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Dear Editor It was a joy to read Russell Shaw's insightful analysis (12/25/03) of John Paul II's "visible decline." His conclusion that this is an opportunity to affirm solidarity between the generations rings true. However, this holy man confronts the negative views about similar "inadequacies" which are a part of the lives of the young as well as the elderly. Thousands of us within the Catholic Church in the United States live under the cloud of similar "imperfections" to those experienced by this holy man. Some of us appear to think maybe God made a mistake when He placed the gift of life into vulnerable bodies. After all, He could have used a substance less liable to disintegrate over time. It is true the Pope is allowing his inadequacies to be exposed to the world and the resulting discomfort is probably why so few modern churches include the sight of a human body, exposed, bruised and bleeding, hanging on a rude and cruel cross. Are we finding that image shameful? Sure we are. But that terrible vision of human love and vulnerability is at the center of our Faith and from it we gain insight into the meaning of life and God's love for His people. Those of us who heard the Holy Father's December 3rd, 2000 homily at the Basilica of St. Paul-Outside-the-Walls during the Jubilee of the Disabled perhaps have an advantage over many of our non-disabled friends because we know he is now living out in the flesh the message he shared that day with those of us with various impairments. "By your presence, dear brothers and sisters, you reaffirm that disability is not only a need, but also and above all a stimulus and a plea. Of course, it is a request for help, but even before that it is a challenge to individual and collective selfishness; it is an invitation to ever new forms of brotherhood. By your situation you call into question those conceptions of life that are solely concerned with satisfaction, appearances, speed and efficiency." With his acceptance of his own disabilities, John Paul II has shown us the important insights that can arise out of physical weakness and acknowledgement that we are fragile pilgrims on our individual path toward eternity. Are we capable of taking up Christ's cup? The Holy Father is showing us that we can if we relinquish the idea that superficial appearances and efficiency are major goals of life. And when we read the lives of the saints how can we miss the point that so many of them endured profound disabilities in their journey toward discerning that the human spirit plays a more significant role in their redemption than the body God gave them. In his 2003 "Roman Triptych: Meditations," in the poem,"The Source," the Holy Father writes: If you want to find the source, you have to go up, against the current. Break through, search, don't yield, You know it must be here somewhere. Where are you? . . . Source, where are you?! It is a challenge to go against the current, to accept the pain and challenges of life without yielding. But let us rejoice that the Source is there, beckoning us to ascend beyond ourselves. We need the blessings of that Source as we strive to follow Christ and drink from His cup.
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