Fr. Duc’s Message of the Week
Dear Parishioners,
One of the worst personality flaws is self-pity. For those who are physically handicapped, self-pity will stunt all development and multiply their disabilities, because they only focus on what they don’t have and ignore all they have. Even for those who are not handicapped, feeling sorry for oneself for whatever reason – being poor, lack of opportunity, bad health, etc. – will never help them overcome that disadvantage, and the burden only gets worse.
On the other hand, focusing all what we do possess to make up for our handicaps or disadvantages will help us overcome them and even achieve the impossible. One such person is Bob Wieland. Bob Wieland lost both his legs to a land mine in Vietnam while trying to save a fellow soldier. As Bob would say about his recovery from his devastating wounds, “I lost my legs, but I didn’t lose my heart.”
Bob began a grueling weight-lifting program and eventually set four world records in power lifting. In 1982, Bob Wieland set a goal to walk across the United States of America—on his hands. It took him almost four years to complete the walk. His purpose was to raise money for programs for Vietnam veterans. When someone asked him what motivated him to set such a tremendous goal, he replied, “To encourage those with legs to take the first step in faith to please God.”
For the blind man Bartimaeus in the gospel for this Sunday, he lost his sight but still used his other faculties well, especially his hearing, speech, and mobility. Most importantly, he did not feel sorry for his blindness and never lost hope. When he opened his hands for handout, his ears never stopped listening for something he did not know.
Then out of the cacophony on the street, he recognized the name of Jesus, the famous healer. Then, no one could stop him from shouting, “Jesus, Son of David! Have pity on me!” Bartimaeus did not pity himself, but he knew he needed pity from Jesus. The crowd tried to shut him up and hands pulled his cloak down. But his voice only became louder. And Jesus heard him, called him over, and cured him.
Had Bartimaeus closed his ears and kept his mouth shut, he would have never been able to see.
Let me tell you about a man who was very much like Bartimaeus. Kyle Maynard was born with a condition called congenital amputation. He has no lower arms and hands, and no lower legs or feet. Kyle’s parents were concerned that their son would face numerous challenges in life. They raised their son to be as independent as possible. When Kyle became a toddler, Kyle’s dad decided that Kyle would have to learn to feed himself. They loved and encouraged their son, but they also let him struggle and fail at simple daily tasks—walking, eating, dressing himself—so that he would learn a sense of determination and responsibility. And when Kyle questioned why he was different or why people stared at him, his grandmother Betty taught him that God had made him special for a reason.
With his family’s encouragement, Kyle began playing football at age eleven, then tried out for the wrestling team. Kyle was extremely strong, but he had some serious challenges wrestling against able-bodied opponents. He lost his first 35 matches, but he didn’t give up. Kyle’s coach came up with new wrestling moves that took advantage of his strength and made it more difficult for his opponents to pin him. Soon, Kyle was winning matches, and eventually finished 12th in the National High School Wrestling Championships.
After graduation, Kyle became a record-setting weightlifter, an extreme athlete, a motivational speaker and a best-selling author. He is also the first quadruple amputee to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro, the fourth highest mountain in the world, without the use of any prosthetic limbs.
As Kyle says, “I believe God made me the way I am in order to show people that there is no amount of adversity that a single person cannot overcome if they trust in themselves and trust in the will of Jesus Christ.”
So, whatever disadvantages or handicaps we have to face, do not let them define who we are, but turn to God for encouragement and guidance and use them as a springboard or a goad to reach for the impossible like Bartimaeus. God never disappoints us.
In the Most Holy Trinity and in solidarity with you all,
Fr. Duc