“At the root of the experience of sin are the passions, which incline us to “miss the mark” and can develop into spiritual disease or sin. The understanding of sin as illness conforms to the spirit of Christ . Speaking to the Pharisees who were mocking Him, He said: "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.” (Mt 9:12)” (Fr. George Morelli)
“Ever since Adam and Eve took that fatal bite of forbidden fruit, our natural human inclination has shifted toward sin…it would not be inaccurate to say that forgiveness summarizes the whole relationship between God and man since the ancestral sin of our first parents which broke mankind’s union with God and expelled them from Paradise. Since then, we suffer the brokenness of disunion with God and inclination to sin.” (Carolyn Mahaney, Fr. George Morelli)
“…denial of bad inclinations may be accomplished by human will power at first. After all, we need to exercise our will to seek God and His ways. However, at some point in this process, we yield more and more of own our will to God’s and let Him do the directing…I need God’s grace in my heart to keep it inclined in the right direction; toward Him. His grace can do that.” (Sacramental Living, Sr. Dr. Vassa Larin)
“The process of deification (salvation) is when we let the Holy Spirit within our heart take more control of our bodily behavior and our thoughts. Out of habit and pride, our soul’s and body’s faculties are not inclined to follow the spirit within us. Hence we typically find a battle of the faculties of the body and soul against the spirit within us.” (Father David L. Fontes, PsyD)
“The Greek word translated as “made perfect” is teleiotheis, which means “to be completed.” Being completed as a human person is a labor of restoration, a process of reassigning thoughts, inclinations, desires, and actions to their rightful place and function. And who does this for us? We look to God, of course, for He can make perfect even “in a short time”... He is ready to complete us if we will work with Him.” (OCPM 12/9/2016)
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