Acne From Within

Twenty-Second Sunday in Ordinary Time

~~~ Dt 4: 1:2, 6-8 ~~~ Psalm 15~~~ James 1:17-18, 21b-22, 27 ~~~ Mark 7: 1-8, 14-15, 21-23 ~~~

 

I remember as a teenager how challenging a sudden breakout

of acne was on my face.

You just want to scrape the top layer of your skin off,

but that is not the case.

Instead you take your mother's advice and begin to take

better care of keeping your skin clean.

Pretty soon your face does clear up and you

hope to avoid another embarrassing outbreak.

 

Listening to the end of the gospel today reminded me of acne,

not of the skin

of the soul.

"From within people, from their hearts,
come evil thoughts, unchastity, theft, murder,
adultery, greed, malice, deceit,
licentiousness, envy, blasphemy, arrogance, folly.
All these evils come from within and they defile."

 

Acne comes from within it is often related to hormones or even diet.

Cleaning the skin helps to keep it from spreading

to other areas of the face and body.

 

Most sins begin first in the the mind.

You commit the sin within your mind and imagination.

After the sin has been committed within

it erupts like a bad case of acne.

This acne is first breeding within defacing the soul.

Imagine the sinful soul having an acne breakout.

Not a pretty picture in my mind...

Red pus filled red bumps waiting to ooze

their infection out to nearby tissue.

 

Consider receiving Eucharist as often as you can

as kind of antibiotic for the soul.

An antibiotic to prevent or clear up the acne of the soul.

Think of the clean heart scenario as well.

 

We must be vigilant and guard against

the evil thoughts that come from within.

 

The opening prayer today is one we might want to pray

throughout this week.

 

God of might, giver of every good gift,

put into our hearts the love of your name,

so that, by deepening our sense of reverence,

you may nurture in us what is good

and, by your watchful care,

keep safe what you have nurtured.

 

If we ask God himself to safe guard our hearts

we are acknowledging that the is a task to large to do alone.

 

If we ask God to nurture us in what is good

we will have less space within our hearts for those evil thoughts.

Evil thoughts once planted in our hearts can cause an overnight acne breakout.

Asking God to keep watchful care over us does not mean

that we relinquish our responsibility to also care for ourselves.

 

It does mean that when we are in partnership with God

the care of our souls may become easier.

If God is caring for our soul he will not stop us

from entertaining the evil thoughts when they come.

We have to decide to let the evil thoughts go.

Give these thoughts to God when they arise within.

 

 

 

It is only by the grace of God, as St. Paul would say, that we have any chance of keeping this acne of the soul from spreading.

It is only through this God connection that we can prevent the acne within from bursting forth and spreading into our surrounding environment.