Resistance is that sluggish feeling that stops us from doing the things
that we know are good for us. Like, I should be coming to church every Sunday
especially during Lent. It’s that sense that, “I don’t want to do that,” even
though we know it’s the thing we should do. Sometimes it’s the sense that, “You
know what, I’m going to do whatever I want even though I absolutely know it’s
the wrong thing to do.”
Resistance is a big part of the reason why we often feel like happiness
is just outside of our reach. God created each of us for happiness. You got to
remember that what happened on Good Friday was designed to restore the
possibility of happiness for you and me. Not only in this life, but in the next
life. Because God does have this enormous desire that we experience the
happiness that he created us for. And resistance absolutely gets in the way of
that happiness. It gets in the way of us accomplishing our dreams. It gets in
the way of us doing what we know is good for us. It gets in the way of us being
the-best-version-of-ourselves. And what I want to help you discover this Lent is that resistance is real.
So, how did you experience resistance in the last 24 hours? There will
be hundreds of temptations to make excuses. You will push the idea out of
coming to Mass, or fasting on Friday, or reading the bible, or donating money
for the missions, or coming to the Parish Retreat or attending Holy Week
services because they’re held on a Thursday or Saturday night, maybe you’ll
come to Easter, just maybe, no guarantee. These are your temptations, and
behind all those temptations, very often, you’re going to find resistance. What
we’re talking about here, this concept of resistance, it’s real. It’s something
we experience every day.
That’s really the paradox of happiness. It’s that, we know the things
that make us happy, we just don’t do them. We want to be happy. In 90% of the
cases, we know the things that will make us happy, but we don’t do them. Why? Resistance.
Lord, I pray for all my Sonshine Friends that they keep in mind that in
every situation to be holy, either resistance is going to win, or you’re going
to win. There’s no middle ground. So when people received ashes on their
foreheads, instead of saying: “Remember you are dust and to dust you shall
return.” That won’t make any of us happy, we offered this blessing prayer:
“Let go of worry and resistance and with the help of God be happy.”
