Holy Spirit of Jesus, lead me away from sin . . .

Tenth day of Christmas
             
1 John 2:29; 3:1-6
 
What is ‘sin’? Any action, word or thinking process that draws us away from the truth and love of God, separates me from God and so is sinful.  Many of the ‘goods’ of life can become sinful by keeping me insulated from the fullness of God’s truth and love.  It is so easy to choose comfort over the unfamiliar, to buy into money making schemes instead of living by faith in God, or to build independence and self-sufficiency into every aspect of life, rather than build up community by sharing gifts. These are some of the more subtle sins of our age, hidden under the cloak of self-ism that marks present day culture.  Holy Spirit of Jesus, lead me away from sin.    
                       
No one who abides in him sins. (1 John 3:6) 
 
Of the Father’s love begotten,
Ere the world began to be, 
He is Alpha and Omega, 
He the Source, the Ending He. 
Of the things that are that have been, 
And that future years shall see, 
Evermore and evermore. 
 
O that birth forever blessed!
When the Virgin, full of grace, 
By the Holy Ghost conceiving 
Bare the Saviour of our race, 
And the Babe, the world’s Redeemer, 
First revealed his sacred face, 
Evermore and evermore. (Prudentius AD 348-413 tr. JMN1861)
          
Soli ad gloriam dei