Word to the Wise
Friday, September 9, 2016 - Friday in the 23th Week in Ordinary Time
[1 Cor 9:16-19, 22b-27 and Luke 6:39-42]FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 9, 2016. ST. PETER CLAVER, SJ [1 Corinthians 9:16-19, 22b-27 and Luke 6:39-42] "No, I drive my body and train it, for fear that, after having preached to others, I myself should be disqualified." [1 Corinthians] St. Paul writes these words after speaking about athletes and races and perishable and imperishable crowns. One wonders what training exercises he used! But his comments are very important. In giving retreats to clergy, one of the topics I address is about health care. Taking care of the one body that God gives us is a sacred obligation. Many clergy (not to mention pew folks) take better care of their automobiles than their bodies - and not just the physical body but their emotional/spiritual bodies as well. I have noticed that the evening news programs tend to be sponsored by various health care products designed to deal with conditions that could have been preventable in the first place. (There is always a lower voice that warns of all kinds of dire side effects as well!). St. Thomas Aquinas OP tells us that "grace builds on nature," but we often fail to take care of that nature and thus make it hard for grace to build! Physical, emotional and spiritual hygiene require effort and intentionality. Clergy (and others) who neglect these will find that the task of helping others becomes harder and harder not because those others make it hard but because the helper doesn't take care of him- or herself. A single retreat each year is a nice step but it cannot overcome long time neglect. We only have one "wild, precious life" (Mary Oliver) and it needs good care! AMEN
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