BREAKING THE RULES
“Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments…” – Matthew 5:19
I was 10 or 11 years old when this happened. And until now, nobody in my family knew about this. It was summer and early afternoons were supposed to be naptime for us unless my sisters and I had a scheduled activity.
One day, I escaped our naptime to play with some cousins in the house next door. I don’t remember now what game we were playing but what I vividly recall is that I was walking atop the hollow block fence of my aunt’s house, like an acrobat walking on a tightrope. Then suddenly I fell off the fence and a protruding steel bar hit my thigh. Blood oozed out, but fearing that my parents would reprimand me, I hid the wound from them and administered first aid. Fortunately, the wound healed by itself after a couple of weeks but the scar remained until many, many years later.
The same is true when we break God’s commandments. We get hurt in the process. We fear the priest’s reprimand in the confessional box, and unless we are truly repentant, the wounds of our sinfulness stay with us.
Breaking rules has consequences, whether they are rules of God or of man, so it’s best to be ready to make amends whenever we do. Tess V. Atienza (svp_tvatienza@yahoo.com)
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REFLECTION:
What rules do you love to break? Why?
Lord, help me to follow Your rules every moment of my life.
St. Maximillian, pray for us.
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