It was for this reason that the Blessed Virgin was conceived without sin. It is for this reason that I rely on the Infinite Mercy of God to forgive me my sins – because without His mercy I am incapable of salvation…
A few months ago, we have noticed that the drains inside our kitchen sink and inside our bathrooms are taking longer and longer to drain water through...
At first, we tried to ignore the problem – having a sneaking suspicion of what would be awaiting us in the sewer pipes themselves. Later we tried a few feeble attempts at plunging and chemicals to try to clear any blockage in the drain. Later – when we realised that the sewer main was actually well and truly blocked – we tried to flush the pipes to push whatever was causing the problem out of the way.
And despite our best efforts, all of those attempts merely bought us a few short months before we were forced to face the fact that we had a serious (and expensive) problem with our sewer pipes…
Finally, we called in a plumber with a camera, and after having a look in the pipes we discovered that the pipe was broken in one place as tree roots had grown into the sewer pipe. And so it was that my husband – the ultimate handyman (God bless him) – began to dig and dig and dig so that he could reach the source of the problem and cut out the damaged section of the pipes and reattach a brand new section to fix the problem once and for all…
And I was watching my husband work on this job the other day and as I watched the work that he was doing, it occurred to me that this job is much the same as the “job” that my Beloved does in saving souls…
You see, the consequence of sin is the fallen world. That means that just as we saw (and tried to ignore) the water taking longer to flow down the blocked drains, so too are there obvious consequences of sin that I so often see and try to ignore. You see, that unrest in my soul, the loneliness, the weariness – that lack of peace – that is a consequence of sin in my soul. Just as the sewer pipe was disrupted by the tree roots, and this disruption ruined the productivity of the pipe, so too is the peace of my soul ruined by sin.
And yet, my husband was able to work on a fix. He dug all the way down to the pipes, cut away the damaged pipes, and then reattached new pipes so that the sewer pipe would work properly again and drain the water. And that reminds me of my Beloved on the Cross. You see, Christ did all the hard work for us. He was born to suffer and die, just as my husband had to dig the hole, cut away the old, realign the pipes and reconnect the pipes. And the consequences of sin really do need to be atoned for through the Sacrament of Reconciliation and our genuine repentance. You see, just as those sewer pipes will always have the marks of the repair, so too will my soul always bear the marks of my sins – because I can never fully atone for my sins. It was for this reason that the Blessed Virgin was conceived without sin. It is for this reason that I rely on the Infinite Mercy of God to forgive me my sins – because without His mercy I am incapable of salvation…
And so, as I watch the water flowing beautifully (and quickly) down the drains, I cannot help but cry tears of grateful joy… For my Lord and God came to save me… And how could a soul such as mine ever thank Him enough for that?
For with prayer, I stand on Holy Ground where everything is clear. Here. At the Foot of the Cross.
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