Spiritual Vaccine

02-14-2021Weekly Reflection

Lepers in the book of Leviticus should dwell away from the community, cry out unclean, unclean, and must follow the imposed disciplinary actions for leprosy. But Jesus in the Gospel shows pity on the leper and willed Him: I do will it. Be made clean. The second reading's independent theme is: Whatever we do, we shall do for the honor of God, imitating Christ.

More than ten months into the pandemic, we see how it affects the global order. We see the massive economic impact and strain that remains, national health programs are overwhelmed, social and financial impact on families continue to swell, and the way of life changed. Like leprosy, it has caused some social stigma. This virus has infected a substantial part of the populace. People quarantined themselves voluntarily when compromised. Many others found positive quarantine until they test negative for the virus. The worst part, many people with pre-existing conditions succumbed to the virus. The first few months, nobody had definitive knowledge about the virus, the modern-day plague.

Late last year, news from different pharmaceutical companies on the final stage of trial vaccines, shined a ray of hope to many. Like many, I thought the vaccine itself fought the virus. I have read and learned from the talk of Fr. Nicanor Austriaco, who has a doctorate in Molecular Biology and Moral Theology. I realized that it is our body that fights the virus, not the vaccine. The vaccine activates the anti-bodies needed to fight the virus. The medical chaos of the first few months of the pandemic caused by a new virus alien to the body, baffled scientists and medical experts. But how do you expect the (body) immune system to fight a virus that it cannot recognize? Without vaccination, once the virus infects a person, the body does not even know that an alien virus (pathogens) has infected it, and has caused much damage inside it. Because of this, in many instances, it has been too late for the immune system to recognize the virus and fight it.

Like leprosy and the Covid-19 virus, evil spiritual viruses infect families, society, and the world community. Unknown and known evil viruses not recognized by many people, affect each of us differently. Bp. Pablo David says: We are spiritually as vulnerable to the intrusion of evil spirits, as our bodies are to the invasion of viruses that cause deadly diseases.

In the Gospel today, Jesus wills that we all be made clean. Lord Jesus, clean us of the spiritual viruses that infect the families: little and sometimes absence of respect for every human life, same-sex marriages, and break down of marriages, to name a few. Let us learn from Jesus how to exercise the many evils and the intrusion of the evil one in our lives: in individuals, in families, in communities, and in societies.

To get rid of these evil viruses, we need a new spiritual vaccine as the catalyst to produce the spiritual antibody necessary to fight the evil viruses of our time. We have to know what spiritual pathogens infect us and society by and large. Collectively, we must all come to Jesus kneeling and begging with humility: If you wish, you can make us clean. We invoke the power of TRUTH and the SPIRIT we received in baptism, vaccinating us and strengthening our spirits to fight evil viruses of our time. Jesus, we trust in you.