Happy Third Sunday! Last week I gave a brief picture of the healing project and why I’m writing on this topic. I hope it gave you some helpful thoughts to chew on and pray with. This week as we launch into it, let’s begin with some large brush strokes.
What Is ‘Healing’ and Who Is It For?
Healing is the process that refashions a human being. In broad terms, it more fully transforms people from the humans they currently are into the humans they were created to be. Healing describes in a single word what Christian theology calls ‘the spiritual life’: the individual journey that perfects us through God’s infusion of, and our cooperation with, divine grace. By way of pop culture: healing completes you (Jerry Maguire), produces your final evolution (Pokémon), makes you live your best life (Oprah), it’s giving your GOAT vibes, no cap (Gen Z). Healing lives at the root of our deepest human desires. It takes us where we’re at and makes us saints.
Who is healing designed for? Pretty much, anybody not currently in heaven or hell. So that would include you, and me as well. The kind of healing that we’ll be delving into this year can only be delivered to human beings who remain capable of their fuller individual potential. Wayfarers, anyone still on the journey, we who are trying to make progress toward a heavenly kingdom that God has hand built for us to eternally inhabit.
If that all sounds like a million bucks, well frankly that’s because it is…but with a very crucial *asterisk* attached. And to be clear, these next three sentences are the most important facts to know about healing. In general, a healed life is for everybody, it’s readily available to all of us. But practically, healing is only for those who want it. And even more narrowly, healing is only for those who freely choose to faithfully engage it.
The thing is, we could call healing the fuel of our life journey. But the process always respects human freedom. And that’s why most people leave their life’s full potential on the table, or perhaps much of it. For lots of reasons (we’ll dig into them down the line) we don’t fuel up. We are sometimes unwittingly, sometimes willfully blind to our need for healing, or don’t think it’s possible, afraid of what it would require (this is a big one), unsure it’s the best alternative, satisfied with where we’re at (another big one), or we decide that fear or pride is the easier, safer way through life.
Which brings us to a practical if somewhat blunt matter. Reading and pondering these articles will benefit those who firmly resolve, hell or high water, to become a saint. Honestly pray on that, because healing isn’t about anything else. For me, I believe life is worth living as God intended, which is why I’m committed to my own healing and spending time on this topic. Ask yourself what you want for your life. If you find that this stuff ain’t your gig, I respect the honesty and would recommend you skip over my bulletin articles for now. Anyone willing to commit to their fuller God-given potential: Jesus is faithful and ready to help us heal up.
Fr. Brian