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Catholic Charities USA



Fifth Sunday of Ordinary Time

Readings of the Day 
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Today's responsorial psalm triumphantly exclaims "Praise
the Lord, who heals the brokenhearted." Reflecting upon
God's healing presence I am reminded of how multifaceted it is,
and how I can too easily slip into the belief that God just heals by
meeting the needs for which we are asking. In today's Gospel
those that presented themselves to Jesus were healed of their physical
ailments, diseases and the like, but we know this is too small of a
framework to fully capture His healing presence and love. Every day we
see so many that come to us in pain and suffering with no end in
sight. They utter many phrases similar to Job, and we can wonder where
is God's healing presence here? 

Expanding our view of healing beyond our expectations we can see His
healing and the Lord's presence in many different ways. Healing
may come in the form of our solidarity with others. Not that we can
fix their situation or even find the resources they need, but to be
there for them in a difficult moment. To quietly sit and recognize God
in them and have them know they are valued. If we humbly open
ourselves to it, we also know encountering the brokenness of others
and seeing their resilience can provide us with a lot of healing as
well. 

We also know that God does not always make everything right
immediately; He often asks us to enter the healing process with Him.
He asks us to enter the struggle and trust Him in whatever form He may
act. We need to be open to these actions and look for the myriad of
ways He brings out a greater good than the initial expectations we
brought Him. Otherwise, we are losing out on the many graces and joys
of His plan.  

The Lord's presence is much greater than we know, and so I pray
we spend time discerning God's healing in our own lives as well
as those we journey alongside at our agencies. Let us give ourselves
the gift of reflecting upon how we let ourselves be healed and how we
participate in the healing of others. And when God's healing
presence is hidden by our humanity, Lord please grant us the gift of
faith to trust in You.  

Michael Smith is Chief Program Officer at Catholic Charities Maine and
a member of the CCUSA Management and Administration Steering
Committee.

 

 



Catholic Charities USA

2050 Ballenger Avenue
Suite 400
Alexandria, Virginia 22314
703-549-1390

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