Saintly Sips
with Deacon Ken

Every so often, I find myself reminiscing about some of the toys I enjoyed as a child. One of my favorites was called “Creepy Crawlers!” Introduced in the 1960s, this toy allowed children to create their own rubbery bugs, spiders, and worms using colorful liquid plastic called Plasti-Goop.

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I loved experimenting with all the different colors, squeezing the Goop into metal molds until it filled every nook and cranny. Then, I would place the mold into a specially designed oven, let the Goop cure, and wait for it to cool. Finally, I would remove the finished creation and see what I had made. There was something fascinating about watching a liquid substance transform into something completely different!

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Looking back, I realize that this childhood toy offers us a wonderful analogy for our spiritual lives.

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God created each one of us in His image and likeness. As we read in Genesis 1:27, “God created mankind in his image; in the image of God he created them.” We were created to reflect His goodness, His love, His mercy, and His holiness. God has given each of us a unique shape, purpose, and calling, inviting us to become the people He created us to be.

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But here is where the analogy becomes interesting. Throughout our lives, all sorts of “goop” gets squeezed into the molds of our hearts. Some of it is good: love, compassion, forgiveness, generosity, humility, and faith. But some of it is anything but good: hatred, jealousy, envy, resentment, pride, greed, and the countless temptations that draw us away from God.

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And just like that liquid Goop, these influences can fill every nook and cranny of our lives. If we are not careful, they can begin to reshape us, influencing how we think, how we speak, how we treat others, and ultimately, who we become.

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So, perhaps we need to ask ourselves a very important question: When God looks at the finished product of our lives, what does He see?

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Does He see someone who reflects the image and likeness in which He created us? Or does He see someone whose heart has been so filled with the world's anger, bitterness, selfishness, and sin that God's image has become difficult to recognize?

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Saint Paul reminds us in Romans 12:2 not to conform ourselves to this world, but to be transformed by the renewal of our minds.

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We cannot always control what the world tries to squeeze into our lives, but we can choose what we welcome into our hearts and what we allow to remain there. Through prayer, Scripture, the sacraments, and acts of charity, we allow God's grace to shape us more closely into the image of Christ.

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Perhaps the most important question we can ask ourselves today is this: “What kind of “Goop”” am I allowing to fill the mold of my life?

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Because one day, when our earthly journey is complete, what will matter most is not what the world has molded us into, but whether we have allowed God to shape us into the saints He created us to become.

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God Bless you all;

Deacon Ken