"Everything I Count As Joy"

"For I consider that the sufferings of this present time nare not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us." 

(Rom 8:18)

 

This afternoon I called a friend, and was given a great gift in exchange: the gift of joy in witnessing the reception of Truth. My friend, who identifies as a Protestant Christian, went to a Latin High Mass with his two kids at our local FSSP parish out of curiosity (he told me that when he heard some Latin Mass communities were being monitored by the FBI, "I had to check it out." I got a kick out of that). He said he was blown away, and moved to tears. "That's the real deal, man," he told me. "It just felt...holy." His kids were riveted as well. Even more surprisingly, he relayed that he is all in and inquiring about coming into the Church. As soon as possible.

If that seems rash and impetuous, please allow me the liberty to tease this out a little, as there are a number of layers to peel back in this story. It begins with an impromptu exposure to the Mass of the Ages, but it doesn't end there and is not the focal point; in fact, that is just the beginning. But I promise you--hope and joy is at the center of it all. 

My friend (who is my age) has a stubborn and aggressive form of bladder cancer. He gets it removed, it comes back; more tumors taken out, more come back. At this point, due to a series of delays in treatment for various reasons, it has moved to some of his muscle, and so the prospect of having to have his bladder removed is on the table. This is his life, but he carries it as a manageable reality. After all, dinner still needs to be made, kids need to be attended to, house maintenance needs to be done; life doesn't stop when you are sick. 

He's hopeful and enthusiastic about alternative treatments, but also realizing their limitations, I think. Physicians can treat the body, but not the soul. He and his family are essentially homeless nomads, spiritually speaking. They don't have a regular church, and he recognizes that many of the Protestant congregations they have visited don't have the substance to sustain a dark night like the one he may soon be entering with his upcoming surgery. My friend is a voracious consumer of information, and I think he is realizing that in fact the Catholic Church, the church founded by Christ, is "the real deal." 

He was out shopping for suits for his son and himself tonight so they can be well dressed for Mass when I called. When he got home, I drove over and brought him a "starter pack" arsenal to begin his journey with: A book on the Latin Mass for beginners, a detailed Examination of Conscience put out by the FSSP, a copy of the Baltimore Catechism, and an anthology of saints. I also included blessed and exorcised salt, a bottle of Epiphany Water, a Miraculous Medal and St. Benedict medal on a chain, and a rosary. 

It's hard not to overwhelm people with Catholic "stuff," because you share in their excitement and enthusiasm for their newfound discovering of the faith. You want to dive right in with them straight away. But we don't eat a lifetime of meals in one sitting, nor are we expected to. We have to pump the brakes and learn the hard virtues of prudence and temperance, even with spiritual things (I think the NC Register had a good article on that recently here). 

But it's good to have these kinds of resources on hand for these kinds of occasions. As I mentioned, nothing gives me greater joy than witnessing people come to faith, witnessing conversion flowering and grace flowing like a river. It doesn't always pan out or blossom, but that is God's prerogative. As the saying goes, we are simply beggars telling other hungry beggars where to find bread--a great privelege.

Part of my friend's sense of urgency too, though, is the realization that his mortal body is in a vulnerable and fragile state. Most of us really do take our health for granted; that is, until you're not healthy. Even though our body is not all there is to our person, we can't live without it. And so, we are tasked with taking care of it as a temple of the Holy Spirit as best we can. Health is not an absolute; it is not even a pre-requisite when it comes to living a fruitful spiritual life. Many of the greatest saints in the history of the Church battled with infirmity, and some (like St. Ignatius) found faith while injured/incapacitated and confined to bed.

What's so cool about being a Catholic is you are often afforded behind the scenes footage of the stories unfolding--you don't know how they are going to end, but you know the Divine Director has everything under control. You are right where you need to be and where He has you placed at this moment in time, and not a moment sooner. The same applies to my friend. 

But it's also exciting because while faith is blossoming in his spirit, and God is orchestrating the details and setting the stage for a masterpiece to be written, we really don't know what direction the story is going to go. 

On the one hand, I have faith in the power of grace, and the intercession of the saints. Personally, I am praying and asking for the intercession of Servant of God Francis Houle to heal my friend of his bladder cancer (I have written about SOG Francis Houle, who was a grandfather and stigmatist and whose son we had Thanksgiving dinner with before, here). Francis' son relayed to us that crowds of people would come to their home so that his father could lay hands on them; in once instance, his son found him sick in the backroom throwing up, as he had taken on the toxic effects of chemotherapy to himself from someone who had come to him seeking healing. If I can make a request, I would ask you join me in prayer in asking for his intercession in this case--for the healing of my friend, but also for the glory of God that a literal miracle might take place leading to Francis' formal canonization.  

On the other hand, God is sovereign in Heaven, and He does as He pleases (Ps 115:3). The healing of the body comes secondary to the elevation of the spirit, and if God chooses not to heal my friend, but by way of his cancer bring him to salvation through His Son and His Bride, the Church, then that too is an outcome worthy of joy. For as Christians, we do not fear those who want to kill the body...for they cannot kill the soul. Instead, we should fear him which is able to destroy both body and soul (Mt 10:28). In this, my friend is preparing himself spiritually through the inculcation of unmerited grace, bolstered by the prayers of mine and yours, to prepare his temple. Whether it is preserved in this life, or destroyed and raised up again in the next, is God's will and concern. 

Can He heal him? Yes, He can. God is a big God--nothing is too big or difficult or beyond hope for Him--Christ His son the worker of miracles for those who believe (1 Cor 2:9). Should He chose to do so, we must be sure not to waste the opportunity afforded us to give his holy name glory for the conversion of others.

Can He use his illness for that same glory? Yes, He can. For Christ is preparing a place for my friend, for He has many mansions and He goes ahead to prepare a place for him (Jn 14:2-6)--whether next week, or twenty years from now. The time and hour is not important or our concern when we live by faith; what is our concern--and what my friend has right--is that we prepare our own hearts to accept him, repent, and believe with a sober urgency. This is grace moving the will, and is not accidental. 

As Christians, we participate in Christ's death through suffering, and offering it up redemptively; we can do this for ourselves, as well as others. But because we are composed of both body and spirit, we are called to serve in charity the corporal needs of widows, orphans, the hungry, the imprisoned, and the infirmed. It can be as simple as bringing someone a meal or offering to rake their leaves, or it can be to hold a hand to comfort during a time of need. Our hidden sacrifices we can offer as an oblation on behalf of others; they are not meaningless, not wasted. This is how we witness to our faith in joy--a joy that should be a contagion, not a lab specimen. For we are people of hope--the hope of the resurrection of the dead, and faith without works is dead (James 2:26); 1 Thes 4:13-18). 

I am so excited to see what God has in store for my friend, and am privileged to witness it. If I died tonight, I could die happy, if only knowing I was able to participate in it for even a short time. Please, reader, pray for my friend, his wife and children, his healing if it be God's will, and his eternal salvation. And in all things, to God be the glory.