WEDNESDAY, TWENTY SECOND WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME
Col 1: 1-8; Ps 52: 10-11; Lk 4: 38-44
FEELING THE HEALING
They say a wound is the place where the light enters. Sickness, at times our weakness, is a moment when we can feel the transforming effect of God in a very personal manner. St Paul testifies to this fact when he says that we are strong when we are weak. I think we all will agree that the walls of the hospitals have heard more honest prayers than any church. It is an undeniable fact that the absolute truth of a person most times only appears when severe pain is felt or the real threat of a definite loss is in store. I think it is in the hospitals where the human being removes his mask and shows just who he is in his true essence.
Let me quote what Pope Francis said after he was discharged from the hospital, “In that place of suffering and hope, I was once again able to enjoy the family-like, fraternal, and welcoming atmosphere, which was greatly helpful for my recovery after the operation.” For Pope, his sickness became an occasion where he could feel the fraternal love of the other. Healing doesn’t mean that the damage never existed. It means the damage no longer controls my life.
Healing does not mean that we are not fallen but it means that my fall does not control my rising. We are not to remain in our fallen state. The Lord is waiting just close at hand with his extended hand to lift us. We are called to be on our feet. Humans that we are, we are weak and we fall; we yield to temptation; we commit blunders. But if we choose not to be healed that would be the greatest mistake that we commit. Our Lord is a healing God. He does not take pleasure in our suffering. He does not enjoy us living in guilt for eternity. He is ready to heal us provided we are ready to go to him. The healing starts when I realize that I need help from God. Healing grows when I take my first step towards God. Let us go to God; he will never disappoint us.
Response: I trust in the mercy of God, forever and ever.
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