Manifest
Author: Andrew Comiskey
January 08, 2022
‘To make obvious or clear
to the eye of one’s heart’ (Gr. epiphany).
True desires of the heart
may languish until someone manifests what we most value. Jesus drew the
searching Magi like a magnet; returning to a people dwelling in darkness, the
trio manifested Jesus to every longing heart.
Who surfaced subterranean
desires in you? I refer not to idols that enslaved but icons who liberated us. Whose
face manifested the Savior in such a way that your ‘ache’ found a satisfying
end? Who called you out of despair into the Divine?
Name them. Praise God for
them. Counter post-Christmas blues with the truth of them. Rejoice. Jesus is
alive and well on this fallen planet.
Ever grateful to Annette
for summoning my manhood, I am particularly grateful at onset of ’22 for these
three ‘manifestations.’
Father Paul Check:
Currently pastor/director of the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Wisconsin,
Paul and I met shortly after he took over Courage International at the passing
of founder Fr. John Harvey. I was on brink of becoming Catholic, and Fr. Paul
shepherded me wisely. He guided me while still honoring what I had accomplished
in the evangelical world (Desert Stream started the same year as Courage,
1980). That’s not easy to do! How do you love a neophyte with respect? Paul did
and he never stopped. I love him more today than yesterday because he still sheds
the steady light of truth after a decade of personal gaps. He persists in
encouraging this illiterate Catholic! (I’m now barely literate and hope to die
semi-literate.) Thanks for manifesting Jesus, Father Paul.
Christopher West. No-one
conveys Pope St. John Paul II better in my book (however unreadable) than this
ageless advocate. (How old? 25-55? Unknowable!) No-one manifests the
transforming truth of Theology of the Body better than Christopher. Face it:
bright, well-versed Catholic teachers aren’t known for their candor. But West
nails the ‘personalist’ philosophy of Pope St. JP II by disclosing personal ruts and
how Jesus (through His papal servant) reveals what is most authentic and noble
beneath it all. Christopher blazed a path for me to give truthful witness in
Catholic settings. He also makes me want to read TOB again and get saved.
Again.
I had an epiphany,
honestly, during the Intl. TOB Congress in Philly, 2014. West asked me to speak
a bit there and the Spirit made clear to me that these were my people, the best
setting for Living Waters in the Catholic world: a homecoming, of sorts. At the
end of this month, we fulfill a 15-year-longing to do just that with our Living Waters Training—aka ‘Integration’ course--at West’s TOB Institute. Christopher, thanks for your brilliant,
humble witness and invitation.
Cheryl Allen. I love this
woman. I’ve known her for years as gracious pioneer (the bride wears boots) of
the Pasadena House of Prayer. She had laid a good base for this prayer furnace
when we moved away from CA to the House of Prayer in Kansas City. She has since
mothered a beautiful 24/7 ‘home’ where Christians of all stripes gather to burn
bright for Jesus. She combines the best of a bright, stylish, embracing California
‘spirit’ with a call to holiness and moral transformation that is
uncompromising. I am in awe of her leadership: a willingness to discipline wayward
sheep while prioritizing space for the willing weak to become strong in Jesus.
She invited us last year
to dig a deep well of ‘Living Waters’ at PIHOP and we are digging it! Our Living Waters Training in April, near Pasadena, is a result of her ‘yes’ to heal the unclean
and divided. Cheryl, you shine bright for us. Thanks.
Each day, remember the
ones who manifest Jesus to you, full of grace and truth. Give thanks for each
one. It breaks heaviness and invites joy.
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