And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out. Better for you to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into Gehenna -Mark 9:47

In today's Gospel, Jesus wants to tell us that if there are things, people or habits in our life that hinder us from maintaining a healthy relationship with God, then we must keep it away from us. I encounter situations like these.. As a teenager, sometimes, I find it hard to avoid occasions that lead to sin. There are many temptations around me, at school, at home or everywhere I go. We have this thing called "weakening of Christian sense of sin" and it is where we consider sin as not a sin anymore because it is being practiced today in our generation or it is said to be a "trend". Though sometimes, I may be one of those kids of today who goes with the trend, I still know my limitations as a person. I still know what's right and what's wrong and that's why I'm so thankful to become a part of this Youth Ministry because it reminds me that I am a child of God and I should respect myself and others. I should not be drowned by these worldly desires but I must look on Jesus and should cut all of these things that would hinder me from being close to Him because it's better to live a life that may seem boring yet knowing that I am so close to God than to live a life full of sin and fake happiness.

-Shine Abellana

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