LIKE CLAY IN THE POTTER'S HANDS


ST. ALPHONSUS DE LIGOURI, BISHOP

Reflection from Friar Nicholas Okeke, OP 

Jer 18:10,1-6; Ps 146:2-6; Mt 13:47-53

The Potter and the Clay

We celebrate another great saint and founder of the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer, St. Alphonsus de Ligouri. The writing of this wonderful saint and bishop shaped the foundation of my spirituality and vocation. His books captured my interest when I started reading spiritual books; they helped my spiritual life and devotion in no small way. Looking back on the influence of his works on my spiritual formation, I can say that they formed my initial understanding of how the grace of God works on our souls. A good analogy is that of a potter working on clay, as Jeremiah presented in the reading. God directed the prophet Jeremiah to visit the potter at his house to understand how he works. The visit must have illuminated Jeremiah’s mind on his struggles with the word of God and the people of Judah. What he understood when he got to the potter’s house was simple but profound. “So I went down to the potter’s house; and there he was, working at the wheel. And whenever the vessel he was making came out wrong, as happens with the clay handled by potters, he would start afresh and work it into another vessel, as potters do.” God works on us as the potter on the clay.

The first thing that must have stricken Jeremiah observing the potter at his work would be his keen attention and interest in the clay and the shape he intends for it. We bear in mind that the onlooker, like Jeremiah, observing the work, has no idea of the shape the potter intends for the clay until it manifests in the clay. Only the potter knows the shape, which guides his hands as they go back and forth on the clay. It is also the shape in the potter’s mind that judges the outcome of the work, whether it is what he intended or has fallen short of it, and therefore must be destroyed and reworked. Applying this analogy to the reality of the formation of saints, the word of God is the carrier of the will of the Father. The word of God is the hand God uses to mould us into his will as the potter does the clay. Thus, we have concluded that the word of God structures both the prophet and the people he proclaims the word to. God calls the prophet and the people to be in his hand as clay is in the hand of the potter. Hence, the success of Jeremiah’s vocation was in his complete submission to the will of God. The submission guarantees his faithful proclamation of the will of God to the people. This clarity should give us the courage to go through our trials and difficulties in tranquillity, understanding that they are part of the divine moulding process.

The worst-case scenario is for a soul not to be receptive to the word of God. The potter does a preliminary check on the clay to avoid the tragedy this would bring to his work. He sieves the clay properly to remove any solid resistance to pressure or force. The parable of our Lord Jesus about the kingdom of heaven clarifies this. “The kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet cast into the sea that brings in a haul of all kinds. When it is full, the fishermen haul it ashore; then, sitting down, they collect the good ones in a basket and throw away those that are no use.” The initial separation is necessary to ensure a smooth process of moulding chosen souls into members of Jesus Christ. Saint Alphonsus was made of a rare clay quality. He was from a noble family and was well-educated in humanities and classical languages. He had a doctorate in civil and canon law and practiced the legal profession for a while before abandoning it for a clerical vocation. His ordination at the age of 30 brought him into active work with the young who were destitute in Naples. His burning zeal to preach and instruct souls in holiness was unparalleled. This engagement motivated him to start the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer, the Redemptorists. He wrote about 111 works on spirituality and theology. His works: The Great Means of Prayer, and The Glories of Mary, are two of his most cherished works. He taught therein that prayer is the most perfect means of salvation. We cannot save our souls without prayer, for prayer makes us malleable in God’s hand.

Let us pray: Grant us, Lord, the grace to submit wholeheartedly to your word in all things and follow so closely in the footsteps of the Bishop Saint Alphonsus in his zeal for souls as to attain the same rewards that are his in heaven.  

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