When the Homily is about Immunology

Passion begets more passions...

Recently I have noticed how my passions play off of one another and I am truly sick of it. As I allow a passion to manifest itself it seems to grow like a cancer. While groveling in the muck of my sin, other situations and occurances arise and I find myself quickly and easily sliding into other passions - entertaining them, welcoming them, embracing them, and loving them. Darkness falls and the passions compound and multiply.

Perhaps this is how it was in the beginning when sin and death first entered into the world?

I will on occassion get a parking ticket, but this does not seem to destine me to getting more of them or to go on breaking even more laws. Furthermore it does not condemn my children to also suffer from parking tickets. Oddly, sin doesn't work like the breaking of laws, does it? No it is more sinister than that and seems to have a sort perverted and twisted "life" of its own. A "life" that is in fact death and it is passed on and does multiply in our hearts.

The Eastern Father's prefer to liken sin to sickness. Now, I work in a virology lab and am seeing more and more how sin is VERY much like a virus. While not technically "alive", a virus mimics life by entering into, pirating the resources of, and ultimately overwhelming that which is truly alive - killing it - and thereby propegating itself.
Sin does the same in us, and many Father's take the analogy further referring to the Church as a Hospital.

Sin is contagious and one strain can quickly mutate into another.

Thank God that Advent is nearly here and we are preparing ourselves to greet the Great Physician who has come into the world to heal us.

Lord have Mercy (healing oil).