We take it for granted, you and I. We take it for granted until there's a problem. We take it for granted until there's a problem, and we don't know what to do.
HEALTH... of mind, of body, of spirit.
HEALTH... how we live our lives.
HEALTH... how we take care of ourselves and the God-given gift of life.
Some months ago, a couple came to see me to discuss a dimension of stewardship (managing the gifts of God) that does not always come to mind. Jonny and Gloria Andia are members of our parish family. Jonny is a behavioral scientist at the CDC, and Gloria is a registered dietician at Emory Eastside. This married couple came to discuss a dimension of the spirituality of stewardship that I needed to hear and think about. Jonny and Gloria asked me how can we assist our parish family in taking good care of our health? They presented their idea to our Pastoral Council and the members applauded their effort and the initiative we will begin on the 8th.
This Sunday, we will pass out a Health Survey during each of our seven Sunday Masses; and during the "homily time", I will ask each person at Mass to complete this simple survey, designed by Jonny and Gloria Andia. It will be an anonymous survey, and you are free to fill it out or not. Jonny and Gloria will receive the completed surveys and after studying the results, they will begin to offer our parish work-shops on the key issues facing us, regarding the stewardship of our health. As we are honest about the condition of our health in completing the survey, Jonny and Gloria will hope to assist us with work-shops that might guide us to become healthier.
Why a health survey at Church? Why a health survey during Mass? What has this to do with the Lord Jesus or his Church?
Jesus of Nazareth did not come to us as a pure spirit. He came to us as a human being, with body and soul. He came to redeem the human race from the powers and principalities of darkness. The Lord came to address the broken condition of man and woman. He came to bring wholeness and holiness to our human family, and to point us toward the promised Kingdom. Our Savior invites us to accept the gifts given by our Abba, our Father God, and to use the gifts given according to the plan of life revealed in his own new Way of Life.
We are not pure spirits, like the angels. We are created as persons, as embodied spirits. Our bodies are not something extra. We are embodied spirits, and caring for the gifts of our soul and our body is what the Lord Jesus is asking of us... today. As disciples of the Lord Jesus and as members of his worldwide Catholic Church, we are called to accept the gifts given with gratitude, to live out the gifts given with joy and to bear the fruits produced by this stewardship, the fruits of the Kingdom.
Emotional health matters. Spiritual health matters. Physical health matters. Every gift is given by God, and all that is God's gift is to be used according to God's plan, God's will. Let us begin today, to take our bodily health seriously. Let us begin today, to seek to be a good manager of the gifts given through our bodies. Let us begin today... through knowledge learned and wills disciplined to live out what Paul of Tarsus taught: whatever you eat or drink or whatever you do, do everything for the glory of God (1 Cor. 10.31).
AMDG
Msgr. David Talley
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