I do not know about you but I don’t like cockroaches. We had them in
a house that we bought in Long Island. I did not know anything about
hiring exterminators so I decided to get rid of them myself. I bought a
sprayer and bought some chemicals to kill them. To measure the chemicals
I took a measuring spoon and wired it to the outside of the sprayer. I
did this to make sure that I didn’t make a mistake and use the measuring spoon
again in the house. How could I ever clean it well enough to use it again
safely for cooking?
Imagine going in
your china closet, getting one of your best crystal glasses, and then using it
to measure chemicals to kill the bugs around your house. Then let’s
imagine that you take it in the house and wash it. Would you dare to use
it again? Of course not! It would be contaminated with a toxic film
invisible to your eye that might poison anyone who used this glass.
Now
imagine that your soul and mine are like this glass. It has been so easy
for me to fall victim to the attractive but false temptations of our
contemporary world. For example, power, money, liquor, sex, and
possessing more and more material possessions are alluring. These are
played up so seductively on television and in the media. These can become
our golden calves, our false idols! Who has time for God or Church?
Perhaps unwittingly or even deliberately I have filled up my glass with these
toxins that may kill my soul and potentially others whom I know and love.
We call these toxins sin. This mix more importantly is toxic to God and poisons
our relationship with Him. The worst of these is so strong that it totally
poisons our relationship with God.
Imagine that we
determine to do better and try to rid ourselves of these toxins. Can you
or I wash the glass of our soul clean enough by ourselves? It would be
like trying to wash the lethal chemicals out of our glass with household soap.
Let’s
assume, however, that we turn to Our Savior, Jesus Christ, and ask Him with a
contrite heart to wash our glass. Is there a sin that He cannot
forgive? His Mercy is boundless. He died to redeem us of our sins
and is prepared always to forgive us.
How
can we avoid refilling the glass to the brim with another toxic brew?
This also is very difficult to do by ourselves. No matter how I have
tried to do this the devil always seems to find a way to slip a temptation in
my life when I am weak. My glass, you see, is terribly weak and
fragile. The toxins once again begin to fill my glass.
Imagine
that Christ not only cleans our glass but also puts a protective substance in
the glass that makes it difficult for the devil to introduce any more
toxins. Is this possible? The answer is yes. We call this
protection grace. The Sacraments are the greatest source of this protection.
The more grace that we have in our glass, the stronger that this protection
is. The greatest of the Sacraments is the Communion. We have the
blessing and privilege to be able to receive Our Divine Savior, Jesus Christ,
Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity, in Communion. The grace that He brings
surpasses all human understanding. Communion is the food of Eternal Life.
Jesus Himself, who suffered and died for us on the Cross, gives Himself
willingly, joyfully, lovingly, mercifully, to us. This protection
increases the more frequently that we receive Communion. The devil,
compared to Christ, is a grain of sand. When Christ fills our soul there
is no room for the toxins that the devil seeks to tempt us with. May we
get in the habit of receiving Jesus in the Communion as often as we can to take
full advantage of this protection!
When
Christ has cleaned and filled the glass of our soul whom do you imagine others
see when they look at us? My we pray that they no longer see us - - but
only see Jesus Christ Himself!
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