Tag: #pride

Slay the Dragon

Today is the memorial of St. George.  Born in 280 A.D., he is the patron saint of England. However, St. George is best known for the Golden Legend, which is the slaying of a dragon and saving the maiden from harm. 

A version of the legend goes that in a city in North Africa, there was a body of water inhabited by a dragon.  In order to appease the dragon, the townspeople offered said dragon two sheep per day.  Some versions indicate that the town ran out of sheep, while other legends state the ritual changed to include a sheep and a child.  In either case, eventually, this became the fate of the king’s daughter. She was to sacrifice herself for the protection of the town.   While she prepared to offer herself, George passed by and killed the dragon with a single strike from his lance.  That gesture is symbolic of faith triumphing over evil.

While the legend is romantic and chivalrous, St. George’s death is horrific and tragic. He was martyred by Diocletian when he professed his faith in God and renounced Roman deities.  Before his torture and beheading, George gave all his possessions to the poor.  

Because of Georges’ valiant behavior (fighting evil, protecting, women, generosity to the poor, deep faith, etc.), he became quite popular in Europe in the 10th Century. During the Crusades, St. George was transformed into a holy warrior.  King Richard I of England (“the Lionheart”) invoked him as the protector of soldiers and in 1348, King Edward III established the Order of the Knights of St. George.

Still, St. George is most associated with dragons and dragons are the stuff of fairy tales.  C.K. Chesterton presents a different view by stating, “Fairy tales do not tell children the dragons exist. Children already know that dragons exist. Fairy tales tell children the dragons can be killed.”  St. George provides a shining example that dragons can be defeated.

“Fairy tales do not tell children the dragons exist. Children already know that dragons exist. Fairy tales tell children the dragons can be killed.” 

– C.K. Chesterton

Fr. Michael gave a great homily about this at mass this morning, thus inspiring me to reflect. Do dragons exist?  Yes, dragons do exist.   But what are dragons?  Dragons can be anything with which you struggle, like fear, depression, anxiety, grief, anger, frustration, or sadness. Your dragons might look like illness, pain, and suffering.  Perhaps your dragons are breathing the fire of hatred and mistrust, or deception and pride.  Our dragons can embody the seven deadly sins of pride, greed, wrath, envy, lust, gluttony, and sloth. 

We all have dragons, multiple dragons.  Some of us might even have a Hydra that torments us. When we cut off one head and think we have triumphed, that head grows back, and it is worse than before.  St. George should inspire us to fight our dragons, to not lose hope, to trust, and have faith in God.  St. George does teach that the dragons can be destroyed.  But we cannot destroy those dragons alone.  We must ask God for help.

Temptation can be a dragon. We found this $1 bill stuffed in a tree in the form of a bird. One might be tempted to take it rather than leave its beauty for others to see.

 Today, trust God, ask Him for help, and slay the dragon.  And today, please pray for me and I will continue to pray for you.   

Wounds

I had some foot surgery just over two weeks ago. When I scheduled the surgery, I didn’t really think much of it. It was just routine surgery to correct a joint impingement, no big deal. Just a couple of days off my feet, no cast, no boot, just some rest and reduced activity. It was outpatient, scheduled at 8:30am, and I was home by 12:30pm.

Ready for surgery

My son drove me home and I propped my foot up. I was still a bit groggy from the anesthesia and I dozed on and off on the sofa until the painkiller wore off. Once it wore off, well let’s just say that I finally realized the impact of my surgery. My foot hurt. And it hurt pretty badly. So, I decided to take a look at said foot. It was wrapped in a bloody bandage that I was not allowed to remove for 5 days. And the really great news (this is sarcasm) was that I was not allowed to shower. Not allowed to shower?!?! Really? I shower daily, sometimes 2 or 3 times a day. This was going to be rough.

My bloody bandaged foot

I know you have to clean and dress your wounds in order for them to heal. But that bandage would be staying in place until I went back to the doctor for my post-op follow-up. But as I was pondering cleaning and dressing wounds in order for them to heal, I realized that everybody has wounds beyond the physical, into the mental, emotional, and spiritual.

At some point in life, everyone has experienced some deep injury that has caused heart-wrenching pain. Everybody has been wounded. But a lot of time we choose to deny that these wounds exist, or we ignore them in hopes that they will simply go away. Other times we throw salt on those wounds and exacerbate them to a point where they cause greater agony now than when first inflicted. And sometimes we just slowly pick at them until they become raw and unbearable, never able to properly heal.

The day the bandage came off…gross, I know

Everybody deals with wounds differently. Rarely do we care for those wounds properly. This could be caused by fear, pride, weakness, vanity, anxiety, arrogance, lack of confidence, and the list goes on.

What I learned today is that we need to care for those wounds, even if that means we have to ask for help in doing so. Healing of wounds requires compassion, honesty, trust and vulnerability, a willingness to open yourself up to others and connect. It also requires patience and understanding and the ability to forgive – to forgive others and to forgive yourself.

Healing, but still looking gross

Today, be kind to yourself, be open to being vulnerable, be patient and practice forgiveness, and may any old wounds with which you may be struggling be healed. And today, please pray for me and I will continue to pray for you.

Looking better, almost healed.