Are We Being Duped By God?

< Twenty-Third Sunday of Ordinary Time >

In 1995 I was the on-call night chaplain in Cabrini Medical Center in Manhattan. If a patient requested a priest for confession, anointing of the sick, or Communion, I was the one called. One night I was summoned to bring Communion to a patient. I picked up some consecrated hosts in the chapel and placed them in a pyx (that’s a small, round, golden container used for carrying consecrated hosts). The pyx, in turn, is put inside a small pouch called a nurse, and this is worn around the priest’s neck. As I walk the corridors to the patient’s room I suddenly had the urge to use the toilet. The restroom was nearby but as I went to enter, I stopped. I was carrying Jesus around my neck. How could I bring him into a bathroom?

Then I thought, “How foolish! I carry Jesus in my heart all the time, even when I use the bathroom.” Of course, my initial reluctance also conveniently ignored the fact that when Jesus lived on earth, he used the bathroom all his life! The more I thought about it, the more I realized that Jesus is everywhere. A church or other sacred space simply removes distractions so we can concentrate on Jesus but Jesus is also with us when we are in school, shopping, hanging out with friends, riding on the subway or bus. The holy communion we receive becomes part of us. And Jesus goes wherever we go. It makes it much easier to love our neighbor and even our enemy when we remind ourselves that Jesus came to save sinners. Like our enemies. Like our neighbors. Like ourselves.

배종섭 신부님 말씀