Make Me an Instrument of Your Joy
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I was taking a walk one Friday night in our neighborhood rec center's park, and a lady passed me. She muttered on the phone to someone "No one cares if you die. No one cares..."
It was startling, but honestly, I've had those same thoughts sometimes myself. Does anyone really care if I'm in the universe? What would happen if I died tomorrow?
It's hard to believe that people care when most of us are staring at our cell phones, oblivious to suffering, and absorbed in our own problems.
But there are good people in my life who pull me back from that lie -- who show they do care, who embrace me, and who walk with me in the dark times.
The lady's comment is indicative of our suffering culture. We live in a world where there is so little kindness shown to one another that people have come to believe that no one cares if they die.
What a lonely world.
I can't help but wonder what God is asking of us as a Church in this time. More bible studies and church programs? Not sure. I think we need to get more personal and invested in people's lives -- we have to get into the mud of their suffering. We have to go back to the basics of what ministry is: ministering to the needy and suffering, and being God's presence to others.
I think about an image of what I think God's asking of us. I recently saw a picture of a man who tried to jump off a bridge to commit suicide and a group of strangers held the guy up for an hour, preventing him from ending his life.
They took on the weight of that man's suffering, quite literally, by holding that man up with the strength of their bodies in his complete lack of emotional and mental strength.
That is ministry. That is being Christ.
I think as Catholics we are called to do the same: to be the compassionate stranger holding up our despairing brother or sister, reminding them of their dignity, and being with them in their suffering. To be the caring person showing kindness, looking up from our phones and distractions and really seeing another in their pain. To help others bear the weight of their suffering with our prayers and presence.
This is what it means to be a people of God in today's suffering culture.
Katie Zalany lives in Cleveland Ohio. She is a Third Order Secular Franciscan (OFS), spiritual director, benefits/wellness leader, certified health and life coach, and volunteer. She is the creator of the ministry Women in Waiting | Made for Fruitfulness and is a published author. Her writing interests and focus areas include Gospel reflections, Franciscan spirituality, women's spirituality, prayer, and integration of faith and daily living.
