Saying that we are clay, can have various meanings, but before the Lord, the essential element is to know that I is the potter, and we the clay in His hands. This is very beautiful, for Christ reveals himself as pastor who cares for his sheep.

To be the clay can mean to be dirty, to be impure, or to be lowest among the creatures, but it is the condition of the clay that we can experience, the true love of him that approves this that apparently is “junk” and does not pay, to transform into something useful and enjoyable. The potter does with total dedicaiton his work with this clay, many times marred by dirt and rocks and kneeding it with his hands, he removes the dirt and the rocks.

With kindness and patience, the potter sees already that which the clay represents in his vision. He already sees and contemplates this clay as a work of arte, a perfect perfection, created for his own hands, something spendid and marvelous, becuase with his sensibility he puts this clay profound feeling of the affect and hope growing that the clay will arrive at the end for that which it is being prepared.

The potter with total patience goes in the clay as a prime work, a pretty class and unbreakable, a vase worthy of carrying the best pearls, the best gems, or who knows the most beautiful perfumed roses. But the important thing is to know that these pearls, gems or rosas have a finality, not simply particular for this vase, but something that is going to relight and reflect the beauty and enchanment to the eyes of whomever contemplates them.

The potter with his virtues sees that which his eyes do not see, therefore, “the essential and invisible element”, he sees the act expressed in the potentiality. It is thus that God manifests Himself in each one of us with his infinite love. We that many times are this filthy clay stained by sin, through pride, through arrogance, but God in his kindness and patience does not remove his love for us and sees us as more beautiful creatures, the same when we cannot see this ourselves. He has the capacity to see for us, in the condition in whicn we encounter ourselves and see the perfect perfection of his love, the most beautiful work of art created by his hands, and htis is joyful with the spectacle of creation in which He believes Enteriorly.

It is needed to assume the condition of the clay, we have a potter that wants to care, to amass and model this clay, this hurts a little but soon passes. It is a process of tranformation, and all process of tranformation is painful and slow, see for example the larve that needs to leave his cocoon in order to transform into a beautiful butterfly with diverse colors. It is necessary to accept this being clay today for tomorrow being a beautiful vase and carrying the most beautiful pearls reflecting to the eyes of others the beautiful and relucence of its brillance, these pearls and the love of God who in His genle way captures us in liberty and seduces us without prison, because he loves us without merit and spends his time and virtue with this clay that appears to be useless.

“You seduced me, Lord, and I let myself be seduced”. (Jeremiah 20,7).

God rescues us with his love of the father, a love that compels because it does not demand anything in return, a love that makes us experience heaven here on earth giving the grace of the eye for us and to perceive that he have values and are precioius in his eyes.

The clay en himself does not have value only the potter can add value to the clay, transforming it into a vase of honor, prominence. a vase of clay and not of porceline, for the porcelain if it breaks, is hopeless, God wants to increase value in each of his children, the value is that was being lost with the passing of time. The clay is something fragile enough to fall int eh hand of the potter and soon!

“Yet, O LORD, you are our father; we are the clay and you the potter: we are all the work of your hands.”

(Is 64,7).

Dom Bosco, Educate us for Holiness

Seminarian Flavio B Brandão

New Song Community, Brazil

translated from Portuguese