One of the slickest tricks of the devil is that he will remind us of our past sins, even though we have confessed them and received absolution. He is, of course, trying to pull us down and make us question ourselves. St. Paul may have seen this happening to the Philippians when he wrote them. Paul’s great line at the end of today’s second reading is so applicable to our spiritual journey, “forgetting what lies behind, but straining forward to what lies ahead, I continue my pursuit toward the goal”. The devil wants us stuck on the past, Jesus wants us moving towards him. Since we are the ones in charge of our lives, the direction is up to us.