Like the Febreeze commercial where people sit in a disasterously filthy room, but can't detect the surrounding filth because of the Febreeze hiding the hideous smells, our world also sits in a pit with an invisible veil which keeps us from seeing the filth and refuse that surrounds us. God is kind and gentle, and when we seek the light, He shines it on one thing at a time so we can work on it in peace without the shock that comes from taking off the mask and seeing the whole wreched mess. One of the reasons it can be so shocking is because the filth that can become visible is not necessarily the filth of things surrounding us, but the filth within our own souls. When God's light illuminates these spots and imperfections within us, we must get out the tools he has provided for us to scrub them clean- namely- the sacraments, prayer, charity, reading scriptures- while at the same time we physically work to overcome bad habits and those sins that continue to dirty our souls daily. The spirit and the flesh are opposed, so we must fight against the sinful yearnings of our own flesh so that our spirit can be strengthened.
Today starts Holy Week. We are now in the last moments of our desert experience yet many of us stayed on the out-skirts of the desert because we like to avoid the associated pain. So now it's time! Let us run to the desert and not be afraid because Christ is there. Let us ask Him to shed His light on some filth within us that needs repair. Let us not worry so much about others and their imperfections. When it is time for us to die- and we all will- WE will stand coverless before God, and all will be showing. He sees it now, but we fool ourselves into believing that He does not see or that it really does not matter. He sees ALL my friends. We need to be on that narrow path using Christ's light to guide and cleanse our hearts. If we don't seek to cleanse ourselves of this filth, when we die we will be repelled by the light of Christ and will find ourselves in a dirty room where God does not abide and this is where we will belong. Instead let us pick of the Cross of Salvation and get behind our Christ and follow His path of suffering so we can also share in His resurrection.
