“…the soul being stripped of every attachment or entanglement in order to be utterly simple and naked before God….means to teach us simplicity of the heart, which is not daunting but joyful.”
Stripped of every attachment = stripped of sins.
I was reminded of the story of Adam and Eve. When they disobeyed God and ate the apple from the tree, they hid because they felt naked and embarrassed. They put on clothing to “hide their sins.” On the other hand, when Jesus died on the cross, His clothing was stripped off; thus saving us all from our sins. These two stories sum up our struggle with sins. Because of Jesus’ death on the cross, we are saved from sins: we became “simple and naked” before God, but because of our human nature and weakness, we tend to fall into sin again and again and again; thus “clothing ourselves” over and over again, hiding our true beauty.
I know it’s hard to not fall into sin. In fact, we sin every day, no matter how big or small it is. But the Lord loves us so much that He gave us opportunity to be stripped off sins again: through reconciliation. But just because the Lord granted us the sacrament of reconciliation does not mean that we can just keep committing sins. The Lord continues to remind us to try to not fall into temptation. We shouldn’t have the mentality of “I will just commit this sin now because I can just go to confession tomorrow.” No, just no. If we have this mentality maybe we should consider reflecting on our lives again. Sacrament of reconciliation is a sacrament of purification of the heart, it’s not a sacrament of “so I can just get rid of my sins and I can sin again,” because if that’s the case, then we really are not reconciling. One of the analogies that I often hear about sins is the analogy of reconciliation = taking a shower. Going to confession is like taking a shower because it cleanses our souls. We want to take a shower because we wanted to be cleansed not because we wanted to get “dirty” again. It’s hard to avoid temptations, but the Lord calls us to TRY our VERY BEST to not fall into sins: to be stripped of our sins – to live like how Christ lived. How beautiful is it to be “simple and naked before the Lord.” How beautiful is it to come before the Lord without hesitations and being embarrassed. How beautiful is it to come before the Lord with nothing, so He can fully fill us with His love and compassion.
“…which is not daunting but joyful.”
How many times have we been scared of going into confessional because sometimes we are embarrassed of our sins or we are afraid that we might be judge or unaccepted? I did and I still do. But in fact, there’s really nothing to be afraid of, because if we truly are repenting, then our hearts should be joyful about it. There’s nothing to be afraid of purification and healing. In fact we should be the most joyful after a confession. I always remember that very light and happy feeling I feel every time I go to confession. It’s amazing. Instead of being daunted, we should be dauntless in living like Christ and reconnecting ourselves to Him.
To die to oneself and live like Him. Be nothing so we can be filled.
“Let nothing perturb you, nothing frighten you. All things pass, God does not change. Patience achieves everything. Whoever has God lacks nothing. God alone suffices.” – St. Teresa of Avila
Praise God!