In a way, our first reading today is a crescendo in the saga we have been hearing about throughout the week. An incident that occurred at the Temple in Jerusalem shortly after the Apostles received their charisms, their gifts of the Holy Spirit, at Pentecost.
Peter heals the crippled man at the Beautiful Gate. The power of the Holy Spirit made manifest through Peter and the Church in order to extend the Kingdom of the Sacred Heart of Jesus into the world around him.
As we heard and recall this story through the sequence of events that occurred, it brings us to a point of reflection. Do we truly believe miracles of healing, like the one we heard about on Wednesday, actually happened? Do we truly believe miracles of healing still happen today?
Jesus didn’t heal every physical ailment that He encountered while walking around Galilee and Judea, but he healed many in order for them to be a sign of the true healing miracles He makes available to each and every one of us through the Sacramental life of the Church.
Since my ordination, I have had a handful of opportunities to pray with others that were, for all intents and purposes, crippled by spiritual bondange. As we pray together to renounce and break the spiritual influences that had bound them, the release they experience in the moment of deliverance is often immense and powerful.
A couple of cases, in particular, come to mind. In the midst of tears, there was a joy and a peace in their eyes that was not there when they first walked into the rooms. In every case, the miracle was real and the experience has been both amazing and astonishing. Miracles of healing continue to happen all around us. Miracles have happened to me, and they can happen to you also.
To bring us back to the point of reflection: What hurts and pains are you still carrying around? In what ways are you the crippled person, standing at the Beautiful Gate, crippled by the emotional and spiritual hurts and pains of life? In what ways are you the crippled person begging to be loved by those in your midst? Let the miracle of healing through the Sacramental Life of the Church occur in your life.
Spend time today understanding the hurts and pains that you carry. Allow the Holy Spirit to reveal to you any personal character defects that may contribute to the circumstances around those hurts and those pains.
Take those character defects to the confessional and receive the graces of the Sacrament of Reconciliation.
At Mass, offer up not only the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of God’s dearly beloved Son, our Lord Jesus Christ; but also offer up your hurts, your pains, and your character defects to be transformed by the glory of God.
At Mass, lift up your heart, truly giving your heart to God the Father, so it may be replaced by the Sacred Heart of Jesus as you receive the Eucharist.
When Father breaks the Eucharist at the altar, as the spear pierces the heart of Jesus, allow yourself to be bathed in the blood and water spraying from His side. The blood and water gushing forth through the Sacramental Life of the Church to free you of spiritual bondage that you may truly live a life of joy and peace. Feel the red and pale rays of grace radiating through your soul healing you and bringing you to completion.
Easter truly is the season of miracles. Through the Paschal Mystery, particularly the Mass, allow the Lord to bring you healing, fulfillment and new life. When others see your renewed joy and ask, “By what power or by what name has this been done?” You can confidently reply, “Mercy is His name”.
Thanks be to God!
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