A while back I was tasked with polishing some chalices, candle followers, and patens. Polishing a chalice is simple: apply the metal polish and use a soft towel to clean it. These chalices, I thought, had seen better days. There was no luster or sheen on them, they were completely dull and tarnished. But, as I polished them I realized how long it took to clean just one. I realized that I was being too soft and careful with them, and so it was taking too long. So I decided to put my back into it and they began gleaming again. The beautiful pattern engraved in the chalice started to appear and when I looked at it, I could see my own reflection.
Despite all our tarnish, we too are meant to shine and reflect the face of Christ upon the world. As Christ himself says, “Your light must shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your heavenly Father” (Matt 5:16). It is not about glorifying ourselves, it is not about having other people praise us, it is not about making ourselves feel good. It is about glorifying our heavenly Father. And yet how often do we fail to reflect the face of the Father? Like those dull chalices, we are covered with our failings and mistakes. Yet God wants to purify us and cleanse us. He may be rough with us and we may complain about the sufferings that he sends us, but if we remain in his love and trust that “all things work for the good for those who love God” (Rom 8:28) then we should not only ask him to clean us but to put us in the crucible. Indeed we should ask like Peter when being washed by Christ, “Master, … not only my feet but my hands and head as well” (John 13:9).
But chalices are not meant simply to shine, their glory is in what they contain—the Precious Blood of Christ. Although the chalices needed a good polish, they still had a sacred importance, since they held the Blood of Christ in them. They were consecrated to God for the divine purpose of the Mass. And so it was right and just to make them look worthy of the holy task they were assigned. What about us? We might not think of ourselves worthy of being vessels of Christ, indeed by ourselves we are not. Yet Christ ardently desires to come into the chalice of our hearts, so that he might cleanse it and refine it. But just like chalices, we are not meant simply to receive and hold Christ within ourselves but to be poured out so that others may also drink of his Precious Blood. When we receive the precious Body and Blood of Christ we become vessels for others. We carry Christ in our hearts to give others the eternal gifts of the Father.
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Image: Chalice Depicted at Ravenna
