Thank You
I have never had surgery before; never been under anesthesia. As I prepared for my total hip replacement surgery a little over two weeks ago I had some anxiety. My biggest fears were any adverse reaction to anesthesia, infection and pain that would result from such a major procedure.
I am happy to report that the pain has been manageable, I have no sign of infection and evidently I tolerated the anesthesia well. Putting myself in the hands of a very talented surgical and medical team was an act of trust bolstered by my own faith in our healing God. It is amazing that I had surgery at 8:30am and was home at the Rectory at 4:15pm the same day.
My brothers Jack and Bill were with me for the first two days and my great friend, Fr. Bob Heinz, who has been living here at Holy Family as he has helped to administer two neighboring parishes for the past nine months, has also helped me out tremendously. I am deeply grateful to Jack, Bill and Bob for their support and care.
I am also deeply grateful to all of you who have written notes conveying your prayerful support for my healing. I don’t think I have ever been so appreciative of prayer in my life. Our staff here at Holy Family has also been very caring and helpful for my continued recovery.
I consider myself blessed to have such compassion and prayerful good wishes extended to me. As we continue to contemplate and act on the nature of mercy, please know that you have extended the nature of mercy to me, and I am so grateful.
The Chosen
Since I have had the time to watch a lot of television during my recovery, I have followed the suggestion from many of you to watch the series The Chosen, which was directed and co-written by Dallas Jenkins. The Chosen is a very well written and directed story that depicts the life of Jesus, who is obviously The Chosen One. I found myself drawn into the characters Mary of Magdala, the Disciples, the Roman authorities, Nicodemus and more. The series is based on scripture and as I watched, I was very moved and had a significant insight.
As Christians we all know the basic story of Jesus, the chosen one. We may not know where exactly to locate certain stories or passages about him in scripture, but we know the stories better than we think, particularly the ones that are highlighted in this series.
The Chosen is not 100% historically accurate, but then neither is scripture. Our Catholic faith tradition refers to scripture as the inspired word of God. There are many facts that are confirmed in scripture, but many that we just don’t know. What we do so often know and feel is the impact of those stories on us and the beauty with which they are conveyed in the written word.
The Chosen is a very well done and overall historically accurate portrayal of a story that we all know. It is presented through the medium of film, accentuated by creative acting, skilled scripts and passionate direction.
The Chosen is a slightly different, but very well done, retelling of the Jesus story and it brings it alive in a wonderful way, For example, it shows the joy on the face of Jesus after he performs miracles. It shows the Woman at the Well skipping back into town after she encounters Jesus. We don’t hear such details in scripture, but they were almost certainly there.
That is exactly what we are presenting in our Adventures in Grace pilgrimage. We are attempting to present stories – the Sacraments – in a new and creative way. We are doing this because we, like you, cherish these Sacraments and are confident that they can come alive in different ways just as they have through the centuries.
We have worked hard to plan and turned to many faith-filled and creative resources such as Soul Play to present these beautiful stories in a new way, and hope that this will lead to a renewal of spirituality and appreciation here at Holy Family and beyond.
If you haven’t joined us yet, please do. Our website has details and just about anyone who is participating has details.
Let Us Help
The serious illness of a loved one can distract those closest to them to the point that they overlook how we might serve them. Your assistance in these situations can be real acts of Mercy. You can do this by contacting Jeannie Parry here at Holy Family.