Being Saintly

Contributors	J. Boulos
Objective	Being saintly means being a reflection of God. The cleaner we are, the more brightly we can reflect God's glory.
Materials Needed	Bring in 2 mirrors or two pieces of foil. Bring in a strong flashlight, as well as some black markers or pieces of paper with tape. Preparation: Tear the paper into tiny pieces and affix a piece of tape to the top of each paper scrap.
Summary	Quote Matthew 5:14. Explain how saints are reflections of the beauty and holiness of God. But they prepare themselves for this. We too can be saints, we just have to prepare ourselves. Explain that God is the Flashlight and He shines His holiness on us like the light. We are the mirror or foil. Explain that when we are baptized we are wiped clean and like a brand new mirror (show it to them). Then take your marker and say how everytime we sin we make a mark on our soul. Ask them for examples of sins and for each one draw a nice thick marker on the surface. Keep doing this, helping them out as needed, till most of the surface is covered. Then shine God's light (the flashlight) onto the surface. You will have to turn off the lights probably. Ideally the light will only reflect a little because of the black marker. Test this at home first for best effect. If it doesnt work well with marker, cut strips of black cloth to tape to the mirror instead. Explain again that all we do is reflect God in ourselves like a mirror so others can see Him. Through confession and staying away from doing sin, we clean our soul (start wiping away the marker or removing the cloth). Then when it is clean, shine the light again and hopefully it is a distinct difference. Reiterate to them how a shiny pure surface reflects God's light. It is not the saints that generate the light, they only prepare and clean their lives to make sure they are shiny pure surfaces to reflect the light of God. Depending on the age, mentioning the way the moon gets its illumination is a good example. Although many people can see by what's called "moonlight" the reality is that the moon is a cold, dark, lifeless rock that is seen as bright only because it reflects the light from the sun. Those that are able to reflect the light of God as the moon does with the light of the sun, they can illuminate the paths of others even at times when life seems darkest.
Additional Resources
Keywords	saints, reflection of God, prepare yourself, humility
Date Submitted	11/10/2008