By Father Rich Tomkosky
Saint Paul speaks about the concept of the Church as the “Mystical Body of Christ,” meaning we all have a distinct role to play in the Church – just as each part of our physical body has an important and unique role to play – for the whole Body to function well. This is an essential concept to grasp in order to grow in holiness on a daily basis by keeping a proper perspective on things; and especially when we are young, to discern the vocation to which God is calling us.
We are truly all in this together. There must not be a “me and Jesus” individualistic spirituality in the Church. We must be concerned about the spiritual well-being of everyone, the true common good. How can we do this in a practical way when it can seem like a theological abstraction? And in the very individualistic society of our time?
Saint Paul says, “If one part (of the Mystical Body of the Church) suffers, all parts suffer with it.” This is a great spiritual insight by Saint Paul and the hidden spiritual gift of earthly life which we often allow to go by the wayside or waste.
In light of eternity as the saints point out, “wasted suffering is a spiritual tragedy.” What does that mean? Well, that we need to consciously take up our daily cross, which are all the sufferings, challenges and frustrations, whether they be physical, mental, emotional or spiritual (and each day is little different) and consciously offer them to God not only for our own spiritual purification and deeper conversion of heart, mind and will, but also for the conversion of others.
How do we do this? First by making a morning offering each day to the Lord of everything we will experience that day, both pleasant and unpleasant, in union with Jesus on the Cross and with all the Masses (the renewal of the Sacrifice of the Cross) throughout the world in company with our Blessed Mother and all the angels and saints. It takes a minute, if that, but we need to get in the habit of doing it FIRST thing in the morning and teaching our children/grandchildren to do the same.
Then throughout the day to regularly ask the Holy Spirit to help us, to live in the spirit of Faith, which is the habit of mind, of consciously uniting everything, but especially the sufferings and frustrations we experience, with Jesus, for the sake of the Mystical Body of the Church. Our Lady spoke about this at Fatima as essential for the conversion of hardened sinners; along with doing extra acts of prayer, penance, and spiritual sacrifice for that same intention. Remember that great book Scandalous Mercy and the example, of that poor, but holy, peasant farmer in the mountains of Columbia who prayed and offered his sufferings and the spiritual sacrifice of making a pilgrimage for that worldly dentist lady who was a very hardened sinner, and his prayers and sacrifices helped save her from going to Hell? That is the real deal! And if over time, we consciously and generously offer especially our sufferings to God as an act of prayer and penance for others, we also will break out of the immature human habit of complaining about our sufferings, talking about them to try to get human sympathy, and often feeling sorry for ourselves. Instead, we will more consistently offer them to the Lord, and He will help us to grow in holiness by embracing the unique Cross, which He daily sends us or permits us to go through in His love for our own sanctification and the sanctification of others! The great fruit of this will be a deep inner peace and joy from cooperating with Him for the good of souls. He is never outdone in kind generosity toward those who love Him.
What a noble endeavor this all is. The March for Life was held recently. That sadly we as a Church and a nation yearly recall the ongoing evil of abortion that has snuffed out tens of millions of lives over the decades – not just the babies, but also all the people involved in it – as it leads to a real spiritual blindness and death, individually and collectively, until repented of and made reparation for. It truly boggles the mind, but we need to remember never to give up the good fight for the pro-life cause; and the best way spiritually we can do our part to help bring about the victory for Life someday in the Lord is to make it one of our daily intentions, when we offer our sufferings, daily duties and prayers up to the Lord with Our Lady. And to pray daily for the conversion of all those who support abortion in our country and world, and for repentance and healing for those who have been involved in this evil in any way, and that they seek God’s forgiveness esp. in Confession. The reality of the Mystical Body in action. God bless you.
Father Rich Tomkosky is the Pastor of Saint Thomas the Apostle Parish in Bedford and the Pastor of Seven Dolors of the Blessed Virgin Mary Parish in Beans Cove.
