6 Steps for Amending our lives

 
                                                                   Amending our Lives

One of the things that all Catholics and Christians should do is to amend our lives. It is one of the things that Our Lady of Fatima talked about to the shepherd children."Men must amend their lives, and ask pardon for their sins. . . . They must no longer offend Our Lord, Who is already so much offended."  An act of consecration to the immaculate heart of Mary is a great thing that we should all do.

There are many ways that we could amend our lives so that we don't sin. This are some of the ways that I found everyone could do. Try one each day, each week, or each month. Depending on the difficulty of it, it might require more time.

1. Humility

One of the things that we could all do is to be more humble in everything we do in live. I think that this is one of the most essential things that we should all do. Humility can be done in every aspect of life. Try kneeling before a statue of Jesus or any sacred person more often. I have found this to be effective. Try speaking with a calmer voice when someone asks you a question, this was a hard one for me. Bow down more and act humble more like Jesus when the Pharisees brought forth the adulteress. Jesus knelled down and wrote in the sand. When the Pharisees told Him to cast a stone he simply said " let him who is without sin be the one to cast a stone at her". After he had said this he told the adulteress to go forth and sin no more. He thought and helped in a humble way.

2. Forgive more Often

Many times people offend us, they bump into us, they cut us in line. All this things make us start fights, we get mad, and we get this anger that stays with us. As Christians we need to learn to forgive more often. " Mathew 18:21  "Then came Peter unto him and said: Lord, how often shall my brother offend against me, and I forgive him? till seven times? 22 Jesus saith to him: I say not to thee, till seven times; but till seventy times seven times" 

 3.   Listening more than speaking

One of the things that we ought to do is to listen more. Many of us are used to speaking most of the time. We want to take control of the discussion. We want to have the biggest say in the decision making. We need to be able to listen more to people, than have people listen to us. This is hardest to do specially when we think we know the answer, or when we think we know what the best decision is. This may be the case, yet it's an act of humility, and an act of meekness to listen even when we think we know the answer. The other person might be wrong in everything he says, yet it's be polite and respectful by letting the other person stress their point of view.

4. Moderation 

Many of us eat a lot more than we should, drink a lot more than we should, and might not feel like we put moral boundaries to the extent that we do things. Everything should be done in moderation. We should try to eat a little bit less that we do, if for instance you feel you eat a lot. Start by taking away just a little bit of something from your meal until you feel you have cut back the over eating. For those who feel that they have consumed more alcohol than you should, then try to limit drinking to let's say Fridays, or Saturdays. Try to limit yourself to one less bottle as well. Any time you do even just a little bit, you have progressed in your quest for moderation. 

5. Try not to repeat the same sin again    

This one might to be a tough one; as it is for me. The more we do something of whatever it is, the more we are inclined on doing this. Whether it be playing basketball, or video games, or praying, we get more used and attached to this. This is the same when it comes to sin and vices. This is common sense. The more that we make ourselves do something, the more that we train our bodies to be attached to these things. This is why we should make sure that what we do is not sin, but rather things that please God, and things that lead towards personal holiness. We should make sure that what we do become attached to are things that are holy, prayer, God, and Christ.

Whatever sin you have done try to avoid it. This is most likely going to be done by progress, you might not succeed at first, but try again. Whether the sin be big or small, Our Lady of Fatima told us that man have to amend their lives. This to be consist of every aspect of life. Whether it be moderation or living more humble, every amendment to one's life is a blessing.

6. Pray, Pray, and Pray 

 







Praying is one of the best spiritual practices you can do. A lot of people are used to pray only once in the day and once at night. The problem with this is that you leave God out throughout the rest of the whole day. Praying is one of the things that you can do to better prepare yourself for the Christian life. The rosary and the lord's prayer are perhaps the most well known form of prayer. Try to amend your life by adding the rosary into your life. Try praying the rosary daily. The rosary is one of the things that has helped lead me to personal holiness and a better life. It has been said that those who pray the rosary leave sin behind.