| View as a Web Page |
|
Fifth Sunday of Ordinary TimeToday’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.
|
|
