The following are excerpts from recent letter to my spiritual father (director) after having read from 2 Timothy. Somehow, he enjoyed the thoughts, and encouraged me to get to my writing. He added to the thoughts, the aspect of the Mystical Body of Christ as those of us who are chained to souls the Lord gives us, to be praying for, suffering for and with, to help bring them to salvation in Christ's eternal glory.
From the letter:
"Did you notice yesterday’s (Thursday, June 2) first reading, 2 Timothy? He talks about how we are CHAINED—like chained to souls to help bring about their salvation, chained as in the Gospel, with our being chosen to help bring souls not yet chosen to come to His eternal glory, chained for their salvation.
"That really struck me in a major way. That is how it needs to be with those of us who are in Christ and His Real Presence having His abode in us, and us remaining in His Love. We are by that very fact, chained to the Gospel, the Living Word, and our life, our souls, are chosen and to be chained then to the work of helping bring other souls to salvation in His eternal glory.
"I think it is meant to be very natural, rather pleasant, yet urgent in a natural way such as how we would be if we had a chain around us, chained to something so that we never are away from it but we get used to being chained as part of our entire existences. And being chained, we become used to that which we are chained. We know not to pull against the chains but to just accept and have these souls part of our existences and efforts of salvation to His eternal glory. We are chosen for this effort, to be chained to souls He needs to come to salvation and to His eternal glory.
"I realize there is not really a conscious way to keep in mind all the souls we are chained with, as we are also chained ourselves to the Gospel. It is our being chained to His Real Presence and His Living Word, that is what will then seep into the souls we are chained to, as well, and all that is how these souls will come to salvation for His eternal glory.
"A. (young mother and wife) is concerned about her husband who is not acting his usual self, and is going through some very early pre-pre-midlife crisis. She has been very concerned, and mentioned doing some kind of fast. I suggested we do not need to make it misery or difficult but rather light and enjoyable, fun to pray. So she said he likes driving cars, like a race car driver would enjoy going around curves well, doing it professionally. So we are offering various aspects of driving in whatever ways, as the prayer for him.
"I have considered my back a road, and so the constant pain is a constant prayer, and I think of this awful muscle trouble in my back to be straightening out, and my back being a straight and solid, safe road, for her husband to be on, for his life to straighten out and be solid, and find his way. Then that also related with J.’s cycling roads and paths, and then also a woman named A.H. asked for prayers for her daughter and her boyfriend (living together) who are hiking in Tennessee, camping and going on trails.
"And, all the prayers of my back spine road and muscles, are for their souls. I realize that the temporal aspects are not the main point, for anything can happen to our bodies and temporal circumstances at any given moment without notice. It is our souls that are of prime importance, so the enjoyable ways of praying and having the prayers continue without my even having to think about them, since my back is doing the praying as a road and path—the pain is praying.
"It is light and easy, and I’m not all that concerned but more so am psyched and excited and interested in souls now, and “on it!” I am onto these souls, have my prayer talons in them. I had to laugh after I realized the bi-location experience of being with J. and then later finding out why he was so excited and his trip he was going on, that the poor guy wants nothing to do with me, but God does not let him have that freedom. I was taken there, and not just me but his grandmother (my mom) was there, also.
"We are on it, and you are on it, and S. is praying along with several others I have alerted; and J. cannot escape. He is chained, and we are chained to his soul, as well, and many other souls for we are chosen since we know the Lord and love Him and have offered to do His will and work. So He has many souls that in and through Him and the Gospel, we are chained and chained to help these souls come to salvation and to His eternal glory.
"It is so humorous, isn’t it? The work is not hard work when we keep it natural and fun and try not to struggle away from being chained. I am chained to this mattress and to ice packs, and to much added pain, and I am chained in this unfinished dwelling and even the heat wave we are to have this weekend, and chained to trying to walk outside enough and lean over to hook up soaker hoses every couple of hours to try to keep things watered. But it really does not matter.
"Our daily, temporal efforts are totally whatever the Lord allows of our bodies, but our souls are chained, and we can easily do that work for the souls we are chained with, due to being chained to the Gospel and HIs Real Presence, ourselves. It is fascinating, right? It is exciting, and quite the adventure."
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