Monday, 20th Week of Ordinary Time

I completely missed out on the 20th Sunday of Ordinary Time because when I woke up yesterday the pain in my body said, no way Jose. So, I rested the entire day. There are times when the body says, "if you do X, I will do Y and Z to you." Did I sin by missing Mass? I don't know, but I will confess it at my next confession.

The day taught me some things of value: that even in my weakest and most vulnerable condition, God is present, and loving me. Sheesh, how trite that sounds, but it's the truth, as I lay in my bed without energy and in pain, I knew that God loved me, and that Christ was closer to me than my own skin. Even though Saturday had been a rather big day, I was taken back by the completely fall-apart of Sunday. Of course, there was one mitigating factor.

Every so often the thoracic vertebrae feel as if they are pulling apart from each other. That racks my body and renders me immobile. Only some aggressive massage -- usually provided by an old fashioned, plug in Genie padded massage unit, that might vibrate the earth apart if buried and turned on -- will help me. Saturday night I was lucky to have a friend here who was strong enough to use his hands to stop the spasms and get me moving again.

So yesterday I laid around all day, recovering. Today I went to Mass, and the pain was starting up by the time Mass was over but when the nuns asked "how are you?" all I could say was "I am joyous!"

Yes, joyous. I could be bitter, but there are more than enough bitter people in the world. I have been given the grace to have joy even in my pain, and I thank God for that. In truth, I have learned more about joy since the pain became more severe than I have in my entire life up to this point. Surely I should say something profound about this, but I'll be darned if I can think of anything more profound than what has already been said.

I owe a special acknowledgment to St. Therese here, for she taught me that pain is not block to joy. I thank her for being my patron. I want to make known that she has assisted me, and recommend her to you, my "dozens" of readers.

Thank you, St. Therese. Thank you Lord Jesus Christ-God.