THE CROSS AND LAMININ

By Sister Nancy Linenkugel

It was a strange Easter this spring 2020 due to Covid-19 with churches closed and only TV-liturgies to experience in our solitary residences.  Even Pope Francis was a faithful yet lonely image offering Mass in a deserted St. Peter Square and Basilica.  Images of Easter filled our minds largely from memory since Ash Wednesday on February 26, 2020 occurred barely ahead of the personal distancing/working from home/activity lock-down orders we’ve all experienced in an effort to prevent the spread of the virus as much as possible.  The phrase, “We’re Easter people” took on extra importance as we heard plenty of times, “Church buildings are closed, so now we have to be the Church.”

St. Paul tells us, “Before anything was created, he existed, and he holds all things in unity.”                        (Col. 1: 17)

LAMININ GLYCOPROTEIN is the cell adhesion molecule of tissue proteins.  We can think of Laminin as the “rebar” of the human body, similar to the steel bars or grids buried in concrete to reinforce it.

Laminin strengthens our cells and is the glue that holds the body together. Laminin is shaped like a cross in this way:  (see image above)  

There are some 60,000 molecules in the body and this one molecule, Laminin, has the job to hold it together.

Without Laminin, the body would fall apart. 

Conclusion:  Laminin, the cross-shaped “stuff” that holds the human body together, unites us in a special way to Christ’s passion.

Indeed, “… he holds all things in unity.”  (Col. 1: 17)

The four arms bind to other molecules.  The three shorter arms bind to other Laminin molecules.

The longer arm binds to cells, which helps anchor the actual organs to the membranes.

We all carry crosses in our daily lives and ministries, including enduring the Covid-19 precautions.  I especially think of the residents in Rosary Care Center and in Our Lady of Grace who have been so faithful about distancing, about not going to the chapel or dining room or Evergreen Room (activity space), and about following precautions simply to preserve life.  As difficult as those things have been, of course these are nothing like the cross Jesus carried for us.  From the above information about Laminin, we now know that the cross is within us and is actually part of our genetic make-up.