Christianity is not an individualized belief; rather, we belong to each other in the body of Christ.
We need others in our lives and Jesus showed us that time and again, especially during the last 3 years of His life. He almost always had His disciples with Him and more often than not, He was surrounded by crowds of people.
People crowded around Jesus because He cured the blind and lame, healed lepers, and raised up the dead. He called sinners to leave their own lives behind and live a new life in Him. They yearned to be taught by Him and as a result, their lives were changed in ways they never could have imagined on their own.
Jesus wasn't just surrounded by those who wanted and needed Him, He was also surrounded by His disciples; whom He called to be with Him. Jesus and His disciples traveled together, ate together, and spent time in public ministry together.
To those who say they don't need to go to church to be with God I say this, when your island floods, who's going to pull you out of the water? Community is essential to our very survival. Ask anyone who has ever spent Thanksgiving or Christmas alone what it would have meant to them to have even just one person to share the holiday with.
The old saying, "there is strength in numbers" shows just how important community truly is. On our own, we can be very weak but we are strengthened when another joins us and the strength grows exponentially as more and more people come together. The body of Christ is a community of believers bound together in faith, hope and love.
Do you know anyone who lives on their own and keeps to themselves? Are they self-centered? How are their communication skills? Can they share ideas with another person or do they insist their own ideas and thoughts are correct? Are they set in their ways?
We are made for one another and together we make up the body of Christ. When we separate ourselves from the body of Christ, not only do we lose something, the body of Christ loses something. Every individual part of the body is essential to the whole body because we are bound together.
Friday, October 28, 2011
Thursday, October 27, 2011
Graced Friendships
A group of us were sitting around chatting one evening and a priest friend there with us mentioned the phrase "graced friendship" and it really struck me. Immediately several names came to mind and I silently thanked God for each of those friends. I know what a graced friendship is and I know it's a great blessing!
Graced friendships. I like that. I didn't have to ask him what he meant by those two words, but I couldn't wait to hear him explain it either. He said a graced friendship is a friendship in which you can share the faith with one another. You pray together, learn together and lead each other into a closer relationship with Christ.
YES!
A couple of days later while at Mass a friend, who I most certainly have a graced friendship with, kneeled at the communion rail in front of me and I thought, "A graced friendship is someone God puts into your life - He gives you to each other and because He has ordained it, it's a gift. These frienships in my life that are graced are great blessings to me. I honestly don't know what I would do without them.
So as I have continued thinking about those people I am in graced friendships with, I was thanking our Father for them. I know He put them into my life (probably so I'd bug them instead of Him! It's okay, if they do penances on earth it'll shorten thier purgatory time!).
But it isn't just those few on earth. My greatest graced friendship is with Jesus Himself. He is most certainly my best friend. He calls me to holiness and challenges me. I can tell Him anything and indeed I do tell Him everything. There isn't anything He doesn't know about me.
Whenever I can I sit before our Eucharistic Lord and just looking at Him makes me smile - He IS truly present and that fact is awe inspiring to me. Those I am in graced frienships with also bring a smile to my face. The other day I was pulling out of the grocery store as a friend was pulling in and we waved to one another and I thought how just seeing him brought a smile to my face.
God also gives us graced friendships with the saints. Think about it - who is your confirmation saint? What saint are you named after? They are there to assist, as are all the saints. They have been here on earth, they know what life is all about. They share our joys and sorrows and want to help us make it to heaven. That's what graced friendship does, calls you to heaven. Calls you to a deeper faith and love of Jesus.
Yesterday I was paid a very great compliment when someone requested 20 copies of one of my books. I was greatly honored and humbled and I shared that news with a graced friend and she was genuinely happy for me and shared in my excitement - which is just another attribute of a graced friendship.
Graced friendships. I like that. I didn't have to ask him what he meant by those two words, but I couldn't wait to hear him explain it either. He said a graced friendship is a friendship in which you can share the faith with one another. You pray together, learn together and lead each other into a closer relationship with Christ.
YES!
A couple of days later while at Mass a friend, who I most certainly have a graced friendship with, kneeled at the communion rail in front of me and I thought, "A graced friendship is someone God puts into your life - He gives you to each other and because He has ordained it, it's a gift. These frienships in my life that are graced are great blessings to me. I honestly don't know what I would do without them.
So as I have continued thinking about those people I am in graced friendships with, I was thanking our Father for them. I know He put them into my life (probably so I'd bug them instead of Him! It's okay, if they do penances on earth it'll shorten thier purgatory time!).
But it isn't just those few on earth. My greatest graced friendship is with Jesus Himself. He is most certainly my best friend. He calls me to holiness and challenges me. I can tell Him anything and indeed I do tell Him everything. There isn't anything He doesn't know about me.
Whenever I can I sit before our Eucharistic Lord and just looking at Him makes me smile - He IS truly present and that fact is awe inspiring to me. Those I am in graced frienships with also bring a smile to my face. The other day I was pulling out of the grocery store as a friend was pulling in and we waved to one another and I thought how just seeing him brought a smile to my face.
God also gives us graced friendships with the saints. Think about it - who is your confirmation saint? What saint are you named after? They are there to assist, as are all the saints. They have been here on earth, they know what life is all about. They share our joys and sorrows and want to help us make it to heaven. That's what graced friendship does, calls you to heaven. Calls you to a deeper faith and love of Jesus.
Yesterday I was paid a very great compliment when someone requested 20 copies of one of my books. I was greatly honored and humbled and I shared that news with a graced friend and she was genuinely happy for me and shared in my excitement - which is just another attribute of a graced friendship.
Monday, October 24, 2011
Emergency Help
Due to chronic heart failure, I have been to the emergency room more times than I care to count over the past few years. When I was first diagnosed I was given ridiculous amounts of information, including when I should visit the emergency room. I was told to go to the emergency room if I had one or more of the following symptoms:
1. Weight gain of 3lbs in 1 day or 5lbs or more in a week;
2. More swelling of feet, ankles, legs or stomach;
3. More shortness of breath;
4. Feeling more tired - no energy;
5. Dry, hacking cough
6. Harder to breathe when lying down;
7. Chest pain
The routine at the ER was always the same; they rush me to a room, do an EKG, a chest x-ray, lab work, put an IV in (just in case I was admitted), give me oxygen and turn the lights down so I can rest while they figured out what's going on. All this before the doctor sees me. When the doctor comes in the question is always the same, "Why are you here?" I describe my chest pain, explain I'm having more shortness of breath, have no energy, and more swelling. The doctor listens, tells me the EKG is fine, the chest x-ray is fine, the labs are fine. Usually by this time the shortness of breath has subsided, as well as the chest pain. The couple hours of rest usually means I'm not as tired either. The doctor explains that these symptoms are normal for people with my condition. Despite that, they typically insist on admitting me, which I will only agree to if my personal doctor thinks I should be admitted. He never does....what's the point when all the tests or "fine"?
At this point, there is an awkward silence until the doctor asks what I would like them to do for me. My typical resonse is, if everything is "fine" I'll just go home. Many friends have accompanied me to the ER and they have different opinions on this "discharge" thing. Some think I should be admitted, at least overnight, for observation. Others fear something will happen if I go home. Some have the same opinion I do.
So, the discharge papers are prepared, I'm discharged and someone takes me home. It still makes me chuckle everytime I read the discharge papers because they are always the same. They tell me that if I have any signs of worsening heart failure (see list above), I should go to the ER immediately.
These useless trips to the ER annoy me to no end. They are time consuming, irritating, expensive and ultimately, a waste of time. After one visit to the ER I went home and checked my e-mail and was suprised to see e-mails from 5 or 6 friends who said they'd been praying for me and hoped I was doing better. It took me a few minutes to realize how they even knew I'd been to the ER (I certainly don't twitter). I'd been at Mass that evening and was not feeling well during most of it and the chest pain became almost unbearable. A friend drove me over to the ER but other friends who had been at Mass decided they would call upon our Lord.
They sent e-mails out and thus started a chain of prayers. This would happen frequently because I tended, for some reason, to end up at the ER after Mass. My priest would often pray over me before I left or he would come to the ER.
Our human eyes make it very difficult for us to see the power of prayer at work in our lives but I firmly believe the reason why they rarely find anything out of the ordinary at the ER is because prayer was started before I arrived and continued for some time after. All those people (and I didn't know everyone those e-mails were forwarded to) praying for me touched the heart of our Lord and He was moved to answer them.
I still have chest pain and shortness of breath frequently, but I avoid the ER like the plague. The doctors and nurses, lab technicians, x-ray technicians, respiratory technicians are all great, but ultimately, they do very little to help me feel better (kudos to all those who remember to bring a heated blanket though....those always make ya feel better!).
Our Divine Physician, who is on call 24/7 and always answers, has never failed me. I truly believe He heals me before I even get to the ER and that's why there is hardly ever anything "wrong".
We must certainly use human prudence in every situation, especially in an emergency, but remember to call on our Lord and Savior immediately. He heals, sometimes directly and other times, indirectly through the doctors and nurses.
1. Weight gain of 3lbs in 1 day or 5lbs or more in a week;
2. More swelling of feet, ankles, legs or stomach;
3. More shortness of breath;
4. Feeling more tired - no energy;
5. Dry, hacking cough
6. Harder to breathe when lying down;
7. Chest pain
The routine at the ER was always the same; they rush me to a room, do an EKG, a chest x-ray, lab work, put an IV in (just in case I was admitted), give me oxygen and turn the lights down so I can rest while they figured out what's going on. All this before the doctor sees me. When the doctor comes in the question is always the same, "Why are you here?" I describe my chest pain, explain I'm having more shortness of breath, have no energy, and more swelling. The doctor listens, tells me the EKG is fine, the chest x-ray is fine, the labs are fine. Usually by this time the shortness of breath has subsided, as well as the chest pain. The couple hours of rest usually means I'm not as tired either. The doctor explains that these symptoms are normal for people with my condition. Despite that, they typically insist on admitting me, which I will only agree to if my personal doctor thinks I should be admitted. He never does....what's the point when all the tests or "fine"?
At this point, there is an awkward silence until the doctor asks what I would like them to do for me. My typical resonse is, if everything is "fine" I'll just go home. Many friends have accompanied me to the ER and they have different opinions on this "discharge" thing. Some think I should be admitted, at least overnight, for observation. Others fear something will happen if I go home. Some have the same opinion I do.
So, the discharge papers are prepared, I'm discharged and someone takes me home. It still makes me chuckle everytime I read the discharge papers because they are always the same. They tell me that if I have any signs of worsening heart failure (see list above), I should go to the ER immediately.
These useless trips to the ER annoy me to no end. They are time consuming, irritating, expensive and ultimately, a waste of time. After one visit to the ER I went home and checked my e-mail and was suprised to see e-mails from 5 or 6 friends who said they'd been praying for me and hoped I was doing better. It took me a few minutes to realize how they even knew I'd been to the ER (I certainly don't twitter). I'd been at Mass that evening and was not feeling well during most of it and the chest pain became almost unbearable. A friend drove me over to the ER but other friends who had been at Mass decided they would call upon our Lord.
They sent e-mails out and thus started a chain of prayers. This would happen frequently because I tended, for some reason, to end up at the ER after Mass. My priest would often pray over me before I left or he would come to the ER.
Our human eyes make it very difficult for us to see the power of prayer at work in our lives but I firmly believe the reason why they rarely find anything out of the ordinary at the ER is because prayer was started before I arrived and continued for some time after. All those people (and I didn't know everyone those e-mails were forwarded to) praying for me touched the heart of our Lord and He was moved to answer them.
I still have chest pain and shortness of breath frequently, but I avoid the ER like the plague. The doctors and nurses, lab technicians, x-ray technicians, respiratory technicians are all great, but ultimately, they do very little to help me feel better (kudos to all those who remember to bring a heated blanket though....those always make ya feel better!).
Our Divine Physician, who is on call 24/7 and always answers, has never failed me. I truly believe He heals me before I even get to the ER and that's why there is hardly ever anything "wrong".
We must certainly use human prudence in every situation, especially in an emergency, but remember to call on our Lord and Savior immediately. He heals, sometimes directly and other times, indirectly through the doctors and nurses.
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