First he begins by stating that nothing impure can really approach God. That is the meaning of ascetism - purification of the body opens the way to purification of the soul. St. Paul says the physical first, then the spiritual.
The soul is purified through prayer - continuous, non-stop prayer. This is the "polishing", as a piece of rough metal is brought to a shine through continuous & repeated pressure from the buffing wheel & abrasives. I've polished up a lot of rusty parts in the garage & inhaled more than my share of buffing compound, so that image really struck me. But initially, I had the image wrong. Now I see that we are the rusty part that God the artisan holds against the wheel. He purifies us & brings us to shine. What abrasives does he use, though? That's the question I contiune to ponder...
Perhaps the abrasives are the resistance we have to prayer. Some mornings, I'd rather sleep in than get up early to pray a whole rosary or read Scripture. Some nights, I'm so tired I just crash to sleep without any prayer at all. However, I notice that the more my prayer life slips, so does my resistance to ol' Stan when he throws things my way. ...
He ends with love. The closer our approach to God, the more we love. Rather, the more we become transparent, so that God's love can flow through us to others as through an aquaduct. Love cannot contain itself. Love is explosive. Love demands an other to love. Who is that other person? It's whoever happens to be in front of you at any given moment.
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This is a very important video. Taking it's message to heart could save someone's soul. Please watch it & pray about it. While you're at it, pray for me, too. If you leave your name & intention in the comment box, I'll pray for you too. Early.
2 comments:
Thanks for your prayers as you are in mine!
This is really great Mark.
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