The devil’s snot

“UGH!!!” Daniel, who was doing his homework on their dining table, cried out as he gave a distasteful look at something smeared on his index finger.

“What’s up, Daniel?” his father asked.

“Arthur wiped his snot under the table again,” his grossed-out face grimaced at his contaminated finger.

“Just wash your finger, dude,” Arthur’s mischievous voice suggested.

“Arthur Mark Vincent!!!” their mother’s voice thundered.

“Uh-oh! See ya later, guys,” their father said,  leaving the boys’ fate in  their mother’s hands.

“Mom, I…am… sooorry!” Arthur hid behind Daniel’s chair.

“Young man, how many times did I tell you not to do something so uncouth?”

“Bu…,” the boy tried to explain.

“No BUTs this time. You should learn to be more considerate of others.”

Daniel stood up to wash his finger leaving Arthur defenseless.

“It’s just snot mom?”

“Did you say, just?” she said, giving him a sterner look.

Arthur uselessly tried to disappear between the chair’s wooden slats.

“I didn’t…,” he tried explaining.

“Do you realize that something as small as snot could cause more trouble than you can imagine?”

“No, mom, but I’m reeeally soooorrrry!” Arthur pleaded.

“What if it wasn’t your brother who got it? How do you think another person would feel?”

“I dunno…,” Arthur shrugged his shoulders and resigned himself to his fate.

“Well, tell me, how do you feel if you swiped someone else’s snot?”

“I won’t, coz I’m be reeeally super-careful. Like, I would first check under the table.”

“Veeery smart young man and totally selfish of you.”

“Mom, pleeease!”

“I’m sorry, no dessert tonight,” his mom said.

“But…,” he tried one more time.

“One more BUT and it will cost you your dinner, you hear?”

“Yeees, mom,” Arthur condescendingly replied.

“Now get some tissue paper and clean off your snot from under the table.”

* * *

How often have we heard the expressions “it is only a little” or “it is just a bit of violence or sex”? Isn’t it true that experience shows how a little of anything could later on trigger something big in our imagination, curiosity and passions?

Like Arthur’s snot under the table, the devil also cunningly wipes his own snot in many places. More often than not, these come in small but powerful suggestive ads in TV, magazines, Internet pop-ups, and jokes and funny videos.

St. Josemaría wrote about someone who lamented to him, “If only I had broken it off at the start” (The Way, no. 167). This is a common experience of many who underestimated the damage that a little of ‘devil’s snot’ can do. Perhaps, one really had no intention of looking for something immoral or wasting time, but suddenly he gets snagged. Unlike Arthur’s snot, the devil’s snot appears more mysteriously attractive than disgusting.

It has a strange attraction that arouses one’s curiosity and passions. Thus, St. Josemaría would strongly advise: “Never speak of impure things or events, not even to lament them. Remember that such matter is stickier than pitch” (Ibid. no. 131). If one is not vigilant, he gets caught and it is only after he has given in when he starts feeling disgusted about what he has seen, heard or done.

How does one avoid getting smeared with the devil’s snot? Here are a few helpful tips:

a) Common sense. One of St. Josemaría most proactive tips to overcome ‘snot temptations’ is: ‘to do what you are supposed to be doing and to be in what you’re doing.’ If one has a sense of commitment to one’s duties and responsibilities, he will not give in to whimsically wasting time just reading, chatting, surfing or playing games. This attitude has saved the day for many souls in spiritual combat.

b) Sincerity. But common sense can only go so far as one’s sincerity with himself and about what he is doing. Very often, we are already aware that what we are reading, listening to or doing may already compromise our purity, charity and professional commitments. But we can sometimes give in to excuses and peer pressure.

c) React. So we must also react right away. In “The Way,” we read, “Change the subject or, if that is not possible, continue with it, speaking of the need and the beauty of purity – a virtue of men who know the value of their souls” (Ibid. no. 131). If we  had not done so promptly, let us rectify immediately by apologizing, if needed by going to confession and asking for guidance to acquire a better perspective of the struggle in the future.

d) Serenity. In all these steps, let us never lose our inner peace and joy. Even if sometimes we may have gotten snagged by some snot, let us remember that God’s love and mercy are more powerful than sin and temptation. They are always within our reach if we are determined to begin anew.

* * *

“Mom?” Arthur’s voice came from under the table.

“Yes, what is it, dear?”

“I don’t have to clean the snot that belong to dad, right?”

“[GRRR!] ARTHUR SENIOR!!!”