Be open to God's healing presence among us

Prayer for the Day

My prayer today is to be open to God’s healing presence in my life so that I might be that healing embrace to others.

Rosary Intentions

Immaculate Heart of Mary,
Pray for us who have recourse to thee!

I pray today for all priests.  Without priests, there is no Eucharist. I pray for those priests who have fallen into grave sins…that they may find reconciliation with God through penance.  I pray for their victims…that they may find peace through God’s justice.  I pray that many holy young men discern a call to the priesthood who can be God’s instruments in healing the Church.  Amen.

Reflection

After reading Luke, Chapter 13, verses 10 to 17 tonight, I am tempted to wish, “If only we could have Jesus walking among us to bless and heal all those in misery and pain today...”

But then again, perhaps the Gospel story isn’t really about Jesus’ healing action at that moment in history as much as it is about how, by Jesus’ example, we might choose to respond to those who are suffering and in need in our world today.

We are reminded in Paul’s letter to the Romans (Romans 8:12-17), “God’s Spirit joins with our spirit to declare that we are God’s children…we are heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ…sharing in Christ’s suffering and sharing in Christ’s glory.” If we are truly one with God’s Spirit through our Baptism, then we are called to be the presence of God in our world today.

So as God’s children and heirs we are sent forth as images of the God presence in today’s world; to be Christ in our midst.

I know that there are times when I feel at a loss as to how I might be of comfort to another; the suffering seems overpowering. It is then that I realize that I am not alone, and I do not need to ‘figure it out by myself’. In fact, a bit further into Paul’s letter, we are reminded: “The Spirit, too, comes to help us in our weakness. For we don’t know how to pray…but the Spirit expresses our pleas…And God, who knows everything in our hearts, knows perfectly well what the Spirit is saying in us.”(Romans 8:26-27)

Perhaps if we allow God’s spirit into our quiet spaces, we can accept the call to be the healers of those in pain by our loving embrace; the ‘pray’-ers and ‘do’-ers who manifest hope by our caring presence in the midst of hopelessness; the listeners and comforters of those overwhelmed by their feelings of grief and sorrow.