Healing & Hope: Jesus The Redeemer

In between working on a number of writing projects and following up on some meetings I had in recently with potential writing clients in my local area, I paused for my daily devotion to praying the Chaplet of the Divine Mercy at 3 PM. In addition, I follow the Chaplet up with the Stations of the Cross and some other prayers. It was a Thursday afternoon, and often times, when I can do so, I include the praying of the Holy Rosary at that time as well on Thursdays.

On other days of the week I pray the Holy Rosary at other points during the day depending on my obligations for the day, but Thursdays I am generally in my home office writing or researching for news articles. I prefer to include the Rosary during the three o’clock hour prayers to reflect on the Luminous Mysteries right after the Stations of the Cross. It is a practice that was inspired in me from The Holy Spirit and it is an incredible journey from the Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ through his Baptism in the Jordan and straight through his entire public ministry.

That type of prayer and reflection ends of course with the Fifth Luminous Mystery which is the Institution of the Eucharist, which I find so profound and awe-inspiring to reflect on that gift of the Eucharist at The Last Supper which transpired on a Thursday all those years ago.

However, this particular Thursday my reflection took me to a whole other place that I thought I would share with this audience. My prayer and reflection centered on the role of Jesus as Healer during the Third Luminous Mystery, The Proclamation of the Kingdom, where Jesus goes through the region of Galilee preaching and teaching that the Kingdom of God is at hand. The repentance aspect of this ministry and the message of the mercy of God was a profoundly different concept to the people of the region at that time.

When I pray and reflect on this sacred mystery of the Rosary, I often tend to think of all the ways that Jesus as Healer brought comfort, encouragement, and joy to the people. I think of Jesus healing the blind, the lame, the deaf, the handicapped, and the lepers. I think of the joy he brought to so many people and to the healing hope he provided to sinners and people on the fringes of society. I also think of the healing of children that he provided and the parables in which he used real life examples to explain to farmers and craftsmen some complex concepts in ways that were easy for them to understand.

My time in prayer and reflection brought me from those images of Jesus as Healer to the Passion of Our Lord and His falling under the Cross in the 3^rd, 7^th, and 9^th Stations of the Cross respectively. In those portions of the Way of the Cross, Jesus was brought deeper and deeper into the sufferings of the human condition. It was a complete juxtaposition which I had not given much thought to in the past.

Jesus had healed the blind, the lame, the deaf, and the very sick people during his public ministry. In His Passion, Jesus experiences the pain, the suffering, the misery, and the desperation that those same people felt. He as God electively sacrificed Himself to know all of the pain and despair that we, God’s children, would suffer during our lives.

He could have chosen to call upon the power He has to make that suffering disappear. He could have dispatched legions of angels to come to His aid, but He did not do that. He suffered a gruesome and horrible Passion and Death on a Cross that He carried while letting sinful men execute Him. Jesus did that for me, for you, and for all the sinners of the world.

That Thursday afternoon (and really every day I reflect on the Passion) I feel so completely unworthy and undeserving of a love as deep as the love Jesus has for me, and for all of us, His children. I thought of how He willingly took up that Cross after a ministry where He gave so completely of Himself, roaming from town to town preaching The Good News of the Gospels.

The best news of all is that Jesus came to save us all from sin and from death. He came for sinners, He came for you and for me! That is so unbelievable for me to comprehend sometimes. It is a mystery that I will never fully understand.

Jesus endured all the suffering imaginable so that he could be in solidarity with us, His children. I like to listen to other people when they bring their problems or trials or issues to my attention. I feel like The Holy Spirit puts people in my life and in our lives collectively for a reason and a purpose. It is part of my service as a Catholic follower of Jesus Christ to be there for these people and for all people in need that cross my path. I know that many of these people, when they are in despair, feel that nobody will understand, nobody will get it.

However, what I try to subtly let them know is that Jesus understands their pain, their suffering, their loneliness, and their feelings of inadequacy. Jesus understands being tormented, mocked, and beaten. Jesus understands the pain that comes from losing your dignity because the Roman soldiers stripped Him of His garments and crucified him naked. He endured all of that for you and for me and that is an unbelievably powerful mission that He completed so that He may be with us always and win for us the salvation of our souls. The hope that comes from that knowledge is a profound source of comfort in my life.

So if you know people in your family, your community, or your work place that are suffering from physical ailments, illnesses, depression, or despair please take the time to listen to them. Please take the time to help point them toward the Gospels and the healing hope that Jesus can bring to their lives. If you are concerned that you cannot help others in those situations, have faith and ask The Holy Spirit for guidance.

I know that Jesus the Healer has brought healing and redemption to my life and those I know, it is an awesome experience to be touched by His healing power and unconditional love.

May the Lord Jesus Christ who is the Savior, the Healer and the Redeemer be with you and your families always. May God bless you.