The other day, I wrote a one-page reflection for "The Canticle," the newsbulletin of Divine Mercy Fraternity, Vero Beach, FL., about Lenten Joys (.pdf) - this covered little and big disappointments and how we handle those. And in that article, I wrote "One needs Faith to be healed!"

That may not have been 1000% correct because people who have no Faith are sometimes healed too. That's because Our Lord has love, compassion and mercy and when He sees fit to heal, it really doesn't matter what we believe. But Faith is always a good thing. Faith allows us to have Hope - "Holy Anticipation" - not impatience now, but a humble Faith in God's power and intent.

Those who pray to their God (even if they address Him by a different Name) and who are fervent in their belief in healing - in God's ability and grace to heal illness, a sick heart, a sick mind, and causes in response to various other prayers He hears - I am positive that they are healed too. Good Catholics are people who trust in the Lord. But there are many other Christians who aren't Catholic, who trust Him just as much. And, any person who is suffering through no fault of his or her own, who asks for healing, yes, that person can receive healing also.

In the Gospels, Jesus healed gentiles ... and we know that gentiles in those days weren't part of the Jewish establishment. God may have healed a total stranger, someone who doesn't regularly speak with or to God. Of course for God, no one is a stranger but people have other values and they are often very judgmental. So we need to periodically refresh our Faith.... just as stale bread needs to be dispensed with, and fresh bread will be baked.

Lent is a time to make this happen, this personal renewal. One thing people do not like to do is to make an "Examen." That is what one does to prepare for Reconciliation / Confession, one examines what went wrong. How have we offended the Lord? What did we do this time to increase the distance between us and God? This distance needs to be narrowed again.

Reconciliation is an excellent way to begin the process of healing. If you are afraid to tell the priest everything, don't be. He sits there "in persona Christi" (representing Jesus Christ) with the power to forgive your sins, if you are sincere. Now, if you are not sincere, and what you say will give that away, no doubt, then he could withhold absolution. But if he is a good man, he will try to talk to you to help you out. Maybe in the old days priests got angry once in a while but that has not been my experience in the past 20 years. So stop suffering for nothing when there is a way to be healed. And for those who are not Catholic, I realize that you do not have the Sacrament of Confession, although any priest I know would happily speak with you, if you are sincerely sorry for having offended God you will receive His forgiveness.

There are, however, Catholics who try to cut corners by telling us that they do not need to receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation, as long as they are sorry for having sinned. Well, maybe in a life/death emergency, but this is usually not the case. If you are sincere about wishing to be forgiven, you'll go the extra mile to do it right.

So confessing your sins is really the first step to reconciliation, and then of course, we have to make sure we don't fall into this same sin again. Daily metanoia, daily conversion no matter how difficult, will get one back on the right track. And if you increase your prayer time a little, and put some enthusiasm into it, it will get easier every time. That's because Grace is cumulative... it gets better and better if you keep at it. The key is to keep the internal fires burning, you may recall in my writings that I keep emphasizing having an "internal life of the soul" - seeking our Lord in prayer and in contemplation, and when that becomes a steady part of your life, the Presence of God becomes a true Gift to us. The temptation that bothered us initially, falls away, maybe not entirely but as Faith increases.

Pretty soon, what was begun in Lent, becomes an annual thing - provided we set up a regular prayer time where we meet God one to one. That could be when you receive Him in Holy Communion, or after Mass, when you're back home and you pray for other people.

My thoughts tonight are with Lee Skizenski, SFO, a very active Franciscan who is hospitalized again with blood clots. Blood clots are dangerous things - they can travel to the brain and there do great, and often terminal, damage, so please pray for Lee. She really needs our help.

There are so many people who need our help, so please look at our prayer request page once in a while. Often, would be better. But there are also unspoken intentions, requests for prayer that we cannot place on that page because they are too personal. Please pray for those folks, too. I pray for those, and I hope you will join me by praying for the "unpublished intentions of the day."

Faith is the key to  what we know about God, because other than what Jesus told us about the Father, while He was on earth, we do not know much about God - but what we know, we know in our Hearts. Always give praise to the Father, and do so in the Name of the Son, Jesus. And one can invoke the Blessed Virgin Mary, who is an excellent intercessor for our prayer requests. Likewise with the Angels and Saints. When I say "Saints" I always mean Blesseds and Saints, but we can also pray to those who have gone before us. Especially those whom we knew and loved. Our Faith tells us they are in Heaven with the Lord, now and forever more. Our Faith tells us what we need to know to be better people, always seeking out the Lord, and giving Him the love he has given us. Amen.

May God bless you and keep you.
Peace!

Fred Schaeffer, March 4, 2010

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