“In this life you will have trouble, but I have overcome the world.” (Jn. 16:33) It is useful to consider the connections between sickness and sin when we hear about Jesus’ miracles of healing. Physical healing enables us to live our lives the way we were meant to. So long as we are suffering from some kind of illness, it is as though we are prevented from being fully alive – captive in some ways. Sin is not just a spiritual illness that prevents us from living our lives freely and completely, it is also really connected to physical death. The remedies, or the medicine that brings healing is certainly helped by science, but more importantly has to do with God’s mercy. Any sickness that we experience, be it physical or spiritual – any suffering that plagues us – can become an occasion to turn our hearts more completely towards God and receive his mercy and healing. Perhaps that is why tears represent the most effective means of healing. So long as those tears are from the heart and directed to God’s mercy, we are then in a position to receive the most essential medicine: God’s merciful love.
Thursday of the Twelfth Week in Ordinary Time
The Christian life is not something we can get used to, really. As long as we are in the world we are pilgrims in a foreign land. What Jesus is teaching us to leave behind are the vices that make us feel like we are more at home in this life than we would be in Heaven. We are constantly challenged to set our sights on the greatest gifts that can only come from God. It is certainly by His grace that we can realize every day how whatever we depend upon in this life will pass away. The habit of prayer is so important because, even if it seems unnatural at times, it trains us to let go and detach from our worldly existence. Without that detachment, we cannot experience the true gift of freedom because we continue to fret about things that in the end cannot matter because they won’t exist in eternity. “Help us know the shortness of our life, that we may gain wisdom of heart.” (Ps 90:12)
Tuesday of the Twelfth Week in Ordinary Time
A pearl is very strong and hard. It is a beautiful treasure to behold, and it is symbolic of the revelation we have received. The Word of God is this precious pearl, and our faith enables us to become stewards of that Word. Distributing the Word does not come with any risks for the Word itself. Nothing can diminish the value of the Word, nothing can destroy it. However, we may risk something by spreading the Word – we could be trampled underfoot by swine or chewed up by the dogs who hold the Word in contempt. Jesus wants us to be aware of that danger, “like sheep among wolves.” We shouldn’t be afraid that someone else might destroy the Word or its value – they cannot. We should be aware, however, that living our lives with and for the Word might put us in dangerous situations. We will have to suffer for the Word, but there is no need to continue putting the Word before those who openly despise and oppose it. Grace comes to help a nature wounded by pride – it urges those souls to continue seeking truth.