Parts is Parts

Hello Folks,

Watching the news about the suffering in Haiti has been heart wrenching. I saw one report that showed that doctors were having to do amputations with rusty hack saws that they had found in the street because the hospitals and all of their surgical equipment was destroyed. In some cases they were using vodka and rum to sterilize the saws and other “medical” equipment. These amputations were taking place in less than sanitary conditions and locations too. Some of the amputations had to happen at the site of the accident in order to remove the person from the rubble. This is all very sad to think about and to know that it is really happening.

I’m sure you and the rest of our parish will be very generous to the collection we’re having for our neighbors in Haiti. We’ll do so because of our association with our friends in our sister parish of St. Marc’s, and we’ll do so because we recognize that these friends who are suffering are part of the Body of Christ.

St. Paul writes to his companions in Corinth today that, “all the parts of the body, though many, are one body, so also Christ.” And, “You are Christ’s body, and individually parts of it.” This image of US as the Body of Christ sometimes goes over our heads and sometimes in one ear and out of the other. But it is a deep part of what we believe about the Eucharist and how interconnected we all are to Christ and to one another.

It also has a lot to say about how vital we are to one another as Church. Over the next couple of weeks we will have some parishioners planning to begin a program named “Re-Membering Church”. (You’ll hear more about this in the bulletin in the near future.) This team will figure out how to contact and then conduct listening sessions for folks who may be ready to come back to the Catholic Church after having been away for a while. The whole thrust of this is to let folks know that the Church as the Body of Christ hurts when another part of the Body hurts and dies if part of the Body is dismembered.

You are an integral member of this Body of Christ called St. James Parish. We need you now to come back if you’ve felt disconnected for a while. We need you all to connect with friends, family members, and others who you miss being here at St. James. Ask them to be re-membered with us.

The Body of Christ has many members. Just like the human body we all hurt when one part hurts. Help us heal here, in Haiti, and everywhere the Body of Christ is hurting.

paz,
Fr. Chuck