Are You a Reservoir or a Channel?
“Do not just be a channel for grace, but a reservoir, an overflowing reservoir. No sooner has a channel received grace than it pours it out. A reservoir waits to be filled up and then offers grace to those who come to draw from its superabundance” (St. Bernadette).
“The channels let the water flow away, and do not retain a drop. But the reservoir is first filled, and then without emptying itself, pours out its overflow, which is ever renewed. We have many channels in the Church today,but very few reservoirs” (St. Bernard).
There is a reservoir for which each of us is personally responsible. This is our own spiritual reservoir. We are familiar with the Prayer of St. Francis: 'Lord, make me a channel of your peace.' It is certainly good for us to be channels of God's peace and God's mercy, but other saints have proposed that it is not enough for us to be channels or conduits. A channel or conduit simply transports something from one place to another. The channel neither takes from nor contributes to the supply. Perhaps the prayer should read, 'Lord, make me a reservoir of your peace.' Make me a reservoir out of which a stream and river of peace may flow. The saints frequently remind us that it is good to be active and giving of ourselves, but they also always warn of the danger of allowing the spiritual reservoir to become depleted. It is perhaps most significant that the first recorded miracle of our Lord concerned something as simple as water. The wedding feast at Cana was the occasion and the Lord's simple command to the servants was, 'Fill those jars with water'. Fill the reservoir of your soul. Fill yourselves with prayer. Fill your relationships with love. Come be replenished in the presence of the Lord. Soak in the abundant snow and rain of the Lord. Drink deeply of the well spring of the Scriptures. Be filled with the rich food of Eucharist. Draw in the healing, purifying grace of Reconciliation which can mend a faulty reservoir. Fill your own particular jar. At Cana, the Lord then miraculously transformed the work of servants' hands into wonderful wine. Those reservoirs of water, mixed with the Lord's blessing, became a source of joy for the wedding guests. The wedding couple forgot that it was not enough to have wine on the table, it was also necessary to have wine in reserve.
It is essential for each of us to see and acknowledge the need we have for building up within ourselves a genuine spiritual reserve, a reservoir. From that reservoir, we can and must pour out. That reservoir, however, needs to be repeatedly and abundantly replenished, or it will soon run dry, and without the reservoir there is nothing to pour into the channel.
It is necessary and appropriate for each of us to pray for a replenishment of our own spiritual reserves so that we can continue to be a resource spreading the good things God bestows upon us. Be a channel of peace, but be also a reservoir. Pray for spiritual rain to provide for the spiritual reserves which we need.
Original Source: Catholic Sentinel
