I recently weeded the vegetable garden at our home on a Friday. It looked good when I finished with just the vegetable plants growing and no longer competing with the weeds for sunlight and water.

Much to my chagrin, three days later I went to water the garden again and I found about the same amount of weeds present. It seems like a gardener’s work is never done.

I was particularly annoyed to find new weeds that had vines growing that were encircling the stalks of our tomato plants. It seemed like these weeds were trying to choke away the good life of those plants. I was pleased to remove those. I could almost hear the tomato plants telling me, “Thank you for saving me”.

All of this reminded me of the devil’s constant efforts to move us away from God. The devil never rests. Even after we go to the confessional and feel relieved to know we are sin free, within hours or days we feel ourselves pulled back into the same bad habits or temptations.

Like vegetables in a garden, we must remain diligent to not succumb to the devil’s traps and sin. We must untangle the vines pulling us away from our loving God. We cannot just do this once in a while. We must be vigilant at all times.

How do we fight this battle, you might ask? I recommend the frequent reception of the Holy Eucharist. The graces that we receive in this sacrament make us strong and strengthen our ability to fight temptations. I recommend seeking the help of our Blessed Mother, perhaps by saying a simple prayer like, “Blessed Mother I ask you in the name or your son, Jesus, please keep the devil away from me. I recommend the prayer to St. Michael the Archangel asking for his protection. I especially recommend simply saying to oneself, “no, I reject this temptation and move myself to the protection of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.”

The noun, rumination, means a deep considered thought about something.

-By Deacon Tom Gryzbek