30th Week of Ordinary Time 2021 - Monday - Crippled by sin, healed by Christ

 The miraculous healing of the crippled woman in the synagogue is a story only found in Luke’s Gospel. While teaching in the synagogue, the Lord notices this woman, hunched over, unable to stand upright. St. Luke tells us that she was afflicted by an unclean spirit for 18 years. Her physical affliction is certainly symbolic of the moral and spiritual state of sinful humanity. We are crippled by sin. Sin cripples our minds, our bodies, and our souls.

Well, the Lord, notices the crippled woman, goes to her, and sets her free from her infirmity. Through this miracle she is immediately able to stand erect and immediately glorifies God. 

This healing, again, is symbolic of the Lord’s entire mission. God has compassion for the waywardness that is ours, humanity’s fallen state. We are crippled by sin, unable to walk in the freedom for which we were created—our intellect is darkened, our wills are weakened. And Through Christ we are liberated, healed, set free, able to walk upright again, and worship God in spirit and in truth. 

In the Epistle we heard of the way of the spirit that leads to life and the way of the flesh that leads to death. St. Paul shows his concern in many of his letters that Christians, who have been baptized, were returning to the ways of the flesh. They were putting their eternal souls at risk, by abandoning the way of uprightness, but returning, willingly to that crippled spiritual state. 

Paul models what it means to be a true pastor here. He doesn’t just want people to get baptized. He doesn’t want Christians in name only. He wants Christians alive in the spirit, free from those temptations to sink back into the immoral muck of sin. 

The spirit of the flesh will always be trying to cripple us, to the point that we are hunched over by self-absorption, addiction, selfishness, materialism, and the like. So we must be vigilant against them by continually remembering our identity as Children of God set free from sin. And when we have willingly given in to these evils, we must allow Jesus to heal us through the Sacraments, especially any serious sins in the Sacrament of Confession.

Healed by Jesus, the woman stood up straight and glorified God. In all spiritual and moral uprightness, may we too glorify God in all of our words and deeds this day, for the glory of God and salvation of souls. 

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That the effects of sin may continue to be healed in us, that we may walk in the moral uprightness God desires for his children. 

For the healing of all the wounds of division afflicting the Church, for an end to heresy and schism, for turning away from all doctrinal error and hardness of heart.

For spiritual healing and mercy upon all those who have fallen away from the Church, those who have fallen to mortal sin, for those who blaspheme, for the conversion of atheists and non-believers.

For the healing of all those afflicted with physical, mental, emotional illness, for those in hospitals, nursing homes, hospice care, those struggling with addictions, for those who grieve the loss of a loved one, and those who will die today.

For the repose of the souls of our beloved dead, for all of the poor souls in purgatory, for the deceased members of our families, friends, and parish, for deceased clergy and religious, for those who have fought and died for our freedom.

Heavenly Father, hear our prayers. May the grace of Christ Your Son, the Divine Physician, bring healing of our sinfulness, and make us worthy of the kingdom of heaven, through the same Christ our Lord.

Monday - 30th Week in OT 2017 - Healing and Freedom

There is clear testimony in the Gospels that Jesus practiced healing. Wherever he went he ministered to hurting, alienated people. Though there are only forty-one distinct instances of physical or mental healing recorded in the four Gospels, the texts record innumerable cures that took place during his 3½ year ministry. Many of the references summarize the healing of large numbers of people, speaking of ‘multitudes’ who were healed by Jesus.

Nearly one-fifth of the Gospels are account of Jesus’ healing ministry, describing the circumstances, the methods He used, the responses of those he healed, and the reactions of onlookers.

The healing from today’s passage is unique to the Gospel of Luke. There was a woman who had been demonically afflicted with a spinal problem for 18 years. While teaching in the synagogue, Jesus notices her, goes to her, Jesus proclaims that she has been “set free from her infirmity” and heals her, and she is immediately able to stand erect.

Her response was to begin to worship God for her healing, but not all shared her gratitude. The synagogue leader, instead of leading those gathered to share in her gratitude to God, condemns Jesus for doing something unlawful on the Sabbath.  He totally misses the point. 

Here, Jesus shows that God’s love is not limited to one day a week or six days a week.  Every minute of every hour, God is inviting us, calling out to us, to love Him, to be freed by Him. Whether they are the chains of addiction, or the depression that comes from setbacks, attitudes of self-righteousness like that of the synagogue leader, or bitterness toward people who betrayed our trust, or fear that keeps us from becoming devoted to the works of charity, God wishes to bring us freedom from the things that infirm us.

This might mean the total elimination of these oppressive forces, an immediate healing miracle, but it certainly means bringing us freedom of spirit, which allows us to live faithfully to Him amidst our infirmities and hardships. St. Paul exhorts us "remember that you have been called to live in freedom".

May we turn to Jesus with our infirmities, and ask him to bring healing, and most importantly freedom, that they never keep us from Gospel fidelity, that like the woman healed of her affliction, we may worship God ever more gratefully and devoutly for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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For a healing of all the wounds of division afflicting the Church, for an end to heresy and schism, for turning away from all doctrinal error and hardness of heart, we pray to the Lord.

For spiritual healing and mercy upon all those who have fallen away from the Church, those who have fallen to mortal sin, for those who blaspheme, for the conversion of atheists and non-believers, we pray to the Lord.

For the healing of all those afflicted with physical, mental, emotional illness, for those in hospitals, nursing homes, hospice care, those struggling with addictions, for those who grieve the loss of a loved one, and those who will die today.

For the repose of the souls of our beloved dead, for all of the poor souls in purgatory, for the deceased members of our families, friends, and parish, for deceased clergy and religious, for those who have fought and died for our freedom, we pray to the Lord.

Heavenly Father, hear our prayers. May the grace of Christ Your Son, the Divine Physician, bring healing of our sinfulness, and make us worthy of the kingdom of heaven, through the same Christ our Lord.