Thursday of Week 7 in Ordinary Time
Jas 5:1-6
Mk 9:41-50
And if your eye should cause you to sin, tear it out; it is better for you to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye…
I had originally found today’s Gospel passage unsettling and fear-inducing because I had read it literally. Fortunately, I now have a slightly better understanding from many homilies and reflections over the years, which helped me realise how Jesus was using hyperbole to emphasise that we should avoid situations which can lead us into sin.
Nonetheless, I also realised this is still a difficult passage to adhere to, despite whatever good intentions we have, based on my attempt during Lent to fast from ‘doomscrolling’ — the act of spending excessive time on the phone scrolling through information (which may not always be essential). Though I occasionally cut down on this, I quickly discovered it was unexpectedly challenging because: (i) I had been spending more time doomscrolling than I expected, (ii) even when I managed to refrain from the tempting apps, I didn’t always spend the extra time on more worthwhile activities (such as prayer) and could just end up wasting time on other apps instead.
But I should not have been surprised. As St Paul puts it in Romans 7:13–25, “For I do not do the good I want, but I do the evil I do not want.” On a broader secular note, the area of behavioural economics looks at the dichotomy between our original intentions and eventual actions, and even Jerry Seinfeld gave a light-hearted take with his description of “Night Guy and Morning Guy” (here), where he laments how he continually sleeps late despite knowing the consequences.
So perhaps we can take a leaf from secular practices to relook our habits. In a recent Ascension Presents video on ‘prayer hacks’ (here), Fr Mark-Mary came up with some (seemingly) small ways, inspired by athletic routines, we can pray better. I was particularly struck by how he suggested we could resist the temptation to stay up late in order to have more time in the morning for prayer; this seemed particularly relevant to my doomscrolling, as well as aligned to today’s passage on how insidious the temptations around us can be.
Nonetheless, whatever attempts we make will also depend on whether we actually intend to make a change and keep persevering at it, despite the inevitable failures we will encounter along the way. The fact that, once Lent ended, I reverted to doomscrolling (though hopefully with a higher level of awareness about it) indicates I need to be more intentional about addressing this habit. This is where we can learn from Paul’s example to acknowledge our weaknesses and to seek our Lord’s help and grace through the Holy Spirit.
(Today’s OXYGEN by Jaclyn Lam)
Prayer: Lord, forgive us for the times we have fallen into temptation. Send us your Holy Spirit to help us to pick ourselves up and to continue trusting in Your love and patience.
Thanksgiving: Lord, we thank you for the Sacrament of Confession.
OXYGEN 
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