By Alyssa Bormes
Untitled by Will Fuller via Unsplash. CCO
“Although I may think I know the way, so did Saul on his way to Damascus….”
Oh – I love this one! It’s a sentence out of my shirt-box-treasure-chest where I collect scraps of paper with utterances & thoughts written on them. Every now and then, I go to the box looking for “that one sentence” that says what I am thinking. This particular quotation was a gift from Anna; she was a sophomore when she said it in one of my theology classes.
So why did I need it today? Because I just read something so misdirected that neither anger nor pity seemed the proper response. This week, in a popular magazine for teens, there is an article helping girls to pick just the right gift for a friend who has had an abortion. It seems to go without saying that none of the gifts included time with an abortion-healing ministry like Rachel’s Vineyard.
What is wrong has not only been made right, but now it is also celebrated.
But am I mad? Do I pity them? No – it is deeper. I recognize them. I was one of them some years ago. And I find comfort in the words of a 15 year-old girl. “I may think I know the way….”
They are on a road; I was on a road. What I received, and what we hope for them is an encounter!
Saul was on his way to Damascus to meet those who belong to The Way, the followers of Christ– except that he wanted to persecute them, not be one of them. But on that road he had a radical meeting with Jesus. He left the incident blind. He still went to Damascus to meet the same people he had initially hoped to meet, but this time meeting them with a different intention.
Paul wasn’t able to see until Ananias laid his hands on Paul’s eyes; only then did the scales fall.
“Although I may think I know the way, so did Saul on his way to Damascus….”
The misdirected article is as misdirected as Paul was. What is needed is an encounter with Christ, and then a disciple willing to help the scales fall. We are to be Christ to our sisters who are still in error. We are to be that moment of encounter on the road. And then just like Ananias, we are to be the hands that touch the eyes – allowing the scales to fall – and being right there as truth becomes The Way!
About the Author:
Alyssa Bormes is an educator, author, speaker, and retreat leader. She currently teaches at the Chesterton Academy in Edina, Minnesota, writes for the Catholic Spirit, and the W.I.N.E blog, is the host of a weekly show,“Christian Witnesses in the Church,” on Radio Maria US, and is the author of The Catechism of Hockey. You can find her at alyssabormes.com.
WOW Alyssa … nailed it! This is one of your best articles yet!
Thank you Debbie – what a wonderful compliment! Now – let’s go to be the encounter of Jesus – and the hands of Ananias!
Alyssa, I LOVE the idea of the box with the snippets of favorite quotations. How often I’ve wished I could think of just the right words for different occasions. The fact that a magazine published an article about what to give a young girl for a gift after an abortion is such a sad thing in our day, and yes, the Liberal writers would not consider recommending Rachel’s Vineyard. God is our only hope! Thank you for your work and your faithfulness!
Gwen, thank you for the kind words. We have so far to go – but what a wonderful road to be on. The road to Damascus is a road of miracles!
You are becoming my favorite author, Alyssa! Authors who leave you with a kernel, a seed, to plant for more, while watering and caring for it with pondering and prayer. I am starting a treasure box of snippets today! That wonderful student’s comment is the first input. Thank you again for the gift of a moment of pondering. When, I wonder, have I thought that I knew the way………
Carol – thank you! What a humbling compliment – I love writing – and love my little shirt-box-treasure-chest. So often I go to it to begin. I still have “Apples, Cider, Cheese, and Fudge – the Four Food Groups,” but haven’t quite found the right place to use it – stay tuned!
I am so grateful that Anna’s words have become the first for your treasure chest. I will tell her – she will love to know it.
We all have been Paul – we have all “known” the way – How wonderful to have that encounter! It is exactly why we need WINE:Women in the New Evangelization – a big thank you to Kelly Wahlquist!