We are Sponges
August 13, 2021
Hey y’all!
We are sponges. You’re a sponge, I’m a sponge, everyone’s a sponge.
What on earth am I talking about? Have I gone crazy? Well, maybe, but that’s not the point…the point is, we soak up the things around us, just as sponges soak up water. It happens automatically; there’s nothing we need to do to make it happen, and there’s not much we can do to stop it from happening. Everything around us is taken in. It’s absorbed into our minds and hearts.
This begs the question, what’s around us? What do we see and hear every single day? The friends we have, the accounts we follow on social media, the songs we listen to, the shows and movies we watch - these are all absorbed into our consciousness, and then they are squeezed back out.
Have you heard the expression that you are a combination of the five people closest to you? I don’t know if it’s exactly five, but the people we surround ourselves with form us into who we are and who we are going to be. The same is true about the media we consume. The things we see and hear affect us.
So here’s the challenging part: we need to examine our surroundings and figure out what (and who) is helping us get to Heaven and what is keeping us from getting there. Are there people that we hang out with that continually pressure us to act against our Catholic beliefs? Are there shows that usually tempt us to sin? Are there accounts we follow on social media that promote unhealthy ideas, beauty standards, or relationships? Are there songs that warp our sense of morality, glorifying certain practices and circumstances that we know are bad for us? If there are, we need to distance ourselves from these things. I know it’s hard. You’ll probably be sad about letting go of these things. You’ll feel a bit empty, but you’ll also feel free. Free from negative influences and peer pressure. Free to do what you know is right. Free to live the life that God is calling you to live.
The next step is to fill ourselves with good things. If we stay empty, the bad things will creep back in, and we’ll be back where we started. We need to find media and people that encourage us to live a life pleasing to God. I’m not saying that we can only listen to Gospel music, or only watch G-rated movies, or only associate with other faithful Catholics. What I am saying is that we need to think about what we are surrounding ourselves with and make conscious choices that will lead to our sanctification. We also need to have well-formed consciences so that when we encounter things that go against our Catholic beliefs, we are strong enough to resist the temptation to go along with them. It’s not bad to be entertained, but we need to remember that we can’t put God in a box. He wants to be a part of every aspect of our lives, including our entertainment.
Please know that I say these things and make these recommendations from a place of love. I know it’s getting increasingly difficult to live as a faithful Catholic in today’s world. I’ve made the mistake of making it harder on myself than it has to be by surrounding myself with things and people that lead me to sin. I simply want you to learn from my mistakes without having to make them yourselves.
That’s all for now. Know of my prayers for you and your families, and please keep me and this ministry in your prayers.
Peace of Christ,
Miss Jessica
A.M.D.G.