“Those who wish to live in Christ Jesus must seek virtue and flee from vice.” (Saint Jerome).
I recently heard a story about a sheep that was bitten by a rattle snake. I have not bothered myself with verifying whether the story was true or not, but I have been reflecting on it nevertheless ever since I first heard it…
The story goes like this…
There was a sheep on a farm, and the sheep was bitten in the face by a rattle snake. Rattle snakes are notorious for their venom and if you or I had been bitten by such a snake and remained without treatment we would surely have died. But the sheep did not receive any treatment. Instead, the sheep’s face swelled up terribly and remained like that for some days. Meanwhile the sheep continued to eat and drink. Although it must have been in some pain, the sheep itself was not distressed by the injury.
Some days later – without any treatment at all – the sheep recovered.
And I have been reflecting on that today. You see, many anti-venoms have as their base, sheep blood (according to this story). And the sheep survived because it had within itself the properties required to defend itself from the snake venom.
Now, I am certainly no scientist. And I am certainly no expert in snakes and sheep and venom and anti-venom. But the story was still an interesting allegory for me to think about when I found myself thinking about God.
You see, if that story could serve as a symbol, it would be a symbol of the Holy Eucharist. And just as the sheep’s blood fortify it against the venom of the snake, so too does the consumption of the Holy Eucharist fortify my soul against the wickedness of the Evil One…
And at the end of the day, the most important thing to remember are the words of Saint Jerome, who said, “Those who wish to live in Christ Jesus must seek virtue and flee from vice.”
And to do that, I must be like the sheep in that story… I must be filled with the thing that will protect me from harm. And that thing is God Himself. As a temple of the Holy Spirit, it is in my own best interests to ensure that I remain close to my Beloved. And there is no way to be closer to Him than through the Blessed Eucharist – or Holy Communion, which literally translates to mean a Holy Communication between my God and me…
And I have been thinking about that today as I have been reflecting on the swollen face of that sheep. For if I am a true child of God, though my soul will be battered and worn by sin, the Spirit of the Lord shall defend me and I shall truly have nothing to fear…
For with prayer, I stand on Holy Ground where everything is clear. Here. At the Foot of the Cross.