A little over a week ago I gathered my children around the table and said, "You’re not going to believe what happened last night, Jesus lost a foot,  a hand and one of his arms!"  They were predictably shocked.

West of Denver, at the edge of the foothills, is the Mother Cabrini Shrine.  It is one of my favorite places to go and pray.  Once you make the climb up the mountain, stopping occasionally to pray through the stations of the cross, you encounter a 33 foot tall statue of Jesus.  The symbolism is inspiring.  The statue depicts Jesus looking out over the Denver metroplex.  If you look closely, Jesus is pulling aside part of his garment to reveal his heart to the Mile High City.  I often go there to gain perspective upon the place to which God has called me to serve.

The statue was damaged by a bolt of lightning during a thunderstorm.  When I told my children this, they just rolled their eyes at me for getting them so upset.

I asked, "How is Jesus going to love our city without an arm and hand?  How is he going to give it a hug?"  My oldest daughter exclaimed, "Dad, we are Jesus’ arms!"

(Here is an arial view)

(Here are two of the newspaper articles here and here)