You don’t have to floss all of them, only the ones you plan on keeping.
I remember hearing these words from a dental hygienist after I was asked how often I flossed. I said nothing; the evidence was there to prove otherwise. As the hygienist began to clean my teeth, he said with a smile, “This is going to hurt you more than it is going to hurt me.”
I realized in that moment that if I did not begin and commit myself to taking care of my teeth, including flossing every day, there was a good possibility of my teeth not faring well, or worse, I could lose them.
This goes hand in hand with Christ’s teachings today, as it did when He walked the earth. There are no teachings of Christ that have ever changed. Scripture tells us, “Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.”
There are those who are called “Cafeteria Christians.” They pick and choose which teachings of Christ they want or do not want to live by. And the ones they choose, they do not always commit themselves entirely to them. St. Augustine said, “It is no advantage to be near the light if the eyes are closed.”
Believe me when I say, I have heard many a Christian say they believe “this,” then turn around and do “that.” It is quite flabbergasting to hear such things, especially when they come out of the mouth of a professed Christian.
For example: A couple wants the perfect family with the perfect number of children… just not yet. They want to have their perfect career first with the perfect “number” in their bank account before they start a family. So, instead of allowing natural law to do what natural law does, they put up an umbrella (birth control) and stop the downpour of grace flowing from God. They want God to bless them with children, yet they do not trust Him enough to know that He will give them the necessary graces needed to provide for their family.
Jesus said in Matthew 6:26, “The birds of the air neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your Heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?”
They have said the Church is too rigid; it needs to stay out of the bedroom. Pope Pius XII stated, “Behind those who accuse the Church of Christ of being rigid there is only the perversion of the false prophets who attempt against the Truth of Christ in Himself.” So, they will push aside what the Church teaches when they are challenged and will seek out a church, guru, or some other entity that agrees with their lifestyle choices.
Venerable Fulton Sheen wrote, “Most people today want a religion which suits the way they live, rather than the one which makes demands upon them. Religion thus becomes a luxury like an opera, not a responsibility like life.”
Another example: These days, we are seeing fewer and fewer couples getting married. They say marriage is an “institution,” and they do not want or are not ready to be committed to it. Instead, they decide that moving in together will be best. They are treating each other like a car—taking each other for a test drive to see if they like it, if it feels right, if it suits their needs.
“We love each other,” they say, “so why mess up a good thing by getting married?” They are using each other for their own personal and selfish needs. That is the very opposite of what love really means. There is no real sacrifice, no real commitment in what they are doing. Either of them can walk out at any given moment without a care in the world—not for themselves or the other person—leaving a wake of destruction behind them and moving on to the next relationship, except this time as a “used car.”
If it is not going to get you to Heaven, why are you doing it? St. Catherine of Siena said, “The further away from the fire, the colder you will be.” Real love, true love, is sacrificial. Jesus is the perfect example of this.
None of us are perfect, myself included, but we cannot use that as a crutch for not following and obeying God’s command to love Him above all things. God will not wait for us to be perfect; that will come on the other side. But He does expect us to commit ourselves to Him. If we truly want to get to Heaven, we must put away our selfish ways and obey what God has required of us. Scripture calls us “…to act justly, to love tenderly, and to walk humbly with your God.”
God has given us His Top 10, and the greatest of these is to love God with:
- all your Heart = the intention of the will (directing yourself to the end)
- all your Soul = regulating your appetites and affections
- all your Mind = submitting your understanding
- all your Strength = obeying God in your external actions
…and to love your neighbor as yourself.
If you love God like this, your marriage and relationships will flourish. Just like flossing: if you want a healthy set of teeth, you have to floss them all. The same goes with your soul: if you want to be spiritually healthy, you must follow ALL His Commandments.
There are no shortcuts to Heaven. There is only one way to get there, and that is through Jesus Christ, Who is the Way. As St. Catherine of Siena put it, “All the way to Heaven is Heaven, because Jesus is the Way.”
If you are married, commit yourself to getting each other to Heaven. Today, renew your vows to one another. Reflect on ALL, not just some, of what you committed yourselves to: your promise of fidelity in sickness and in health, good times and bad, for richer or poorer, and to love and honor each other all the days of your life. If you are in a relationship and not married, be patient and your strength will be renewed (Isaiah 40:31). Commit yourselves to being chaste and waiting for marriage. Give it all to God—heart, mind, soul, and strength—in all you do, and God will indeed bless you when you do get married.
Just for the record, it did hurt me more than it did the hygienist, because it was for my own good. And from that experience, I knew that I could avoid that same pain, knowing that I had the solution… and so, I have not missed a day of flossing since that day. Sometimes God allows us to experience pain to teach us something and turn us to Him. You too can avoid the pain that comes from not following ALL of God’s commandments. You know the solution: commit yourself to Him from this day on. If not, you take the chance of losing God… forever.
St. Maximilian Kolbe said, “Let us remember that love lives through sacrifice and is nourished by giving. Without sacrifice there is no love.”
Live your life worthy of His Sacrifice +
God bless you +
Deacon Dez
