tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6239326.post4961569290930101074..comments2023-11-05T01:26:58.235-06:00Comments on Catholic Fire: A Catholic Perspective on Prayer and Suffering: Part IUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6239326.post-81267289089762913072008-01-29T16:41:00.000-06:002008-01-29T16:41:00.000-06:00Jean,I thank you for your blessing and I gladly ac...Jean,<BR/><BR/>I thank you for your blessing and I gladly accept all prayer for healing. More please.<BR/>I really am not angry. I do not hold a grudge against a priest or a nun or any lay Catholic. I loved Pope John Paul, and Pope Benedict seems a wise and holy man. I have no anger against the Catholic church. I actively support - financially and spiritually - several Catholic ministries such as Flame Ministries (Australia and England) and the Sisters of the Gospel of Life in Glasgow.<BR/><BR/>My suggestion that we imitate Jesus in His healing is not denominational: it comes from Jesus' own command when he talks about his followers. Mark 16: 18: “.they will place their hands on sick people and they will get well.”<BR/><BR/>I do not mean to “stir up controversy.” I accept many Protestants do not believe in healing but, as C.S. Lewis once wrote: “there is no safety in numbers.” I certainly don’t take any solace from the fact some Christians ignore Jesus’ command to heal, whatever church or denomination they are members of.<BR/><BR/>I do find it worrying your study for three years emphasised suffering and not healing. Are we not conquerors of this world - in Jesus name, not our own or from our own merits or ego. Was He not born, died and was resurrected so that the devil’s grip on this world has been loosened and we have been given power of proxy in Jesus’ name? <BR/><BR/>It is obvious not everyone is healed. But I suggest that is more a guilty verdict on the Body of Christ not believing in healing, rather than God’s decision to withhold healing.<BR/><BR/>Let me put it like this. If I don’t believe I’ll get a good job because my father had a dead end job like his father before him and everyone in my neighbourhood, then I shouldn’t be surprised if I end up in a dead end job. If the Christians, whether Catholic or Protestant, do not really believe in healing, we shouldn’t be surprised is we see Christians all around us living in sickness and lack and misery and depression. The best we can then do is try to explain this suffering - when we should be using the power Jesus gave us through his death and resurrection.<BR/><BR/>Of course, Christians do suffer - just look at China and Vietnam and Sudan and Cuba.<BR/>We expect to suffer for proclaiming the Gospel, which is what Luke 9: 23 refers to - not every physical pain, illness or calamity that befalls us.<BR/>Jean, thank you for allowing me space to say what I say. <BR/>The best closing remark I or anyone can offer is indeed Biblical, such as 1 Peter 2: “..Grace and peace be yours in abundance.“<BR/><BR/>Blessings<BR/><BR/>JamesAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6239326.post-55474616274410444352008-01-29T09:26:00.000-06:002008-01-29T09:26:00.000-06:00James,"The challenge is not for us to imitate the ...James,<BR/><BR/>"The challenge is not for us to imitate the Saviour in His passion; the challenge is for us to imitate the Saviour in His healing."<BR/><BR/>That's odd -- I certainly don't recall any statement like that in the the Catechism of the Catholic Church or in a Catholic Bible nor have I heard any homilies or teachings on that. Of course, I don't pretend to know everything about the faith. To me, that statement sounds very much like Protestant theology.<BR/><BR/>On this earth, not all of us are healed, and for those who aren't, God wants us to offer up our sufferings to Him for a higher purpose - to unite our sufferings with His for the conversion of sinners and for the sake of purification.<BR/><BR/>In Peter 2:19-21 - Peter instructs that we have been called to endure pain while suffering for Christ, our example. God actually calls us to suffer as His Son did, and this is not to diminish us, but to glorify us, because it is by our suffering that we truly share in the eternal priesthood of Jesus Christ. <BR/><BR/>In Luke 9:23 - Jesus says we must take up this cross daily. He requires us to join our daily temporal sacrifices (pain, inconvenience, worry) with His eternal sacrifice. <BR/><BR/>In my three years of study as an Oblate with the Community of St. John, the emphasis was not on healing (other than the ultimate healing that occurs when we are taken into His eternal Kingdom) but on the importance and meaning of suffering in our lives.<BR/><BR/>Jesus heals us through the sacraments and it is good to pray for healing, when we are ill, but it is also important to offer up our sufferings in union with Christ.<BR/><BR/>James, I have just discovered that you have also tried to stir up controversy solely for the sake of argument on other blogs. <BR/><BR/>For example, on January 11th, Standing on My Head has a post entitled " Theory of Suffering" addressing your "concerns". There are 34 comments on that post. <BR/><BR/>If you still have questions or concerns on this, I would contact a priest and discuss it with him in person.<BR/><BR/>I would also suggest that you read Pope John Paul II's encylical on suffering, which will help you understand what the real teachings on the Church are, in addition to studying the Catechsim of the Catholic Church.<BR/><BR/>This is how Fr. Dwight Longnecker responded to your concerns then:<BR/><BR/>James, we can't seem to satisfy you can we? <BR/><BR/>We say that we too believe in healing, point to the healing miracles of the saints and the healing miracles at places of apparitions, we agree with you that the Catholic Charismatic movement is a good thing, that we attend their conferences, are encouraged by their work, and that we too pray for healing in our ministry, have ourselves been healed through prayer, and have seen people healed through our own sacramental ministry. We also claim to be filled with the Holy Spirit every day and to walk in the light and grace of Christ. We minister to the sick, anoint the sick according to the teachings of the church and expect to see all sorts of healings. We go on to list many many types of other miracles that Catholic saints exhibit, and still we are blamed because we don't heal enough and don't believe in miracles enough?<BR/><BR/>Are there many Catholics who do not believe in healing and do not practice the healing gifts? Yes of course, but aren't there many many (even the majority) of Protestants who dismiss the supernatural, reject prayers for healing and never expect marvelous things to be done? <BR/><BR/>Why must all Catholics be blamed for the disbelief of some, while you are able to distance yourself from the multitude of Protestants who never in a million years would expect miracles?<BR/><BR/>It sounds, James, like you are angry about something and need to forgive someone and move on. I will certainly pray for your healing.<BR/><BR/>God bless you!Jean Heimannhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15337901330501175087noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6239326.post-90177078827560688502008-01-29T06:06:00.000-06:002008-01-29T06:06:00.000-06:00Leticia,I think you'll find the phrase "we complet...Leticia,<BR/><BR/>I think you'll find the phrase "we complete what's missing in His passion" is directly opposed to official Catholic teaching. Jesus' sacrifice was complete.<BR/>The challenge is not for us to imitate the Saviour in His passion; the challenge is for us to imitate the Saviour in His healing.<BR/><BR/>Blessings<BR/><BR/>JamesAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6239326.post-52453850078369519942008-01-28T07:04:00.000-06:002008-01-28T07:04:00.000-06:00You did a beautiful job here, Jean, this post reve...You did a beautiful job here, Jean, this post reveals a true spiritual adulthood, suffering makes you grow up, doesn't it? James, Our Lord chose to redeem the world through His passion, and, as strange as it sounds, we complete what's missing in His passion with our suffering gladly borne, according to St Paul. Sometimes you just have to imitate the Saviour in His passion, as well as the miracles. God decides which you will have and when.Leticiahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08170455690163831806noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6239326.post-4721434217867157682008-01-27T21:49:00.000-06:002008-01-27T21:49:00.000-06:00Dear James,It would take a book to reply to your q...Dear James,<BR/><BR/>It would take a book to reply to your questions, but here is a small portion of what the Catholic Church has to say about healing.<BR/><BR/>CCC 1421: The Lord Jesus Christ, physician of our souls and bodies, who forgave the sins of the paralytic and restored him to bodily health 3, has willed that his Church continue, in the power of the Holy Spirit, his work of healing and salvation, even among her own members. This is the purpose of the two sacraments of healing: the sacrament of Penance and the sacrament of Anointing of the Sick. <BR/><BR/>Personally, I have witnessed people being healed: spiritually, emotionally, and physically. However, the ultimate healing (complete healing)occurs in the next life.<BR/><BR/>Here are a few of my favorite books on suffering: <BR/><BR/>1. Amazing Grace for Those Who Suffer edited by Jeff Cavins and Matt Pinto<BR/><BR/>2. His Suffering and Ours: Words of Hope for Pierced and Wounded Hearts, by Kathryn Mulderink<BR/><BR/>You can read my review here: http://catholicfire.blogspot.com/2007/02/must-read-for-lent-his-suffering-and.html<BR/><BR/>3. Joy in Suffering by St. Therese of Lisieux<BR/><BR/>Here is an excellent online article about suffering by Fr. Paul O'Sullivan, O.P. (E.D.M.)entitled "How to bear suffering."<BR/>http://www.catholic-pages.com/life/suffering.asp<BR/><BR/>This particular post was a reflection on prayer and sacrifice, not on healing.<BR/>I have written a great deal on both topics.<BR/><BR/>Thanks for your question.<BR/><BR/>God bless you!Jean Heimannhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15337901330501175087noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6239326.post-20280059137439896302008-01-27T16:29:00.000-06:002008-01-27T16:29:00.000-06:00Jean,What a beautiful post! I know that the suffer...Jean,<BR/><BR/>What a beautiful post! I know that the suffering you and your own family has had to deal with - you have all been beautiful witnesses for the faith to me.<BR/><BR/>God love you!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6239326.post-13936593294366208412008-01-27T11:50:00.000-06:002008-01-27T11:50:00.000-06:00Jean,All those quotes on suffering must have taken...Jean,<BR/><BR/>All those quotes on suffering must have taken you some time to assimilate. Why take so much time focussing on suffering?<BR/>If you have written other pieces on healing and miracles and these are happening in your parish, then my apologies and you have got the balance right.<BR/>But, otherwise, this kind of over-emphasise on a suffering theology is very anti-Catholic.<BR/>Not wishing to offend, just making a point!<BR/><BR/>Blessings<BR/><BR/>JamesAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6239326.post-37575160419115290582008-01-27T10:04:00.000-06:002008-01-27T10:04:00.000-06:00Unfortunately most people just think to "pop a pil...Unfortunately most people just think to "pop a pill" and all their problems will be over. Jesus gives us gifts of all kinds including healing and miracles, but we must be open to receive them. What they don't realize is suffering is one of these gifts, always for our own good, sometimes it can be the difference between our salvation or eternal damnation.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6239326.post-13305762821584265242008-01-26T14:11:00.000-06:002008-01-26T14:11:00.000-06:00Hi Jean,I came across your blog while out blogwand...Hi Jean,<BR/><BR/>I came across your blog while out blogwandering.<BR/>I wonder if I may ask a question. Where do healing and miracles come into your theology of suffering?<BR/><BR/>Blessings<BR/><BR/>JamesAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com