Dear Friend of Carmel Mission,
At this moment, our world is crying out for the healing Jesus offered the people of Capernaum in today’s Gospel. As we continue to struggle with the Covid-19 pandemic, and the physical, mental and emotional strains that it brings, we find ourselves in great need of Jesus’ healing touch. The psalmist reminds us that God not only heals the mind, body and spirit, He also heals our broken hearts. Wherever God sees pain He wants to bring healing, comfort, and peace.
Though it can be, God’s healing is not always a magic pill that immediately reverses our suffering. It is sometimes the comfort of a grief shared, a brief respite from anxiety, the assurance that we are not journeying through our pain alone. In the psalm, the people of Israel are returning from their Babylonian exile. Their country has been ravaged, the temple destroyed, their collective heart is broken. But their unshaken faith is in the Lord who heals the broken-hearted, who rebuilds Jerusalem, whose wisdom has no limit. Their faith is in the Lord but it is their hands that will rebuild the temple and their words that will comfort the mourning. They can be agents of God’s healing because they know that they have never been alone, not in defeat, not in exile, and not in the work of rebuilding.
Simon’s mother in law provides us with a powerful example of how we can respond to God’s healing in our lives and become healers ourselves. Service was her reaction to healing, out of gratitude and out of compassion. We may well experience God’s healing through the compassionate actions of our brothers and sisters. I invite you to join me this week in returning this in full measure, and sharing God’s compassion and mercy with the world.
I wish you and your loved ones continued blessings of good health, new hope and God’s healing touch,
Fr. Paul
Please take a moment to read our Carmel Mission weekly bulletin.