I was coming out of Mass one Tuesday evening and was walking next to a college student and one of my parishioners (whom I will call "Joe" out of respect for his identity). Joe is a very faith-filled man, probably in his late 70's or early 80's, but is, as Scripture says, "a tree that is planted near running water; still full of sap, still green." He is a man who is deeply immersed in God's Love and has been a pillar in the community for many, many years! He is also a man who has known the cross, as he has battled with diabetes for years and is now confound to an electric scooter due to the recent amputation of his second leg! When I first met Joe, about a year ago, he still had one of his legs... but about four months ago they had to remove the other one. Anyway, as the three of us were going across the street, he began to share about his surgery. He said, "I almost died twice after the surgery. My heart went out on me. But the Lord told me that I had to come back and keep building up the Church!" He continued, "I ain't done yet! The Lord still has some work for me to do!" as he grinned and chuckled... Then he said something that really touched me, he said, "And getting my other leg amputated... That ain't nothing... Ya see, this ole body I got, it ain't mine anyway! It belongs to the Lord and He can do with it whatever he wants to!" This wittness of his life almost stopped me in my tracks!! What a profound truth and a living example of what it means to be countercultural. He totally understands that his body is a gift from the Lord and a Temple of the Holy Spirit. In Joe's words I heard St. Paul's words echoing through the centuries, "Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit..." (1 Cor. 16:19). I understood that Joe does not find his identity in what he looks like; what parts of his body he has or does not have; he does not compare himself to other people and say, "If I still had both of my legs I could be doing great things for God." No, he simply knows, in the depth of his soul, that he is a beloved son of the Father! That is where Joe's identity lies! So when he realized that the inevitable was at hand, the amputation of his second leg, he didn't panic or go for a downward spiral into depression... instead, he went in an upward spiral, straight into the Heart of His Loving God and Father! As I think of Joe, I have a visual image (which may or may not have happened in his own prayer... but his words lend itself to such a reflection) and the image that I see is Joe, sitting in his scooter with both legs amputated, but he holds his legs in his hands and lifts them up to the Father and says something like, "You gave these legs to me as a gift, and I have used them well for the building up of Your Kingdom... but now I give them back to You, Father, for the building up of Your Kingdom!" Here's a song that I think sums up this blog... click on the image below check it out:
Friday, July 12, 2013
It's not MY body
As I look around today at bookstores, billboards, web sites, blogs, etc... I can't help but see that we are living in a time where society is upholding the human body - not as something that is wonderful and beautiful because it was created in love by an All-loving God and given to us as a gift - but it is treated as if it is something to be objectified by others, judged as perfect or not-quite the right size, something that has too many wrinkles or is in need of whatever type of surgery you could desire. All sorts of pain for physical make-overs, as if we have to fix something that wasn't broken to begin with. So much of these feeble attempts in order for a person to "feel good about myself"... I look at this and can't help but wonder, "Where does a person get there dignity from? Does it come from the fading 'perfection' of my body? Or does our dignity and identity come from knowing deep in my heart that my body was created by an All-loving God, for His glory, and not for mine?" This message is indeed counter-cultural... And we must, as Christians, work against it. Living this is part of the simple way that we can grow in holiness, and holiness is what we are all called to: priests, religious, and the laity. But how does a lay person grow in holiness when they are surrounded by screaming kids, bills, debt, jobs, etc...? I will not go into detail here, because a very gifted Theologian has written a blog about this very topic which I read this morning while having Coffee with Jesus! I would highly recommend everyone to read it. It is called Finding God's Face in your place, (click on the title to go to it). As I read it this morning and it fired me up and reminded me of an encounter that I had a couple of weeks ago with one of my parishioners... so if you don't mind, Dr. Tom, I'm going to fly on your tail for this one!
I was coming out of Mass one Tuesday evening and was walking next to a college student and one of my parishioners (whom I will call "Joe" out of respect for his identity). Joe is a very faith-filled man, probably in his late 70's or early 80's, but is, as Scripture says, "a tree that is planted near running water; still full of sap, still green." He is a man who is deeply immersed in God's Love and has been a pillar in the community for many, many years! He is also a man who has known the cross, as he has battled with diabetes for years and is now confound to an electric scooter due to the recent amputation of his second leg! When I first met Joe, about a year ago, he still had one of his legs... but about four months ago they had to remove the other one. Anyway, as the three of us were going across the street, he began to share about his surgery. He said, "I almost died twice after the surgery. My heart went out on me. But the Lord told me that I had to come back and keep building up the Church!" He continued, "I ain't done yet! The Lord still has some work for me to do!" as he grinned and chuckled... Then he said something that really touched me, he said, "And getting my other leg amputated... That ain't nothing... Ya see, this ole body I got, it ain't mine anyway! It belongs to the Lord and He can do with it whatever he wants to!" This wittness of his life almost stopped me in my tracks!! What a profound truth and a living example of what it means to be countercultural. He totally understands that his body is a gift from the Lord and a Temple of the Holy Spirit. In Joe's words I heard St. Paul's words echoing through the centuries, "Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit..." (1 Cor. 16:19). I understood that Joe does not find his identity in what he looks like; what parts of his body he has or does not have; he does not compare himself to other people and say, "If I still had both of my legs I could be doing great things for God." No, he simply knows, in the depth of his soul, that he is a beloved son of the Father! That is where Joe's identity lies! So when he realized that the inevitable was at hand, the amputation of his second leg, he didn't panic or go for a downward spiral into depression... instead, he went in an upward spiral, straight into the Heart of His Loving God and Father! As I think of Joe, I have a visual image (which may or may not have happened in his own prayer... but his words lend itself to such a reflection) and the image that I see is Joe, sitting in his scooter with both legs amputated, but he holds his legs in his hands and lifts them up to the Father and says something like, "You gave these legs to me as a gift, and I have used them well for the building up of Your Kingdom... but now I give them back to You, Father, for the building up of Your Kingdom!" Here's a song that I think sums up this blog... click on the image below check it out:
I was coming out of Mass one Tuesday evening and was walking next to a college student and one of my parishioners (whom I will call "Joe" out of respect for his identity). Joe is a very faith-filled man, probably in his late 70's or early 80's, but is, as Scripture says, "a tree that is planted near running water; still full of sap, still green." He is a man who is deeply immersed in God's Love and has been a pillar in the community for many, many years! He is also a man who has known the cross, as he has battled with diabetes for years and is now confound to an electric scooter due to the recent amputation of his second leg! When I first met Joe, about a year ago, he still had one of his legs... but about four months ago they had to remove the other one. Anyway, as the three of us were going across the street, he began to share about his surgery. He said, "I almost died twice after the surgery. My heart went out on me. But the Lord told me that I had to come back and keep building up the Church!" He continued, "I ain't done yet! The Lord still has some work for me to do!" as he grinned and chuckled... Then he said something that really touched me, he said, "And getting my other leg amputated... That ain't nothing... Ya see, this ole body I got, it ain't mine anyway! It belongs to the Lord and He can do with it whatever he wants to!" This wittness of his life almost stopped me in my tracks!! What a profound truth and a living example of what it means to be countercultural. He totally understands that his body is a gift from the Lord and a Temple of the Holy Spirit. In Joe's words I heard St. Paul's words echoing through the centuries, "Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit..." (1 Cor. 16:19). I understood that Joe does not find his identity in what he looks like; what parts of his body he has or does not have; he does not compare himself to other people and say, "If I still had both of my legs I could be doing great things for God." No, he simply knows, in the depth of his soul, that he is a beloved son of the Father! That is where Joe's identity lies! So when he realized that the inevitable was at hand, the amputation of his second leg, he didn't panic or go for a downward spiral into depression... instead, he went in an upward spiral, straight into the Heart of His Loving God and Father! As I think of Joe, I have a visual image (which may or may not have happened in his own prayer... but his words lend itself to such a reflection) and the image that I see is Joe, sitting in his scooter with both legs amputated, but he holds his legs in his hands and lifts them up to the Father and says something like, "You gave these legs to me as a gift, and I have used them well for the building up of Your Kingdom... but now I give them back to You, Father, for the building up of Your Kingdom!" Here's a song that I think sums up this blog... click on the image below check it out:
