© Merle Harton, Jr. | About | XML/RSS

There are just two enduring facts: true or false, yes or no, on or off, 1 or 0. Everything else is mortal. This is why Thomas Merton can declare that "the intellect is only theoretically independent of desire and appetite in ordinary, actual practice" (Seven Storey Mountain). The human body, brain, hypothalamus, and endocrine system all do more than make us human—inscrutably they also make us persons, beings capable not only of reason but also inclination. Without inclination, we would be forever condemned to sit between the twin towers of true and false, between yes and no, on and off, one and zero. With inclination, we are beings condemned always to choose the one or the other, or quarrel among ourselves as to which is the better choice.

Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for giving us mercy when we are stupid, for loving us even when we fail to acknowledge your directives, for honoring us with your Son, for teaching us through your Holy Spirit. Help us, O Lord, to appreciate the need for integrity in our lives and to find the strength, even in this weak human tissue, to know honesty as the proper response to our natural inclinations. In the name of Jesus we ask this. Amen.