A father once took his son to a place where clay pots were crafted by skilled potters. The boy, full of anticipation, bought a pot—eager to use it for storing both oil and water for his daily needs. But to his dismay, the pot soon developed a leak, making it less useful than he had hoped.

Determined to fix it, the potter carefully sealed the crack and re-baked it in his kiln. This temporary repair worked for a while, and the boy was pleased. But the cracks returned—evidence of a deeper flaw in the pot’s structure. After several attempts, the potter came to a profound realization: for the pot to truly be whole and lasting, it had to be completely broken down and remade from scratch.

This simple story, seemingly about a flawed clay vessel, holds a powerful message for our own lives. We are much like that pot—created by God with immense love and meticulous care, fashioned in His own image. As we journey through life, we encounter moments of joy and hardship. These experiences shape us, forming virtues and strengths, but also leaving behind wounds and scars—cracks in our spiritual vessel.

In the story, the oil within the pot represents the precious Holy Spirit dwelling within us. The water symbolizes the gift of life, with its experiences and opportunities. But when we develop “holes”—sins, especially those spoken through our tongues—we risk losing both.

As Scripture reminds us in Matthew 15:11, “It is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but what comes out of the mouth.” And Proverbs 18:21 offers this sobering truth: “Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruits.” We have a choice in how we use our words. When our wounds deepen, we can become more vulnerable to sin through speech—leading to a loss of grace and a diminishing awareness of the Holy Spirit’s presence within us.

Proverbs 4:23–24 urges us: “Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life. Put away from you crooked speech, and put devious talk far from you.”

Healing is possible. Through spiritual retreats, dedicated prayer, immersion in Scripture, and perseverance through trials, we can begin to repair these cracks. The sacrament of confession and true repentance restores the flow of grace and renews the Spirit within.

But to be truly and effectively used by the Lord—to have lasting impact on the generations to come—we may need more than patching. We must be humbly remade.

This recreation often involves embracing humility, enduring seasons of purification, and being filled with the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Most of all, we must be grounded in unconditional love, which 1 Corinthians 13:13 tells us is “the greatest of these.”

Let us allow the Divine Potter to lovingly break us down—not to destroy, but to recreate. For only then can we become the vessel He truly intended: whole, holy, and ready to be filled with His Spirit, overflowing with grace and love.