A few notes on church.

Call it lessons from Mass.

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The other day, a priest was relating the message behind that scripture that has Samuel saying, "Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening" (1 Samuel 3:10). His point: Do we listen? Do we hear God? Usually, when God speaks, He whispers. There is the little story about a man who, looking to Heaven one day, said, "Lord, are you there? If so, show me." There followed a gorgeous, picture-perfect day, but the man didn't see that as God answering him. He asked for another sign, an indication that He was really listening. There followed a resplendent sunset, but still the fellow didn't get it. He asked God to speak. A bird chirped. The man didn't really hear it. It didn't register. He asked again and there was a loud thunderstorm, but even that didn't seem adequate. He asked God to touch him and a butterfly landed on his shoulder but he brushed it away. The message was lost. Perhaps Samuel could also have said it this way: "Speak, Lord, for your servant is paying attention."

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Barriers are to be broken, noted another priest in the parish. This priest, a staunch conservative fresh from the seminary, underscored that man-made rules and ideas can get in the way of following Jesus. Charity supersedes laws. Love is the great commandment. We are called in our time to reach out and touch and embrace others -- of whatever race or religion, especially those in need. We are called to embrace the leper. He pointed out how Jesus broke convention by doing things like forming mud with his spit -- with His saliva -- and healing with it (contravening laws that had to do with cleanliness). True cleanliness comes with concern for others and placing others before ourselves and above certain mindsets. (Meditation for the day: If Jesus were alive, how "radical" would He seem?)

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In the line for Communion there is sometimes a sweet, humble, elderly woman just ahead of us who literally emanates cleanliness: an aroma like pleasant soap. There is likewise a bright, clean aura about her. She just seems very holy. Cleanliness of spirit translates. It causes health on all levels -- mental, emotional, physical (unless the suffering is redemptive: God's Will). On the way back to the pew is a statue of Saint Joseph, and next to the small grotto, a photograph of the great Canadian healer, Saint (Brother) Andre Bessette -- a relative of whom attends the parish.

One is reminded of how clean and clear Saint Andre was and how he subsisted for decades only on what they called a gruel: a pasty mixture of flour and water. He was able to exist on virtually no other nourishment! The spirit supersedes. There are those mystics who existed only on the Eucharist. The lesson: our spirits, and the Spirit, rule over the body. A clean spirit makes for a clean, healthy body.  Cleanliness of spirit transmits to the health of the physical. Saint Andre lived into his nineties. It is important to clear our spirits and then seek physical means of well-being -- again through the Spirit. It begins with discipline. The Holy Spirit will tell us what our bodies need (we're all different). A sound and clean and balanced spirit will lead to a sound and balanced and clean body. Padre Pio never seemed to lose weight though he often had just a cup of broth and a little wine. But for us mortals, meals do come in, and while it's impossible to avoid the degradation of our food from chemicals and processing, getting organic meats, vegetables and fruits when possible makes sense (go as close to God's original Creation as possible) and try "juicing." Render the most nutritious, cancer-fighting, anti-arthritis-diabetes-heart-attack food like broccoli, carrots, kale, collard greens, parsley, and so forth with apples and bananas and whatever comes to mind (spirit) after washing them to get off as much residue as possible. Physician, heal thyself. Simplicity is a key. Let's remember that the current way of "practicing medicine" dates to the Industrial Revolution and like that revolution is "mechanistic." It sees the body as simply parts, the heart like the pump in a steam engine, the body filled with tubes and fluids that are independent (and in some cases, in our current time, replaceable). Really, however, everything is connected, including to the spirit. Many allergies are a reaction to something we must eliminate from our diets. Milk and cheese can exacerbate other irritations. It is important to listen to our bodies. Here God also speaks. Allergies can be warning of a poorly functioning immune system -- an overburdened one (often due to sugar, refined wheat, and a lack of good water) -- which can lead to greater problems. Notes a nutritionist: "From infancy on we partake of dense, heavy foods: cheese, baked goods, meats, fried potatoes, ice cream. Push a thick, dense substance through a strainer, and soon enough the small openings get clogged, rendering the strainer less and less effective. The same thing happens with our organs, such as the liver, the intestines, the lungs, and especially the kidneys." Ask God how to flush out the system. Eat in a way that causes you to awaken the next morning with a lean clean feeling and the feeling of rightness with the Holy Spirit. (You'll be quicker to rise.)

[Note also: Michael Brown retreats: Michael Brown retreat, Florida: afterlife, healing, prophecy and San Antonio, Corpus Christi; note also: Spirit Daily pilgrimage to historic John Paul II, John XXIII canonizations: Michael Brown, Padre Amedeo Guida ]

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