We Are One

" I tell you that no one can say, 'Jesus is  Lord', except by the Holy Spirit. There are different kinds of gifts but the same Spirit. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but the same God works in all men. Now the body is not made up of one part, but of many. If the foot should say, 'Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body', it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. The eye cannot say to the hand, 'I don't need you!' If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? But in fact, God has arranged the parts of the body, every one of them, just as He wanted them to be! . . .  [in fact, even] those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable. Now you are the body of Christ and each of you is part of it. If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it. In the church, God has appointed first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then workers of miracles, also those having gifts of healing, those able to help others, those with gifts of administration etc. " [1 Corinthians 12: 3-26].

I am one body, but I am fractured. This is the way in which I was raised, one family member against another in a sort of "Cold War". This War was never discussed, it was just there. And, I was the one who seemed to be the battlefield.

I was diagnosed with a chronic lung disease at age 7. It was never treated past the age of 14. Everyone in the family pretended that my condition had simply disappeared. I am paying for that now. A simple cold virus is agony to me. I struggle with my breathing even under the best of conditions. My lungs are weaker but they are indispensable!

At family dinners, if I would not eat the 4 day old left-overs presented to me, I was given nothing else-- even though there was plenty of other food in the house. I was told, "Then you will go to bed hungry."  I learned not to eat, in order to stretch the food that I was given even farther. I am still trying to convince myself that no one will take my food away.

It was not safe in my house to go to sleep at bedtime. In order to protect myself, I would stay up late, reading by the dim light coming into my room from the hall. I would wait until everyone was in bed before I could toss my book on the floor and finally try to sleep. I am still dealing with poor sleep, all these years later.

By age ten, I had taken a vow of silence. I gave up on my family, and on the power of humanity to help me. I still get very anxious when I speak to others. I try to practice speaking, but I cannot get my rhythm down. I either interrupt, or I shut down and become silent again.

I never understood this reading in 1 Corinthians until now. You see, I am working hard to piece myself back together into a whole, integrated body.  Some days, I am not sure if I should work on my breathing; my eating; my sleeping; or my speaking. But I need all of those parts: my lungs, my rest, nutrients to feed my body, my voice and the right to speak. If I do not breathe, I die. If I do not eat, the same result-- I do not survive. If I do not sleep, my health is seriously damaged. If I do not speak and I isolate myself from humans again, I become depressed and I die within.

This idea of the one body with many parts is a metaphor for the church. If I think of my own parish, some are adept at organization, others at gorgeous floral decoration for the altar, some sing in the choir, some are Lectors who read the Scriptures at Mass. Where would we be without any one of those? The Mass would not be the same if any one of those were missing.

It was only a few years ago now that my Bible teacher told me, "We ALL have gifts! And God calls us to use these gifts. " I really almost did not comprehend what she was saying. If my family did not allow me the basics, what do you think they thought of my gifts? I not only did not know what my gifts were as a child, I did not know that I had them!?


Recently, it has been suggested that some religious sisters have been devoting way too much time to service to the poor, and not enough time to issues of the Culture of Life. I can understand that, these days, the issue of our right for the government not to dictate to the church, in matters of contraception and abortion, has become paramount. Many are needed in the church to respond quickly to these issues.

But other church members contribute valuably in so many other ways. If we denigrate the sisters who minister to the poor, are we not denigrating the "hands for not being an ear"?  More than ever, we need all parts of the church, to comprise a strong whole! We are many parts, but we are all one! If one suffers, we all suffer.

God, I pray that we are one, in mind, body and spirit. You have arranged all the parts of me, in just the way that You wanted them to be. The same God works in all of us. In the gift of the Holy Spirit, Jesus has breathed the life and the light of Truth upon us.

[Related posting, "Pentecost", June 13, 2011.]

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