GregCast Diakonia

On top of Mardi Gras and the Opening of the Winter Olympics, there are two other celebrations that coincide today… It is World Day of the Sick and World Marriage Day. I know some of you are saying that only the Church, in its infinite wisdom, would have the sense of humor to combine the two, but I would offer that maybe they do indeed coincide in the marriage vow, promising to love and serve one another “in sickness and in health!” We could take the obvious route here and do what Jesus said NOT to do... Celebrate the healing miracle of the man with leprosy, run through the town bragging about how our God is an awesome God, because look what he has done for us... But there’s an Elephant in the room, that we’re understandably afraid of in the readings today, as we must ask ourselves, “who are the unclean, and why are we afraid to touch them?” The wound of leprosy kept the leper isolated from society. In our world today we have special places for refugees or the worst of prisoners. No

Last week I went to Chicago to participate in a leadership summit sponsored by FOCUS, The Fellowship of Catholic University Students, and while there’s so much I can share, I’d like to open up the most crucial part of the week for myself… The question, as I read it on the workshop handout Wednesday morning, stated, “Which category would you place yourself in?” The choices were simple: Jesus is NOT part of my life, Jesus is PART of my life, Jesus is the CENTER of my life. Now my response, like I imagine yours might be, gave me pause… “Oh no… Is HE? Is he the CENTER of my life?” Honestly my friends, that question is what we all grapple with at every step of our journey. So, like you, I asked myself how? How can I make Jesus more central in my daily life? Start by reflecting on your own life’s story, because God works through each of us, and the thing we know best is how He’s done (or not) that in our daily lives. Ultimately, it is through the sharing of this story that other may und