One day a holy monk was blessed to have a vision of his guardian angel walking at his side. As they were going along, they came upon the carcass of a dead animal lying by the wayside. The stench which came from it was so strong that the air for some distance around was polluted by it. When they came near, the good man could not endure the awful smell. He held his nose, and hurried past the place as fast as he could. But the angel did not seem to notice it at all.

After a little while they saw a young man coming towards them. He was a handsome fellow, dressed in the highest style of fashion. As soon he saw this man, the angel became very sad, and showed signs of great abhorrence. He tried to get past the young man as fast as he could, keeping his eyes turned in the opposite direction, that he might not see him.

The monk asked the angel why he showed no signs of disgust when he passed the place where the dead animal was lying, and yet seemed to feel so much horror when he met the well-dressed young man.

The angel answered:

"The smell and the sight of the dead animal were indeed bad; but if you only saw, as we angels see, the frightful state of that young man’s soul, for he is guilty of mortal sin, you would have died of fright."

The horrible state of a corpse pales in comparison to a soul in mortal sin. In human history, corpses have but rarely been raised back to life. Yet in His generous Mercy, God has given us a way to be wondrously healed from the terrible death of the soul. Through the amazing Sacrament of Confession, countless souls have been restored to life. So let us pray especially for everyone with decaying souls, that they all reconcile themselves with God and thus be freed from their living death.

"If your sins be as scarlet, they shall be made as white as snow." - Isaiah 1:18