July 10, 2022 - Pastor Message
04/24/2024THE YEAR OF HEALING
PHYSICAL HEALTH
“Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you have been purchased at a price. Therefore, glorify God in your body” (1 Corinthians 6:19-20).
“The human body shares in the dignity of ‘the image of God’: it is a human body precisely because it is animated by a spiritual soul, and it is the whole human person that is intended to become, in the body of Christ, a temple of the Spirit” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 364).
From the very beginning, God created human beings as embodied souls, in his own image and likeness, and placed them at the center of his physical creation. Our physical bodies have always been a key part of God’s plan for us, and we believe that at the end of time, like Jesus himself, we will rise bodily from the dead. Our bodies are not sinful or dirty, nor are they a prison from which we must escape into some purely spiritual realm. They are every bit as integral to who we are as our minds and souls, and just like our minds and souls, we need to take care of our bodies to the best of our ability.
This is why the Church has always seen care for the physical wellbeing of people as an essential part of her mission. Following the example of Jesus himself, whose miracles predominantly took the form of healing the sick and curing physical disorders as signs of the kingdom of God, throughout history the Church has led the way in healthcare, establishing hospitals, nursing homes, clinics for the poor, pregnancy centers, medical schools, and countless other efforts to support physical health and wellbeing.
As part of that effort, during the Year of Healing here at St. Boniface, we will focus this month on physical health. In addition to bulletin content and homilies, we will continue our speaker series on healing. On Saturday, July 23, from 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM, in the St. Anthony adult faith formation room, our fellow parishioner, Dr. James Cowles, will speak on “Physical and Mental Experiences of the Pandemic”. The COVID crisis has certainly made all of us more aware of the seriousness of physical illness and of the steps we can take to protect ourselves and others, and Dr. Cowles will speak to us about his experience and what he has learned serving on the front lines of the fight against COVID as a medical professional. Please mark your calendars for this important presentation, and we hope to see you there!
Fr. Marc Stockton
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