With the recent rain and cooler weather, I have noticed how refreshed the lawns, flowers, and vegetation have become, with deep, green-colored grass and flourishing flowers of many colors. God’s beauty in nature.

Several times, I have observed home and business owners outside, picking up trash that has blown onto their grass or into their flowerbeds. It is clear that they do not want the beauty of their landscape to be tainted by that which must be removed.

This reminded me how beautiful our souls are in the eyes of God, nourished by the graces we receive in the Sacraments and through prayer, yet the winds of earthly passions and our shortcomings can obscure such beauty when we sin.

Jesus is always there to remove such blight when we turn to Him in the confessional. No matter the season or the challenge, our loving Lord is waiting for us to turn to Him to remove that blight and then to showcase, once again, God’s intended beauty.

If we pay attention to what may blow into our yards, shouldn’t we also address that which keeps us from becoming what God expects of us? Neither the effort needed to remove discarded paper or other items blown into our lawns, nor the time taken to redress our shortcomings in the confessional take much effort.

But the result of partaking in the Sacrament of Reconciliation is stunning, particularly for each of our souls. When we do so, we move closer to God and we reflect His beauty and love in a world so much in need of that grace.  

By: Deacon Tom Gryzbek