When I ponder what St. Teresa of Avila, (1515–1582), and I have in common, I come up with a very short list:
1. We're both women.
2. We're Catholic.
3. People wonder if we just might be a little crazy. (And if that were a criterion for Sainthood, the Vatican would have my number on speed dial.)
4. Both St. Teresa and I were/are fascinated with the lives of the Saints.
I can't speak for her, but my interest in the Saints doesn't stem from their notoriety and fame, rather it's due to the fact that these "normal people" sacrificed their very lives, some literally, in service to God and others.
Wow, and I complain if someone doesn't RSVP to an invitation or send me a Thank You note.
It seems that, as I research the REASONS WHY I have overeaten in my life, many times it's been over trivial, inconsequential slights and worries. I wasn't looking at the BIG PICTURE, like the Saints do.
And what is that BIG PICTURE. I think St. Teresa of Avila put it perfectly. "It is love alone that gives worth to all things." When I love God, others AND MYSELF, I have less time to be anxious, stressed, and tempted by sour cream and onion potato chips, Whoppers with cheese, fries, milkshakes, M&M's.......
I know God loves us NO MATTER HOW MUCH WE WEIGH but if "Christ has no body but mine" do I want to give him a 371 pound one that huffs and puffs through life?
Do we want to give Him (as many of us have) one with high blood pressure, heart disease and adult onset diabetes?
Maybe, just maybe, we can work to give Him a body that tries to eat less, move more and pray; one fit for a King.
Christ Has No Body by St. Teresa of Avila
Christ has no body but yours,
No hands, no feet on earth but yours,
Yours are the eyes with which he looks
Compassion on this world,
Yours are the feet with which he walks to do good,
Yours are the hands, with which he blesses all the world.
Yours are the hands, yours are the feet,
Yours are the eyes, you are his body.
Christ has no body now but yours,
No hands, no feet on earth but yours,
Yours are the eyes with which he looks
compassion on this world.
Christ has no body now on earth but yours
Photo: http://www.earlywomenmasters.net/art/gallery/teresa_avila_gerard.jpg
Very interesting and somewhat deep. I too love the hx of the Saints, but we are all not perfect, but we ARE perfect in God's eyes. We all cannot do the same type of work the Saints did, but we do do are own type of saintly work, many of us do for each other. How perfect our world would be if we were exactly like a lot of the Saints. We would never need Pray If Off and we might never meet such wonderful people who belong to it, and most importantly the one whom God inspired with this idea. So, if though some of us may be a little obese, it was for a reason and THANK GOD we are finding that reason now.
ReplyDeleteMy dear Ellen - if you were not obese, you would not have lost all that weight and would have not started PIO. If I were no obese, and knew I needed help losing this weight, I would not have joined PIO. You are like a Saint to me and that was part of God's plan - He introduced us and we became friends/sisters and I thank Him every minute of every day for my SPECIAL SAINT in my life.
I will work hard at trying to have a perfect fit for Christ, so He will fit into my life more easily; but, I know He is still within me at the size I am and while I struggle to become the perfect fit for Him.
Very good article and a good one to use for meditation, especially the writing by St. Theresa of Avila. Thank you for your time and work. Luv ya, Char
You are so right - He uses us and loves us, no matter what size we currently are.
ReplyDeleteI thank God every day for Pray It Off and all He has done for me, and for all of us through it. Thanks for commenting dear Char - it means so much, I love you, El
Much to ponder here. Thanks for bloging it and also sharing the URL's to the other sites.
ReplyDeleteThank you for following and commenting - it means a lot - God Bless You
ReplyDelete