Welcome to the 16th issue of the Fit Shepherds’ newsletter. Today’s issue touches on an important aspect of our lives that rarely gets talked about: healing. Can those who are suffering in various ways — through anxiety, depression, chronic illnesses, childhood traumas, etc. — be healed? There’s various medicines that can help people cope with different kinds of sufferings or illnesses, of course. So there’s healing that way. But there’s also healing that can occur through Christ’s mercy and love for us. And that involves faith. Faith in Jesus. Faith in your surrender to Him. Faith in constant prayer. Faith in frequent reception of the various sacraments.
In the audio podcast above, Dr. Bob Schuchts, who has a well-respected healing ministry, talks about various aspects of healing, including a really good definition of what healing is, especially in a spiritual context. Dr. Schuchts will be one of the presenters of a healing retreat at St. Isaac Jogues in Hinsdale from Sept. 19-21.
For more info on the retreat, go here; https://jpiihealingcenter.org/events/healing-the-whole-person-hinsdale-il/
The podcast is short, slightly longer than five minutes, but well worth listening to.
+++++++++++++++
Here is what then Cardinal Ratzinger (later Pope Benedict XVI) said in document he wrote, called “Instructions for Prayers for Healing”:
Presuming the acceptance of God's will, the sick person's desire for healing is both good and deeply human, especially when it takes the form of a trusting prayer addressed to God. Sirach exhorts his disciple: «My son, when you are ill, delay not, but pray to God, who will heal you» (Sir 38:9). A number of the Psalms also ask for healing (cf. Ps 6; 37; 40; 87).
Large numbers of the sick approached Jesus during his public ministry, either directly or through friends and relatives, seeking the restoration of health. The Lord welcomes their requests and the Gospels contain not even a hint of reproach for these prayers. The Lord's only complaint is about their possible lack of faith: «If you can! Everything is possible to one who has faith» (Mk 9:23; cf. Mk 6:5-6; Jn 4:48).
Not only is it praiseworthy for individual members of the faithful to ask for healing for themselves and for others, but the Church herself asks the Lord for the health of the sick in her liturgy. Above all, there is the sacrament «especially intended to strengthen those who are being tried by illness, the Anointing of the Sick.» «The Church has never ceased to celebrate this sacrament for its members by the anointing and the prayer of its priests, commending those who are ill to the suffering and glorified Lord, that he may raise them up and save them.»
Immediately before the actual anointing takes place, in the blessing of the oil, the Church prays: «Make this oil a remedy for all who are anointed with it; heal them in body, in soul, and in spirit, and deliver them from every affliction» and then, in the first two prayers after the anointing, the healing of the sick person is requested. Since the sacrament is a pledge and promise of the future kingdom, it is also a proclamation of the resurrection, when « there shall be no more death or mourning, crying out or pain, because the old order has passed away» (Rev 21:4).
++++++++++++++++
Prayer for healing:
My Lord, you are all-powerful, you are God, you are Father.
We beg you through the intercession and help of the archangels Michael, Raphael, and Gabriel for the deliverance of all who are enslaved by the evil one.
All saints of heaven, come to our aid:
From anxiety, sadness and obsessions, we beg you, free us, O Lord.
From hatred, fornication, envy, we beg you, free us, O Lord.
From thoughts of jealousy, rage, and death, we beg you, free us, O Lord.
From every thought of suicide and abortion, we beg you, free us, O Lord.
From every form of sinful sexuality, we beg you, free us, O Lord.
From every division in our family and every harmful friendship, we beg you, free us, O Lord.
From every sort of spell, witchcraft, and every form of the occult, we beg you, free us, O Lord.
Lord, you who said, "I leave you peace, my peace I give you," grant that, through the intercession of the Virgin Mary, we may be liberated from every evil spell and enjoy your peace always, in the name of Christ, Our Lord. Amen.
If You Feel Wounded by Something or Someone, Read This