Channels of Grace….We Become What We Do
Often without even realizing it, Catholics say things all of the time that set the Protestant hair on fire. Most Catholics I know have a pretty good idea that Protestants think we worship Mary but they don’t really realize what it is that “we” say that gets them all riled up about it. Just start talking about Mary as a ‘channel of grace’ and watch them get really tense. Now I am not advocating purging this from our Catholic vocabulary but I am suggesting that we be prepared to toss a little water on those flames when we are given the opportunity.
How many of us have run into someone who is either about to purposefully jump into flagrant sin or is already there and is “enjoying” so much they don’t care to quit just then? The excuse given is that they will repent at some future point. Ignoring the fact that this is a sin of presumption on the Mercy of Our Lord, and ignoring the fact that we are not guaranteed a future in which to repent (I am reminded of the angel’s advice to the sinner in The Great Divorce….all moments are present in this one.) this is a dangerous course to chart because we become what we do. We cannot commit acts of selfishness and become selfless. We cannot commit acts of untruthfulness or uncharitableness or faithlessness and not have them cloud our conscience and prevent even the desire for repentance down the road. To deliberately turn away from Grace changes our souls. It wounds. It disfigures. Eventually we become like the sins we commit. (Please note that I am not saying that any sinner is beyond hope of salvation. Only that by deliberately turning away from God as I have described above so wounds us and so clouds our conscience that we become less able to even see the need to repent.)
I think it works in reverse as well. For example, the act of bearing a child transformed me into a mother. As another example, I have the privilege of being an Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion. I assist the priests and the deacons in distributing Holy Communion at Mass and to those who are unable to attend Mass during the week. I have noticed that Our Lord has taken this thing that I do and used it to change what I am and this blog is part of that transformation. Just as Our Lord has allowed me to distribute His Body and Blood in the Eucharist, He has blessed that ministry and multiplied it like the loaves and the fishes to every part of my life. I bring Jesus in the Eucharist with me in other ways all of the time as I talk to people about the joy of being Catholic. The physical actions of what I do as a Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion has somehow been imprinted on my soul and I have become what I do. Does everyone who acts a Eucharistic Minister become one in other ways? Probably not. I am sure that it is possible to close oneself off to the grace that God would bestow. I know it is certainly possible to bear a child without truly becoming a mother. I also know that there are extraordinary means of transformation as well. Some people become mothers without physically bearing a child in their wombs. And I am equally sure that there are many Catholics who spiritually bring the Eucharist to others without having ever performed the act physically at Mass. Nevertheless, I think there is a profound connection and I personally observed a marked transformation in my own life that began with my becoming a Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion.
How much more so for Our Lady? She bore Jesus in her womb. She shared Him with Joseph. She shared Him with the shepherds right after giving birth. (If you’ve ever given birth, think about the depth of that sacrifice!) She shared Him with Anna and Simeon in the Temple. She had Magi dropping by the house unannounced. She shared Him with the Apostles, the disciples, and all of those whose lives He touched while He lived on earth even though she probably could have used His help at home. She shared Him with all of us when He dies on the cross. What kind of transformation must have been etched on her soul in these acts of charity and obedience? She had a lifetime of sharing with others the Word of God, and the Source of All Grace. She was a channel of that Grace in life as she etched upon her soul and become what she did. Perhaps God could have and would have used another means to bring Our Lord into the world had Mary said “No.” The fact remains that she said, “Yes.” Through the disobedience of Eve, sin entered the world. Through the obedience of Mary, the God’s Son took flesh and dwelt among us and she was the channel of that Grace. If God’s Son was the source of all Grace, that she is the channel by which that Grace became man and dwelt among us. She lived a life of sharing that Grace with others on earth. She became what she did and is privileged to remain so for eternity.
