Live 4 The LORD

Hypocrite! Take the plank out of your own eye first, and then you will see clearly enough to take the splinter out of your brother's eye.”

Pride makes us blind to our own sin and moral defect. Humility makes us see. Here is a step-by-step process to see clearly.

Step one: Place yourself in God’s presence. Begin with prayer. Ask the Holy Spirit to show you your sins. Entrust yourself to Mary, Mirror of Justice, to help you see without self-deception.

Step two: Begin by reviewing the Ten Commandments and Precepts of the Church to name clear external sins:

1. I am the Lord your God. (Where have I placed my security or happiness in money, success, health, or others’ opinions? Pride seeks self-sufficiency.)

2. You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain. (Do I curse, use God’s name carelessly, or invoke it to justify my will? Do I take His name in anger or anxiety?)

3. Keep holy the Sabbath. (Have I missed Sunday Mass? Do I treat Sunday as God’s gift of rest, or use it to catch up, consume, or escape?)

4. Honor your father and mother. (Do I honor authority, my parents, the Church, leaders? Pride resists correction; anger rebels. Do I speak respectfully? Care for aging parents?)

5. You shall not kill. (Do I harbor anger, grudges, or resentments? Pride refuses forgiveness. Do I damage reputations through gossip or calumny? (Matt 5:22)

6. You shall not commit adultery. (Have I failed to live Christ’s teaching on marriage, divorce, and the Church’s moral teaching on sexuality and reproduction?)

7. You shall not steal. (Do I take what isn’t mine, time, credit, goods, attention? Greed, pride, envy, and sloth fuel dishonesty.)

8. You shall not bear false witness. (Do I lie, exaggerate, gossip, or manipulate truth? Do I distort truth for self-protection or harm?)

9. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife. (Have I committed sins of impurity or lust?)

10. You shall not covet your neighbor’s goods. (Do I envy others’ success, wealth, talents, or blessings?)