Turning Things Around

"Amen, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven." ~Mt 18:18

This line from the Gospel today really struck me. I've always interpreted this line to refer to the Sacrament of Reconciliation, that when our sins are forgiven by God through the Priest, whatever is forgiven in that Sacrament is no longer bound but loosed, and we are forgiven (coming from Mt 16:19 when Jesus gives this authority to St. Peter and successive apostles).

When the Holy Spirit turned on the "light bulb" today, I thought, what if Jesus had a more personal, and literal, interpretation for us? What if He meant that what we bind in our hearts, will be bound in heaven, and what we loose, will be loosed in heaven? This also goes back to the Sacrament of Reconciliation...because we must forgive our neighbor, and in turn, we will be forgiven (as we say in the Our Father). Jesus expects this of us. So we must not "bind" our sins, but "loose" them, through the Sacrament of Reconciliation.

But, could it go the opposite way? What about those things deep within our hearts that we "bind" to in love? The good within us that we hold on to? How much are we "bound" to God and His love in our hearts right now? What we bind on earth...is bound in heaven.

The same can go for what is loosed within our hearts. All the vices and impurities that we are able to overcome through God's grace. What have we been able to "loose?" What do we yet need to "loose" from our hearts? Whatever is loosed on earth...will be loosed in heaven.

I could be totally off here and just spinning my own incomprehensible jargon. But, perhaps, it's a perspective worth thinking about, and praying about.