MAKING ROOM FOR THE HEALER - Liz O'Neill

Many years ago, I asked Sr. Briege McKenna, a Saint Clare sister who has a gift of healing, a question which you may have pondered in one form or another: should we ask God to heal someone? Underlying this question are many other concerns about faith, raising false hopes, and more. Sr. Briege responded with her own question: If you knew someone who was in desperate need of healing and you met Jesus in the street, would you ask him to heal them? It seemed to me that the answer hinged a lot on how much I cared for the person. The more I loved the person, the more likely that I would directly ask Jesus to heal them. I would probably pour out the whole story and beg him to act! In the Gospels, all of the people who came to Jesus seeking healing on behalf of someone they loved did just that.

I had my answer. We ask Jesus for what we see the person needs, and then we leave it up to him to respond as he sees best. Each of us needs healing in one form or another. When we think of sickness, we usually think of its physical, or possibly emotional, manifestations. But all of us, if we are honest, know that we also need healing in our spiritual lives. Sin wounds others and it wounds us. In St. Mark’s Gospel, Jesus talks about helping sinners like a physician coming to help the sick.

“We ask Jesus for what we see the person needs, and then we leave it up to him to respond as he sees best.”

Our parish Healing Ministry grew out of our pastor’s desire to see people receive healing in every part of their lives. In 2017, inspired by his own experience of healing through the ministry of Dr. Bob Schuchts and the John Paul II Healing Center, Fr. Steve began sending parishioners to the Center to be trained in the ministry of healing prayer. The John Paul II Healing Center draws its view of the human person from St. John Paul II’s “Theology of the Body.” They focus on the whole person, asking God to heal in whatever way He wishes, be it physical, emotional, psychological or spiritual, recognizing that each of these realms are not separate but intimately connected.

Every two months, we have a Saturday evening Healing Encounter that is open to anyone who wishes to attend. We describe it as “An Encounter with the Healing Lord.” The evening is both an opportunity to enter into prayerful and reverent adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, and a chance to receive prayer either during or after the service through individual prayer ministry.

We have also set up a system to offer individual prayer ministry appointments with teams of two people trained in this ministry. Several days a week, it is possible to make an appointment where you can receive prayer for healing. We have been blessed to pray over many people who have come for prayer for every sort of distress that human beings experience. Many times we have seen God respond in a way we did not anticipate. We have seen dramatic physical healing, gentle emotional healing, and the healing of trauma and neglect from childhood. We have witnessed remarkable breakthroughs in spiritual growth and in relationship with God. We encourage those who come for prayer to enter with the same spirit as those who approached Jesus in the Gospels: expectant faith and a willingness to go where He wants to take us.

Speaking personally, as one who has both received and given prayer for healing, I can say that I am constantly surprised and delighted by God’s response to our prayers. Jesus wants us to come to him with our problems, and he enters into our lives when we ask him to. If you think you would benefit from healing prayer, please step out in faith and make an appointment or attend one of our Healing Encounters.

- Liz O’Neill is Coordinator of Healing Ministry at Church of the Resurrection.

ARTICLE ARTWORK: CHRIST HEALING THE SICK

Arguably one of the finest etchings ever made, this work of Rembrandt is also known as “The Hundred Guilder Print.” The work depicts the events of Matthew chapter 19, casting them in the light of verse 2: “And large crowds followed him, and he healed them there.” Characters from throughout the chapter can be seen: the multitudes, pharisees, children, unbelievers, the rich young man, and disciples.

HEALING ENCOUNTER

Though we could not open our April Healing Encounter to the public, it was broadcast on our Resurrection Church YouTube channel. Our next Healing Encounter will be on Saturday, June 6 at 7:00 pm. Godwilling, you will be able to attend in person. If this is not yet possible, we will broadcast the event online.