Fresh

My wife, a few months ago, bought Zek a pair of gold fish in a small glass bowl. Unfortunately, after a few weeks one of the pair died and the last one, Dorothy (Zek named her after Elmo's per fish) has been living by herself. My wife would occasionally hear Zek talk to Dorothy and give her food but the regular water replenishment was tasked unto me.

One day I was shocked to see Dorothy belly-side up and gasping for her dear breath. I remembered giving her some pieces of bread the previous night which she partook in an instant. Unknowingly, this kind of bread quickly dissolved in her small bowl and intoxicating the little supply of water she has. She looked like a goner to me but I tried to warm-up a fresh quart of water and replace it, hoping that Dorothy can still come out from her dire condition.

Amazingly, she did. After hours of dipsy-diving in her clean water, she was up and swimming in slow motion. Another cycle of clean water the next day and she is back to total normalcy.

In Christian living, whenever we commit sin, it is like ingesting a life-threatening poison that slowly affects our whole being. Though the instant sensation for us is happiness and self-gratification, the underlying consequences are guilt, unhappiness and restlessness. And without resorting to the only spiritually effective medication, the inevitable destination for us is long-term spiritual affliction that quickly degenerates to isolation from God's love and eventual self-destruction. We will choke on our own terms.

But the Lord's mercy knows no end if we open our hearts to true repentance. This is the reason why He instituted the sacrament of reconciliation for us to avail of His life-giving and love-replenishing forgiveness. When participated in with piety and zealousness, we will experience the most invigorating and refreshing spirit within us.

Dear friends, go ahead.
Confess your sins.
Be re-freshed.

May the Lord's peace be with us all.