“She knows what sin is…” (Venerable Fulton Sheen).
Sin is such a commonplace thing in our fallen world that it appears so unusual to see an example of goodness, that the world almost stops and stares at it.
Think of Saint Mother Teresa of Calcutta…
There she was – a little old nun – working with the poor and the down-trodden. Working with the poorest of the poor. And what did that result in for her? Well, it meant the world stopped and stared at her. They saw her actions and gawked… Reporters flocked to her to interview a woman who would do all these things.
Once, while being interviewed for a feature presentation, the Saint was filmed cleaning the wounds of a leper. Now, while leprosy is a very unpleasant disease to see, it is even less pleasant to smell. You see, with leprosy, the lesions on the skin become very foul smelling as the disease progresses. Add to this the smell of unwashed human bodies, of the people too poor and sick and underprivileged to be able to clean their own bodies themselves. And then add to this the heat and humidity of an Indian summer… And then you might have some idea of how terrible the smell of the place and the smell of the disease might have been.
After all, it is one thing to think about the poorest of the poor, and quite another to touch, taste and smell them…
While she was being filmed for an interview, the Saint was filmed gently cleaning the wounds of a man infected with leprosy. The reporter watching the Saint at her work – and quite disgusted by the disease – said, “I would not do that for a million dollars.” And without looking up from her work, the Saint replied, “Neither would I.”
You see, the goodness in the Saint was too good for the world… And I have been reflecting on that goodness, while I have been reflecting on the action of that Saint and that has caused me to think about sin. After all, there must be a serious reason why someone like Saint Mother Teresa of Calcutta would use her own clean hands to clean the filthy body of a person riddled with disease… And this caused me to think of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Venerable Fulton Sheen said, “She knows what sin is. Not by the experience of its fall, not by tasting its bitter regrets, but by seeing what it did to her Divine Son.”
And I guess that is the key… Knowing the impacts of Sin – on the Divine Personage of God. Seeing the impacts of Sin – through the death of God. Feeling the impacts of sin – through the suffering of God. All of those things. Those are the reasons why Saints such as Saint Teresa of Calcutta would put their own clean hands over the filthy wounds of others… Because that is what God di when He suffered and died for us. God covers my filth with His Grace, and that is by far, the most miraculous thing in the world for me…
For with prayer, I stand on Holy Ground where everything is clear. Here. At the Foot of the Cross.