November Parish Health Happenings
Are we seeking the truth or are we seeking to be right? As body and soul creatures, the word “health” is not exclusive, but rather includes both entities. As the one representing Parish Health, it is why I often write about spiritual matters. I just wanted to get that out of the way, lest some think, “What does this have to do with health?” I would respond that this has to do with the health of our souls, and therefore, is an appropriate topic on which to write.
I have a wonderful group of friends I have been running with for over ten years. Throughout the years, we have logged countless miles in pursuit of various goals ranging from the half marathon to ultra marathoning and the Ironman triathlon. Needless to say, over the hours and miles, we discuss a variety of topics, including but not limited to, politics, household cleaning products, raising toddlers, work, nutrition, raising teens, the complexity of parenting young adult children, Covid, Covid vaccines, marriage, travel, running gear and last, but certainly not least, faith and religion.
One of the coolest things about our group is that we are not all like-minded. What binds us together is a love of running, hiking, walking and health and fitness in general. What keeps us friends is a mutual respect for our differences. This can be a challenge for someone like me. Let me explain:
I am one of eight children, all of which have strong, shall we say, verbal skills. In other words, we like to argue and even more, we like to be right. The good thing about liking to be right is that we do a lot of reading and a lot of “research” (I put this in quotes because what we research can be driven by bias and the tendency to look for what will prove our point). This tendency often leads to becoming dogmatic and preachy about that which we have just convinced ourselves is the only way to think on any given subject. I continue to work hard to NOT do this and try to spend more time listening instead of just talking at people. Let me tell you, this is a slow and painful death to my self-righteous nature.
Last week I was running with two of the gals in our group who happen to be practicing Protestants. As it so often does and given our mutual love for God and our desire to do His will, the conversation naturally shifted to religion. As the conversation went on, the familiar thought of “she’s wrong about that and I NEED to correct her…” crept in. But this time, I listened. “Have you heard of Eucharistic Miracles?”, I asked. “Yes I have. And I am intrigued…”, replied my friend Amy, one of the most kind hearted, sweet, Jesus loving humans I know. Upon saying she was intrigued, my brain went into overdrive. “How can you be intrigued and not continually dig and seek why this happens, how many times it has happened? I mean, the Host BLEEDS and you are “intrigued”?? Why can’t you see that Jesus is actually proving that He is physically present? What is WRONG WITH YOU THAT YOU ARE NOT CATHOLIC ALREADY???!!!!
No, I didn’t say that. But I thought that. And thanks be to God, the Holy Spirit put His mighty hand over my big mouth. Instead I said, “What do you make of Jesus saying, “This is MY body…”. Amy immediately replied…”Jesus said “Do this in MEMORY of me…”, which in her understanding, translated that this was not meant to actually be Him, but symbolic of Him.
In that moment, I realized something. The first is that I can know someone is misguided, while understanding why they believe what they believe and have tremendous respect and admiration for their faithfulness to that belief. The second is just how how much I want to be right more than I actually desire a person to know the fullness of the truth about the Christian faith, which is held only by the Catholic Church. That isn’t biased or what I think. That is actually the truth. Shame on me for not wanting the latter more than the former. This must change. If you are a Catholic who finds yourself questioning the faith and Her teachings, start digging into the WHY of those teachings. Begin to ask those hard questions to our priests. There are many teachings within the Catholic Church that secular culture has decided are wrong or outdated, but is this actually the truth? And if it is the truth, why are we still Catholic when we believe the Church is wrong? Many times uncovering moral truths causes us incredible discomfort as they require a deep dive and the need to examine how we are living. But living an authentic Catholic life will lead us to our deepest longing, which is God.
Seek truth always because if we aren’t willing to do this, then we really just want to be right.
May God bless you and keep your families safe.
Kate Rewwer Parish Health Coordinator