This past Monday, July 6, 2026, I went for a knee replacement surgery. Anticipation of what to expect before that was really driving me crazy. The day came and next thing I know I’m in recovery. It’s six days since the surgery. The first 24 hours was really rough. But here I am coming up to almost a week, I am starting to feel better. Thankfully, I have my beautiful wife to help me in my road to recovery. Without her I would be lost. She’s a blessing from God.
The pain and anxiety was not a fun thing. But as I was meditating on it before, and since then, I have reminded myself of the suffering that our Lord went through for our salvation. The agony in the garden, the scourging, and his walk with the cross to Calvary reminds me that the suffering I went through doesn’t compare to what he went through. In Collosions 1:24 we hear Paul say, “Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I’m filling up what is lacking the afflictions of Christ on behalf of his body, which is the church.”
I pray for continued recovery so I can return to serving God and his people as deacon at church. I pray for the doctor and all the medical people that took care of me while I was in the hospital and will continue to take care of me.
Keep me in your prayers.
AMEN. Are you home now? When did you get home? I prayed for your surgery: that the Shekinah glory of the Holy Spirit would hover over the operating table & you & the doctors & everyone involved in your case
ReplyDeleteIn addition to the Scripture verses you cited, this weekend's second reading from the 8th chapter of St. Paul's letter to the Romans (which I proclaimed at 4:30PM Mass a little while ago) is also especially relevant & hopeful: "I consider the present sufferings are as nothing in comparison to the glory to come".
I returned home Monday. Thanks for prayers.
DeleteCorrection: I returned home Wednesday.
DeleteAnonymous
ReplyDeleteJul 14, 2026, 5:25 PM
Praying for your continued recovery, though glad that the stress of surgery itself is in the past. What started in anxiety, now requires patience in recovery.
Yes, suffering and the cross are an inevitable part of the Christian life.
Though in no way can our pain and suffering compare with that of our Lord... as individuals, everyone's threshold for pain (and suffering) is different.
Some people pray for suffering as a means of identifying more with the life of Christ. (I am not that holy.) What I pray for is the grace to handle the pain and sufferings that come my way.
It reminds me of something my Mom would say to us kids growing up. She would say, "offer it up". The first time she said it, she added, "offer it up to the Sacred Heart of Jesus." Back then, I just thought it was a way to "keep us quiet". But later on, I realized the deeper meaning of the words, "offer it up". It's not always easy, but it is a reminder of a sharing we have in the love that Jesus had for us.
Praying for your continued recovery, though glad that the stress of surgery itself is in the past. What started in anxiety, now requires patience in recovery.
ReplyDeleteYes, suffering and the cross are an inevitable part of the Christian life.
Though in no way can our pain and suffering compare with that of our Lord... as individuals, everyone's threshold for pain (and suffering) is different.
Some people pray for suffering as a means of identifying more with the life of Christ. (I am not that holy.) What I pray for is the grace to handle the pain and sufferings that come my way.
It reminds me of something my Mom would say to us kids growing up. She would say, "offer it up". The first time she said it, she added, "offer it up to the Sacred Heart of Jesus." Back then, I just thought it was a way to "keep us quiet". But later on, I realized the deeper meaning of the words, "offer it up". It's not always easy, but it is a reminder of a sharing we have in the love that Jesus had for us.