Sin and temptation

Fr. Ramon Mores, SJ of the Sacred Heart Parish Church last Sunday distinguished between temptation and sin.

According to him, many people mistakenly think that the two are the same. He defined temptation  as solicitation to commit sin and assured  parishioners that to fall into temptation is not yet to sin. When one succumbs to the temptation then that is sin.

The homily was in relation to the observance of the season of Lent under the Catholic Church calendar.

The  homily was very timely  amid the challenges that many voters are facing with the forthcoming  midterm elections.

First and foremost is the temptation to sell their votes to favor of a certain candidate. Unfortunately many  voters succumb to this since they are financially hard up.

Many times the Catholic Church has appealed for politicians to stop the practice of buying votes but the call fell on deaf ears as candidates continue to purchase votes to ensure  victory.

The Church has appealed to   voters not to sell their votes but it still happens  despite the efforts of many sectors to  conduct voter’s education and values formation campaigns.

Today in real life many of us face a lot of temptations  and many succumb though many of us are Catholics.

That is why it is very important that we should continue to pray and pray even harder because many times temptations are  difficult to avoid.

Sunday’s  gospel told the story of  the 40 days spent by Jesus in the desert where he was tempted by the Devil  with fortune and fame but Jesus rebuked the him.

Nowadays I have been praying harder with the assistance of a prayer book “Straight the Heart,” a book of prayers compiled by Fr. Mario Jose C. Ladra.

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The Vatican will choose a new pope earlier than expected in time for the celebration of the Holy Week.

After Pope Benedict XVI resigned from the papacy there is a gleam of hope that Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle of the Philippines will be considered for the papacy though it may be argued  that his youth  works against him.

The Vatican will convene soon the Sacred College of Cardinals in a conclave to elect a new pope.

There’s a chance that a third world pope may be chosen this time though  it may be difficult to do away with the tradition that gave the papacy to Europe specifically Italy.

But as a Catholic let us pray to God that the Conclave will elect a Pope who is not too old to lead the Church.

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Apparently everything is back to normal at the Capitol. Acting Gov. Agnes Magpale is totally in control of the functions and powers of the Office of the Governor.

Suspended governor Gwen Garcia is busy going around the towns  campaigning for herself and for her brother Pablo John Garcia who is running for governor against lawyer Junjun Davide.

Davide should not be complacent just because Garcia is no longer at the Capitol. She is still considered by some as a popular candidate and is using her suspension to her advantage.

I think the Liberal Party in the province should work harder to secure victory for its candidates.