In a world full of suffering and illnesses, Jesus was the most powerful total Healer. His presence brought hope and salvation to all the afflicted, even as it meant defeat for the Evil One. The healing journey that began on the trail of the proclamation of the Gospel more than two thousand years ago continues today in the whole world. Christ, the compassionate Healer, continues his mission through the Church and all the people of goodwill who care for the sick and the afflicted. Wherever human beings do their best to relieve the pains of their neighbor, Christ is present and active in them as instruments of his healing love. One does not need to be pessimistic to conclude that there is so much suffering in the world. It is a reality as old as mankind itself; a reality as varied as the gradations of gray. We are afflicted by moral, emotional, spiritual, and physical suffering. All these forms of suffering make life miserable –a veritable “Way of the Cross!” Job had all the reasons to complain in the First Reading. Of all types of suffering, the most striking is usually the physical one. It is always a pitiful sight to see cripples, lepers, persons devoured by cancer, people who are blind, maimed, or immobilized for life on their beds or mats. In spite of all the progress of modern medicine, all those struck by sickness still experience a feeling of helplessness and humiliation. The many forms of suffering are still with us, and for all we know, they are here to stay, in ever-renewed and baffling forms. As Christians, we are not the only people who have been mercifully healed by Jesus. We are also sharers in his mission as “the healer” of humankind. As such, we, too, are called to show concern for the ailments afflicting mankind, and to do our best to reduce them. It is also our mission to cast out the devil from our own lives and the lives of others. This commitment of ours will be one of the most effective proclamations of the Good News. It will be one of the clear signs that the Kingdom of God is ever more making inroads in this pain-ridden world of ours.
HOLY SPIRIT: INSPIRE US
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GOD IS CLOSE TO THE BROKENHEARTED AND WE ARE CALLED TO BE INSTRUMENTS OF GOD’S HEALING LOVE
