St. Mary’s Spiritual Life Center News

—Father Jeffrey Simmons, Director

This will be a very personal article. Sometimes each of us faces milestones in our lives that are big enough that we need to share on a very personal level. For me, this is one.

For all of you, my friends, who haven’t yet heard, I need to let you know that I have been recently diagnosed with colon cancer. My intestine and one involved lymph node have been surgically removed, but I have at least six lesions on my liver that are inoperable.

The good news is that there have been some dramatic improve-ments in the treatment of colon cancer in recent years. My oncologist tells me he has a good many patients who came in sicker than I was who are going strong five years later. He gives me a 10-15% chance of the cancer disappearing entirely, and I believe the chances are a good deal better as you help me with your prayers.

Some of the best news is that the chemotherapy treatments are not expected to have serious side effects. They should not produce nausea or cause hair loss, and they should leave me with plenty of energy to do my ministry here.

So the bottom line is that I am very much at work.

I should have no trouble conducting the scheduled retreats. Anyone who wants to see me for spiritual direction or counseling should not hesitate to call and set up an appointment. I have a number of outside speaking dates, and am open to other invitations.

I know many of you will want to know how Beverly and I are doing emotionally. While neither of us are happy about the diagnosis, we are managing pretty well. The three things that make it tolerable are our Christian faith, the support and prayers of our friends, and the fact that we have a 30 year habit of love and good communication. Without them, we would be in serious trouble.

I am also feeling a strange sense of anticipation. I am more and more curious about how Saint Paul, when faced with a “thorn in the flesh,” saw it as a source of spiritual power:

“Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”
                                                                       —2 Cor 12:9-10(NIV)

I have never had the kind of “thorn in the flesh” that would let me experience the power Saint Paul was talking about. Now I do. I anticipate that because of it the next phase of my ministry could be the best. I ask your prayers that that will be true.