{"id":8360,"date":"2018-12-24T13:02:13","date_gmt":"2018-12-24T19:02:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/customwordpresssites.com\/mjb\/?p=8360"},"modified":"2026-02-26T13:41:26","modified_gmt":"2026-02-26T19:41:26","slug":"how-do-words-become-flesh","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/customwordpresssites.com\/mjb\/2018\/12\/24\/how-do-words-become-flesh\/","title":{"rendered":"How Do Words Become Flesh?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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photo credit: https:\/\/imagejournal.org\/2018\/12\/24\/how-do-words-become-flesh\/<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

This womb of mine will not know the pangs of pregnancy. My skin will not tighten when another body becomes part of my flesh. My inner organs will not shift to make room; my ankles will not swell; my appetite will not increase because my body is making another person.<\/p>\n

This womb is empty, creased. That potential has been offered upon an altar, a sacrifice. \u201cI vow to God Almighty to live consecrated celibacy for the rest of my life and into the next,\u201d I once proclaimed in front of\u00a0my Franciscan sisters, family and friends, surrounded by statues of saints, standing firm. I have vowed to keep this womb empty so that I can live a life of boundless love, devoted service and deep prayer<\/p>\n

How do you pray?<\/em><\/p>\n

Do you pray with hands folded?<\/em><\/p>\n

Do you air out your words on the line? Do you clip them down one by one, and then let them dance in the breeze until they are fresh, light? . . .<\/em><\/p>\n

[This is the beginning of an essay I wrote for Good Letters- The Image Journal blog.<\/a><\/em>\u00a0<\/em>Continue reading\u00a0here<\/a>.]<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"This womb of mine will not know the pangs of pregnancy. My skin will not tighten when another body becomes part of my flesh. My inner organs will not shift to make room; my ankles will not swell; my appetite will not increase because my body is making another person. This womb is empty, creased....","protected":false},"author":4071079,"featured_media":8365,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_kad_blocks_custom_css":"","_kad_blocks_head_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_body_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_footer_custom_js":"","episode_type":"","audio_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"_kad_post_classname":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6469729,2178641],"tags":[20271,214,789,401,1765074,686,13960,914639,24737,10234,216926,329309,57617,155153357],"series":[698756626],"class_list":["post-8360","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-arts-and-activism","category-prayer-and-spirituality","tag-celibacy","tag-christianity","tag-creativity","tag-faith","tag-good-letters","tag-image","tag-incarnation","tag-magnificat","tag-mary","tag-pregnancy","tag-womanhood","tag-womb","tag-word-of-god","tag-words-become-flesh","series-messy-jesus-business"],"acf":[],"episode_featured_image":"https:\/\/customwordpresssites.com\/mjb\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/The_science_and_art_of_midwifery_1891_14786032813-182x300.jpg","episode_player_image":"https:\/\/customwordpresssites.com\/mjb\/wp-content\/plugins\/seriously-simple-podcasting\/assets\/images\/no-album-art.png","download_link":"","player_link":"","audio_player":false,"episode_data":{"playerMode":"dark","subscribeUrls":{"apple_podcasts":{"key":"apple_podcasts","url":"","label":"Apple Podcasts","class":"apple_podcasts","icon":"apple-podcasts.png"},"stitcher":{"key":"stitcher","url":"","label":"Stitcher","class":"stitcher","icon":"stitcher.png"},"google_podcasts":{"key":"google_podcasts","url":"","label":"Google Podcasts","class":"google_podcasts","icon":"google-podcasts.png"},"spotify":{"key":"spotify","url":"","label":"Spotify","class":"spotify","icon":"spotify.png"}},"rssFeedUrl":"https:\/\/customwordpresssites.com\/mjb\/feed\/podcast\/messy-jesus-business","embedCode":"

How Do Words Become Flesh?<\/a><\/blockquote>