FRIDAY POTPOURRI: DON'T FORGET US BACK HERE

Continuing our look at Lumen Gentium paragraph 50

 

 

Growing up we heard stories about our grandparents coming to the United States from the “old country.”  Though things have changed dramatically since then, back in “the day” the little mountain village from which they came was rather cut off from the rest of the world.  There were no phone lines, electricity, nor indoor plumbing.  The priest only came to the remote village a few times a year for Mass both because it was so remote and because there were so few people. 

 

So one set of grandparents came over to the “Promised Land.”  During the Second World War, news reached the family in the U.S. via snail mail that there was a family member ailing and they needed penicillin.  The further problem was that the hospital would only give the penicillin to our cousin if enough was sent for everyone.  So, my grandparents were able to obtain the needed medicine here in the U.S. and ship it back and bring healing to our cousin as well as others.

 

Now imagine that (remembering that all analogies limp) as being a metaphor for our faith journey.  We who are in this life struggle as best we can in Christ with our eyes firmly set on the new life waiting for us in the Promised Land.  Some of us have already made the trip.  And though we must do without the physical presence of those brothers and sisters, we are somehow still united in Christ and in His one Body.  We can still get messages to them.  But unlike a letter we might send by ship, these missives are called prayer.  Those already passed over are before the throne and still make intercession with us and in such a manner are able to send back help if you will.  They are of our merry band who are already close to the warming fire.  But we are not divided between us and them; we are one and we work together to bring the whole Body into holiness.