Throughout our lives, humans are met with many temptations from the devil. Amidst these temptations, it can be very difficult to choose the good when the bad seems to be the better option. In Joseph Langford’s “I Thirst: 40 days with Mother Teresa,” the readers are led on a 40 day journey with Mother Teresa to spend a few minutes a day reflecting on her words in order to grow in intimacy and love with the Lord. This book helps to guide individuals in the midst of temptation to seek out the desires that the Lord lays before us on our journey through life.
On day 5, the topic of the day reflects on the “Patterns of Thirsty Attachments.” Our attachments in life are ones that keep us from growing closer with God like objects, possessions, power, jealousy, etc. These attachments come through as we grow older. As we grow older, humans are shown by the Holy Spirit what God’s purpose in this life is for each of us and also, in what regard we lack in his purpose for us. What keeps us from God’s intended purpose is our own individual attachments. Mother Teresa goes to say that we should not feel bad for our attachments, for it is important to recognize them in order to stray away from our attachments in the future. Mother Teresa says that we should point out these desires in the moment, so that the Holy Spirit can help to realign our lives after these faults. A few questions we might ask ourselves once a day in order to remind ourselves to stray away from these attachments are as follows: 1) What makes me angry and moves me to a rebellious attitude to God’s ways? 2) What causes me to fail in charity towards others? 3) What is it that constantly worries me? These questions from Mother Teresa can help our own personal attachments to come to light in order to keep them from overpowering our lives. For example, if an individual possesses the attachment to be esteemed, to be successful, and has a dependence on the opinions of others, he/she is focusing too much on the earthly temptations and not enough time focusing on the reason beings are put on this earth. We are put on this earth in order that we may seek out the Lord and fulfill his purpose for each one of us whether that may be serving others through single life, married life or religious life.
The attachments of this life can easily begin to take over the mind with the consultation of the devil. A few ways in which we can handle these attachments in a healthy way is through prayer. When I see myself falling down a dark path of temptation, I always ponder the moment I am in and ask myself “What do I benefit from this? Am I fulfilling the purpose God made for me or am I led away from him with this action?” If I come to the conclusion that I am not fulfilling God’s purpose, I immediately say an Our Father asking for God’s help to get me back in the right direction. Then I set a time and day in which I can go and confess what I have done, in order to have a clear mind and clean soul. Having a prayer to go to after falling into sin from attachments can help tremendously, from my perspective, to stay in line with God’s individual purpose for each of us. In this chapter of the book “I Thirst” Mother Teresa helps us to recognize our faults but encourages us that when we have failed, we can always fall back into the Lord’s arms and he will always take us back.
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