[Faith-talk] Health of body and soul; prayer, meditation, and flossing

[Bill Outman]

Good afternoon, all.  

 

I hope you are enjoying the Labor Day holiday wherever you may be.  

 

The subject line may look a bit odd to you, putting together some things
that may at first not to seem to go together.  

 

We know, however, it is good to treat both soul and body and the two
reinforce each other, especially if we believe the body is the temple of the
Holy Spirit.  Exercise is important and is sometimes tied to prayer and
meditation, but there may be another approach that could be helpful because
it is easier to get it started.  The idea came to me as an insight from a
radio program I have begun listening to over the last several months.  The
program is called Pathways Of Learning, hosted by Sister Marie Pappas, which
airs on The Catholic Channael on Sirius-XM satellite radio.  Given my
Protestant and non-denominational background, finding an inspiration through
a Catholic program might seem surprising.  I really discovered her Easter
weekend when her guest was discussing the Eucharist, or communion as we
Protestants call it.  I was gaining insights into both my relationship with
God and others.  I now make this program a regularly scheduled stop in my
schedule, usually the 7 a. m. Eastern airing on Saturday, but it is repeated
several times during the week.  I've even corresponded with Sister Marie by
email, and she has acknowledged this on air.  

 

Sister Marie's subject on this week's broadcast was the Rosary, a set of
prayers based on the life of Christ.  She and her guest discussed the
history of this practice going back all the way to medieval monks praying
the Psalms and then relating them to the New Testament story of Christ.
Eventually this developed into sets of prayers called decades designed to
aid in prayer and teach semi-literate laity about Jesus.  These prayers have
been a focus in Catholicism recently as this is the centennial year of
Fatima.  

 

While extemporaneous prayer is good, systematic prayer can be rewarding as
well.  But intrigued me is when Marie likened the process to flossing, which
we can do to augment our dental health in addition to brushing.  It's a
maintenance process for our bodies and may be an effective start toward
improving our physical health, just as prayer and meditation are spiritual
maintenance.  

 

I've not been as good at either as I could be, but since the broadcast I've
taken up the flossing again, using disposable flossers as that's easier to
coordinate physically for me.  

 

So consider trying this approach to improve your life in multiple ways and
perhaps you will derive double benefit.  

 

Have a blessed day.  

 

Bill Outman