Cleansing the Soul

I had walked past the mirror many times before noticing the smoky film that had began to cloud its reflective shine. Hmmm, I thought to myself, had it really been that long since I had last attended to it? 

Promptly, I walked over to my cupboard, the one that houses all my cleaning supplies. I got out a fresh cloth and began to wipe off the dust that had accumulated, and then I took out my window cleaner, a small bucket and a squeegee to finish the job. 

 I carefully washed the mirror, starting from top to bottom. Then I stood off to the right and then to the left, inspecting it ever so scrupulously, making sure that not a single streak or smudge was left behind.  

The film  is now completely gone and when  the afternoon sun shines through the window and onto the mirror its reflection is brilliant.

A thought came to mind that our souls, left unattended, can quickly become much like the smoky mirror. 

Caught up in daily routines and desensitized by an ever growing secular society and strong media influence, we fail to notice the film and residue that we begin to collect within us. The light of Christ, the one that is meant to separates us from the world, fades leading us to stumble and lose our way.

That is when we need to draw on the strength of the sacraments of the Church. Confession is a cleansing of the soul. It removes all obstacles of sin that have built up. It sets us free of guilt and shame. It strengthens us for the journey of life, enabling us to be a reflective light of our Savior Jesus Christ.

In the first months of the apparitions in Medjugorje, the following was given to Vicka and Jakov:

“ Pray, pray! It is necessary to believe firmly, to go to confession regularly, and also to recive Holy Communion. It is the only salvation  (BVM, 2/10/1982)

No matter what we have done, if we turn away from the sin, and turn to Jesus we will be forgiven.