Redemption Of Our Senses
On October 14, 2020 by steadfastheartofgodJesus, I will arise. Jesus, do thou accompany me. Jesus, do thou lock my heart into thine and let my body and my soul be commended unto thee. The Lord is crucified. May God guard and protect my senses so that misfortunes may not overcome me. In the name of God, the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen. -Guard Over Me (Catholic prayer)
I recently heard that our five senses, sight, smell, touch, hearing, and taste, are portals into our soul. This makes sense because our human nature is both body and soul, intimately united and in perfect harmony. This unity of our body and soul means that what is done to one affects the other. What we are doing with our soul is affecting our body, what we are doing with our body is affecting our soul. We can try to live by our flesh alone, but our soul will suffer the consequences. We can also try to live by our soul alone, but our flesh will not be glorified. God became man in Jesus Christ and we have been shown how to live in the fullness of our human being, which is both body and soul.
The five senses, which are part of our flesh, are portals to our soul because they can be used for the building up or the tearing down of our soul. With this knowledge, the enemy directly targets us by tempting us through our senses. He knows if he can get us to sin, it will effect our soul. When these temptations of the senses do in fact lead us to sin, it requires reconciliation with God to be restored. But we should never fear our temptations, for that is all they are! Becoming aware of our common temptations helps us to recognize our weakness, which ultimately is a recognition of a specific area where we need to be redeemed by our Savior, Jesus Christ.
Conversely, our five senses can be the means through which the Holy Spirit sanctifies. One particular way is through the mass, through our worship. The liturgy of the mass is capable of evoking all five senses, which become a portal for the Holy Trinity to reach our soul and lead us to true worship of God. With our sight we can look around the sanctuary and see beautiful sacred art, stained glass, murals, statues, etc. Through our sense of smell we can take in the scent of incense, which has the blessing of the Church and thus is made holy. Through our hearing we listen to the Word of God being proclaimed and the sacred music moving our hearts more deeply into the liturgy and the worship of God. All of these culminating to the high point of the mass when we are able to touch and taste our Lord in the Eucharist. When the host rests on our tongue we feel and taste the real presence of Jesus Christ, Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity. This truly is an incredible gift! The sacred things of the mass are not intended to be distractions or replacements for worship of God, but they are there to lead us, through our senses, into a deeper union with the Blessed Trinity.
While the enemy is constantly trying to bring destruction to our soul through our senses, the angels, especially our guardian angels, have been charged with helping us govern our senses. Therefore we should call upon the angels to aid us in areas where we struggle, areas where the enemy is tempting us. Likewise, we should call upon the guardian angels of those we love to come to their aid in governing our loved one’s senses and allowing Christ to redeem them.
After pondering this, it definitely made me take a look at all that I am choosing to expose myself to, including what I view, what I listen to, what I taste and touch, and even what I smell. Are these things good for my soul? Are they from the Holy Spirit who pours peace and love and truth into me, building up my soul, purifying it and bringing me to the fullness of life? Or are these things tempting me to sin, tearing me down, separating me from God and bringing destruction to the life of my soul and all of my relationships as a result?
In reflecting on all of this, the following prayer came to me that I invite you to pray along with me for the redemption of our senses.
Lord, I want nothing more than to be fully present and open to receiving all the graces you desire to pour out upon me in my daily life, but most especially at the mass. Help me to be a better receiver of your love and mercy through the opening up of my senses to your goodness. Help me to recognize the attacks of the enemy in my life so that I may willingly turn to you in my need for redemption. Come Holy Spirit, lift up my soul to the heavens and increase in me the virtue of hope, so that I may never lose hope in the saving power of the Lord. Amen.
Absolutely amazing thank you so much for this
Ashley, your post is awesome. Thank you for connecting all our senses to our soul. I’ve always heard that our eyes are the windows to our souls but our other senses are also connected. God created us in His image and He is perfection. So, it follows that we are perfectly made! Of course, we all know that thru sin we become tarnished but thank God for the sacraments of baptism, reconciliation and the eucharist. Thank you for the prayers. They are uplifting. May God bless you, your blog and all the work you put into it.