“Let us hold unwaveringly to our confession that gives us hope, for he who made the promise is trustworthy. We must consider how to rouse one another to love and good works. We should not stay away from our assembly, as is the custom of some, but encourage one another; and this all the more as you see the day drawing near.” (Hebrews 10:23-25)
As I have said on other occasions, ever since encountering disability in my life, I read the Scriptures differently. I seem to home in on those passages that speak to me as I struggle to sanctify my life through my disability (which is the whole purpose of CUSA). Today’s reading from the Letter to the Hebrews led me to pray about hope, about God’s trustworthiness, about love and good works, about the need to encourage others, and about the nearness of “the day.” Those of you who have been members of CUSA with me over the years can surely identify with the fact that these verses really capsulize our apostolate.
It cannot be denied that letter writing is a lost art. Phone calls have become less expensive while postage continues to increase. E-mail is so much quicker than postal correspondence and doesn’t tend to get lost as often as letters seem to get lost in the vast postal system. When I go to the mailbox every day, I expect to find it filled with “junk mail” that usually fills up my trash can. However, when I find a group letter or some other correspondence from a fellow CUSAN, my day is considerably brightened. CUSANS are, by definition, people who rouse others to good works and to love. We do encourage one another in so many different ways. Finally, we are all aware that our “day” is coming. One day we will no longer be isolated or limited by our various disabilities.
When Mrs. Brunner founded this organization in 1947, her intention was not only to break the isolation that she experienced through her chronic condition. She also intended to help others to do the same thing through prayer, sacrifice, and through charity. That charity took the form of letters to others who were in a similar situation.
In 2012 Pope Benedict XVI canonized Anna Schaffer, a German woman who fell into boiling water while working in a laundry. Though doctors performed more than 30 surgical procedures, none of their attempts at skin grafts were successful. She never regained mobility and was confined to her bed for the rest of her life. She spent her days knitting clothes for friends and writing letters. Often unable to sleep because of her pain, she spent much time in prayer. Her devotion to the Sacred Heart and the Blessed Virgin was readily apparent in her writings. She considered her suffering, her writings, and her knitting to be her three keys to heaven. She died in 1925.
Her life’s story makes her a perfect patron of our organization and a living example of Hebrews 10:23-25. Her story is that of a modern day Job. Like Job she never gave up hope that God’s promises to her would be fulfilled.
May our legacy be similar to hers.
Fr. Lawrence Jagdfeld, O.F.M.