The Broken Chalice
There were two boys born in the late 1800’s. “The first boy was the son of a poor cobbler and had contracted smallpox as a child. This left his face scarred and caused him to face teasing from the other boys. He sought solace by dreaming of a career in the church.”(1) He decided to become an altar boy. While serving his first mass, he dropped the chalice containing the wine and it splattered everywhere. “The bishop celebrating the mass slapped him and told him not to come back.”(2)
“The second boy was sickly as a child too contracting tuberculosis as a baby. He also felt drawn to life in the church.” He too became an altar boy and dropped the chalice of wine during his first mass. The bishop serving that mass “told him not to worry, and that he would one day become a priest himself.”(2)
“The first of these boys grew up to be Josef Stalin, the dictator of the Soviet Union, who slaughtered untold millions of his own people to maintain his power and control over his country. The second boy grew up to become Fulton Sheen who touched millions of lives and brought joy to millions of hearts by sharing God’s message through his television show “Life is Worth Living” in the 1950’s. “(1)
Would it be right to blame the first bishop for all the evil choices Stalin made throughout his life? Of course, not. But it’s fair to say that it played a role. How would Stalin’s life have been different had the bishop who lost his temper apologized to him after mass? Perhaps, it would have repaired the damage and even changed the course of history.
When I initially heard this story, I really identified with Stalin’s bishop because there have been many times I’ve lost my temper like that. I’ve wronged people in other ways too which maybe seemed small at the time. We all have. In reality, there is no way to know the extent of damage our sins have caused. The good news is that God sent a savior to bring redemption, healing, and repair from our sins. That is what we celebrate at Christmas, the coming of Jesus, whose name literally means “the Lord is salvation.”
As we prepare for Christmas, it's a good time to acknowledge that our sins, even our small sins, can have far reaching consequences. Who do you need forgiveness from in your life this Advent? Why not reach out to that person? Maybe you need to be reconciled to God. You need only to go to Jesus to start the process. And when you do, it will truly make your Christmas one to remember!
*** If you’re Catholic, there is a great way to start the healing process. Get to Confession. Sacred Heart Church in Fairfield, OH is offering this on Tuesday Dec. 20 and Thursday Dec. 22 starting at 6:30pm. If you haven’t been in years, that’s no problem. If you need moral support, I can meet anyone there on Thursday who wants to take advantage of this. Just message me.
References
1 http://www.skywriting.net/.../a_story_of_two_boys.html
2 http://catholicwarrior.blogspot.com/.../fulton-sheen-and...