Here's what on tap at St Stephen's:
1. Men's prayer group - Our first meeting is this Saturday, Feb. 19, 11 am, Parish Hall. Meeting will go for about an hour, and is open to all GW and young adult men. (Women's group - meets Thursdays, 6:30 pm, Newman Center)
2. Bible study - Sundays, basement of rectory, 2-3 pm. We will discuss the readings for that Sunday, and how they apply to GW students and young adults.
3. "One wild ride: my vocation story". I will give a talk after the 5:30 and 7:30 Masses in the Parish Hall this Sunday night about conversion and service. Stories from my college, seminary, and service experiences that are pretty wild!
4. Free dinner - Thursday, Feb. 24, 5:30 pm, Parish Hall. McFadden's restaurant is providing dinner for the first 60 people who show up. Also, we will raffle off more gift certificates!
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This past Sunday night, we had discussions on the healing power of Christ. We looked at 3 scenes from the Gospel when Jesus heals others, and compared them to how He can heal us. Here are some things we looked at.
Firstly, the blind man at Jericho (Mk 10:46-52). "What do you want me to do for you" is what Christ asks the man. Why? Jesus knows he wants to see. Like us, he wants the man to state his specific request to show that he believes Jesus can heal him of it. Jesus says the same thing to you and me: 'What do you want me to do for you?'
Secondly, the paralytic man (Mk 2:1-12). The absolute urgency of this man's friends to bring him to Jesus- they remove the roof and lower him down to the Lord! Do we have the same urgency to be healed by Christ? Or, have we resigned ourselves to being paralyzed by certain sins? We might think 'even the Lord can't heal this wound, or get rid of this sin'.
Thirdly, the woman with the hemorrhage (Lk 8:43-48). This woman had suffered for 12 years from hemorrhaging, and "no one had been able to cure her". Then, she simply touches Christ's garment and she is healed "at that moment". The absolute primacy of the healing power of Jesus Christ! He alone can heal us in ways that no one or thing can.
So, what are our wounds? Do they go back 12 years (or more)? Sins, habits, vices? Problems with family or friends? Hatred? Anger? Rejection? Loneliness? Fear? Tragedy? Illness? Ultimately, all wounds are the result of sin, either our own sins or those of others.
How have we tried to heal them? Through other sins? Alcohol or drugs? Through psychology (which can be healing if rooted in Christ)? As more than one psychologist has admitted, 'we don't have the tools that priests do'.
How can Christ heal our wounds? Primarily through His priests in the sacraments (especially Confession, Anointing, and the Eucharist), spiritual direction, and healing ministries; through worship, His Word, prayer, community, friends, family, service, and humor (don't forget: He gave us all our senses of humor).
Christ's healings from the Gospel (and in our lives) are signs of the coming of the Kingdom. Through them, He announces a more radical healing: victory over sin and death through His Passion, Death, and Resurrection. And, just as in the sacraments, He brings about extraordinary grace through ordinary matter (spittle, e.g.).
As we said the other night, when He heals someone internally (forgives sins, e.g.), it is a greater miracle than walking on water or feeding the 5,000. In other words, He can perform a miracle in you or me by healing our internal wounds that would be greater than any external miracle He performed 2000 years ago.
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Questions /comments
1. From those who were at the discussions: feedback from the other night, thoughts, comments, questions?
2. From all others: thoughts, comments, questions?
6 comments:
Hey Greg --
The one thing that's still rattling round my mind about Sunday's talk -- was the question from the story of the blind beggar. When Jesus asks him, "What do you want from me?" This question stops me in my tracks -- because I have no idea for what I should ask. And I've found that this lack of clarity has made effective prayer really difficult -- b/c I wander all over the place trying to find out what I should be seeking.
What can I do to find, when I don't know where/how to seek?
Krystyn,
Wow, great question! Thanks for the post. First of all, I would say that your question is one that is normally best answered by a priest/ spiritual director who knows you. If you don't know of a good priest around, I can help you find one.
Secondly, you can pray to the Holy Spirit for clarity (see Romans 8:26-27). Be open, patient, and confident that He will begin to reveal to you what your heart is desiring from the Lord Jesus.
Let's say it's the issue of your personal vocation (as an example). Maybe that's something you can specifically talk with Christ about. Jesus: "Krystyn, what do you want me to do for you?" K: "Lord, I really want you to show me what you are calling me to do. I am open to whatever it is. Just please show me."
This has been my own personal prayer for a long time; especially in the area of God's will / vocation, it can get downright frustrating. But, God will ultimately show each and every one of us what He is calling us to do, as He graciously has done in my life.
A regular examination of conscience can help, too. I mentioned some examples the other night: "Lord, please help me to stop gossiping at work...forgive my neighbor...grow in chastity...stop being envious of those around me...grow in humility...be more patient..." etc.
Actually, our moral life is usually where the Holy Spirit begins to give us clarity in terms of our wounds. If there are mortal sins in our lives, we need to ask Christ to root those out first and foremost. Those are more obvious (like the man's blindness) than our venial sins; there can be venial sins of which we may not be aware for many years.
This is where regular Confession comes in so well. It can be a great source of clarity in our moral lives. That would be another great recommendation for you or anyone. In other words, sincere, regular Confessions root out the obvious (mortal) sins, and begin to reveal and root out the less obvious (venial) sins.
Through this amazing Sacrament, Christ begins to show us, with His Divine Mercy, how many weaknesses we have. At the same time, we begin to ask Him for strength in specific ways ("Lord, help me to stop gossiping" etc.).
Finally, you can re-read my original post if that helps. I put some specific areas of wounds that we all have, and can help you and others to pinpoint what you need from the Divine Physician. It might be a longer process than those in the Gospel, but He WILL provide clarity and healing. "God will provide"
Not so long ago, I had an issue come up at work. Everyone at work needed me to solve this problem and quick. They were counting on me. I really felt the pressure. Time was of the essence. After one full day investigating the problem I left work knowing that I was no closer to solving the problem than when I came in that morning. The next day, after I dropped my kids off at school, I stopped by the church to pray before the Lord in the tabernacle. I remember praying "Lord, I'm sorry to bother you with my problem, but I really need Your help. If it be Your will, please open my eyes and my mind so that I can fix this problem at work. Help me, Lord, that if I should fail, to know that You love me and help me be strong and lose hope or faith".
Two hours later, I solved my work problem! For me, this seemed like a miracle! I truly believe that it was the Lord that opened my mind and allowed me to solve that problem. There's no way I did it on my own!
I've struggled for a while about how I should pray. Am I asking for too many things when I pray? Am I offering enough prayers of thanksgiving? Should I be praying more for forgiveness?
I know that God knows what I want and He knows what I need better than I. Sometimes I think that I don't pray well or that I shouldn't ask for His help. The story of the blind man calling out to Jesus for help always reminds me that God is listening. He will stop and help, but He wants us to shout for help. I mean think about it, I'm sure Jesus passed plenty of people that needed His help. The blind man cried out 'JESUS!!!'. We can't be afraid to shout to the Lord for His help.
How bad do I want the Lord's help? Do I expect God to just help me because I know that He knows what I need? I think so long as we remember to say "Your will, not mine, be done" and we trust that God will give us exactly what we need, even if our prayers seem to go unanswered. He hears us and will give us only what is good.
Cool story and great points, Ty. You're right, the people from the Gospel healings, like the blind men, were people of prayer. They called on the Lord and He answered.
Prayer comes from faith. As we said the other night, these three people whom Jesus healed were people of faith: "your faith has saved you".
While it may take longer for us than with the blind man, the paralytic, or the woman with the hemorrhage, ultimately, the Lord rewards us for our faith and prayer: "If you remain in me and my words remain in you, you may ask for whatever you please and you will get it" (Jn 15:7).
Ted,
Nice pick-up on the *3* stories. I made a list of 12 (another cool biblical number!) stories, and simply picked three. There are more than 12 written in the Gospels, and I'm sure there were many more not written down.
I have run into the story of the woman with the hemorrhage quite a bit, but mainly in a retreat setting. Just last weekend, we used it on a retreat with 1500 youth. We told the story, and then had a procession of the monstrance which contained the exposed Blessed Sacrament (Eucharist).
It was done in such a way that it was really Jesus processing through the arena. A deacon carried the monstrance with certain garments that took him out of the equation. His garments became Christ's garments.
So, when the Lord walked through the huge crowd for about an hour, many youth reached out to touch His garments. It was a very powerful and healing moment for those who did what the hemorrhaging woman did. It was an incredible hour for me because I was in the procession, and saw the hundreds of kids in tears, praising God, and calling out the name of Jesus. It was way cool!
Finally, the woman's story is within another healing story (Jairus' daughter), so it might not always get top billing. I know I'm going to preach on it if I get the chance!
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