 14-46
Reflection: Tepidity is a state of the soul brought on by repeatedly missed opportunities to offer oneself in the service of God our King. Tepidity doesn’t stand out as any one particular instance of sin, rather it creeps up on a person due to carelessness and complacency with small offenses of unholy laziness. The tepid person is sluggish in all that he does, but chiefly in regards to the spiritual life. He shortens his prayers, says them hastily, indulges in distractions and finally gives in to the temptation to be careless in prayer altogether. The tepid person finds himself sluggish in other duties as well, failing to make the connection between his own duties and God’s will. Self indulgence begins to mark the tepid person’s life, losing the habit of self control, mortification, and self-sacrifice for the good of others. While the tepid person may avoid the most obvious sins, we can be sure of the following: If God does not entirely fill our hearts, we will seek to fill it with worldly pleasures. We must see tepidity for the cruel tyrant that it is. We must learn to hate this sin in us that constantly chips away at the spiritual progress that we have made with the help of God in the past. We must remember that our Lord threatens severe punishment for such insincerity in our lives!
Read the book of Revelations 2:4-5 and 3:14-16 for a reminder…
Pray: O my Lord, first I ask for an interior knowledge and hatred of the sins I have committed against Your Divine Majesty. Second, help me to feel the disorder in my life, namely the root causes of my ordinary sins and failures – the lack of right and pure intention, the lack of order, of forethought and self-control, the sloth and overly complacent disposition. Help me to abhor this disorder and to amend my life and live it ever more according to Your will. Third, help me to see and reject the ways and principles of this world, particularly this world’s love of earthly leisure, shortcuts and personal “freedom and independence” that lead me to love myself more than I love You.