It was an amazing learning, when I heard that story, not from my mom, but from one of my aunts. And it got me to thinking, isn’t that the truth about all of us. That we all have been carried at one point or another in our lives. It was the truth of the paralytic knew in a profound way. Unable to walk, unable to get around in a world without cars and wheelchairs and lifts – his world would have been very small. Except for his four friends. Except for his four buddies who stood by their friend, and carried him. And though the scripture never says it, you know that had to have done it often. Why? Because being blocked from getting to Jesus via the door didn’t slow them down a bit.

You can hear the conversation. “How?? The roof! It’ll be easy. Joe and Abram, climb on up, we’ll pass up the mat, use the ropes we used at that concert, let him down in front of the master, and that’s it…” They were used to carrying him, or they would never have tried it. But most importantly, they were determined to bring him to Jesus. It was their faith, their loyalty that Jesus comments on. “When Jesus saw THEIR FAITH, not the faith of the one who was paralyzed, he springs into action. We he saw their faith, he not only heals (forgives sins) but he cures. (rise and walk…) Four friends who carried their pal to Jesus.

And then I realized that I am still being carried, at the tender age of 45. I think of Msgr. Nick Schneider, whose love for the liturgy formed me in my seminary days, and whose presence at deanery meetings makes me want to be as passionate as he is about the Jesus. Then there is Sr. Mary Mark, who was 85 when I met her, who called me a ‘villain’ when I would playfully genuflect before her when she came into the room. Mary Mark was still selling encyclopedia Brittanica’s at 87. She promised me that she would pray for me every day of my priesthood. So I trust she is doing that even now from her place in heaven. Then, there’s my friend Chris Nassif, whom I met at my first parish. Her faith, her love of music, her commitment to teaching her students and the sacrifices she makes for her family carry me to Jesus. And because she knows there are some nights when I still can’t sleep because I worry, she continues to pray specifically for the things I worry about, carrying me to Jesus in her prayer. Who has carried you to Jesus lately?

And on the other side of the coin, I got a call from a couple whom I had introduced to each other, and who subsequently got married and are living in Main. He called to say that his wife had found a suspicious lump and the mammogram confirmed their fears, and she will undergo cancer surgery on Tuesday morning. That will be followed up with Chemotherapy and radiation treatments. Suddenly I knew that I would be carrying them to Jesus, in my prayer, and in my support for them on whatever journey is in store for them. Whom are you carrying to Jesus these days? Whose life are you holding carefully, who are you helping to walk, who are you lifting up by your presence?

I was a colicky baby. Make no mistake about it. But what that taught me is one of the great truths of life – we have all been carried by love to God. No matter how much we buy into that American “rugged individual’ thing, we have all been carried in our journey. We all have been surrounded by loving hands and hearts that desire to bring us to God. We call that the communion of Saints – that great company of those who have gone before us, but still are carrying us in their love.