Posted by The WORD in other words (2006) by Fr Gil Alejandria SVD – Catholic Trade Manila
When a person grows older, he becomes more conscious of what is happening to his body. He becomes more careful with what he eats, avoiding those that may increase his uric acid, cholesterol, or blood sugar. Whereas before we sought out food in all forms in all its abundant forms to be healthy and strong, now we try to limit our consumption to maintain our well-being. I still remember the “happy hours” spent with friends, partying to our hearts content with plenty of drinks and “pulutan.” Now I am forced to minimize those things, if not avoid them altogether. There comes a time in our life when what we ingest can “defile” us health wise.
I am also reminded of an SVD missionary: Ryu Ishikawa, who is trying a monastic lifestyle. He has minimized his food intake, practically fasting everyday. He said as his body grows weak, he feels his ability to meditate on spiritual things rise to higher levels. His dieting was not due to health concerns, but to ascetic reasons. The flesh is weak, but the spirit is very strong.
Aside from bodily food, man takes many things into his life that determine whether he will be known as a good person or not. Too much materialism, for instance, can make a person too self-centered and leisure oriented. Meanwhile, deficiency in proper values learned in one’s youth can lead to a life of perversion and crime. Much of the evil that happens in our world is the result of “malnourishment” in terms of what is good and true.
As Christians we are challenged to provide good examples and good influences on people around us. This is our mission: to provide the “spiritual food” that will make men strong and healthy to remove evil and promote goodness. To be able to do this, a Christian fills himself regularly with the food that nourishes especially the Holy Eucharist and the Word of God.
