(Sirach 38:6,9, 13)
Introduction
During this Covid 19 and Monkeypox pandemics Prophet Jeremiah asked three questions on behalf of all of us. Why has my sickness and wound not healed while many others are healed? Why has God cheated me and drained my brook (prosperity)? Why are many people standing against me? (Jer.15:18-21). Not only has he asked these questions but has also given the answer, “Repent and come back to the Lord. He will restore you to what you ought to be in this world.” All our sickness will be healed, all our problems will be solved and all our prayers will be answered in God’s time and manner provided that you and I have intimacy with Jesus (2Cor.11:1-2), fellowship with Holy Spirit (2 Cor.13:14), be the doer of the word of God (Mt. 7:24-25) besides take care (Mk.5:43), apply available medicine and prayers (Sir.38:1-14). Let me elaborate these questions and their answers.
God has his own time and manner to heal us
Why am I not being healed? Everything takes place in our life in his time (Ecc.3:1f). There are three categories of people who might not be healed through their prayers or even the prayers of intercessors or best care and strong Faith.
1. For those people whose time of death has come; which is predestined by God even before birth or before doing something good or bad (Ps. 139:16). Such people might not be healed. For them the days of sickness are only a preparation for their death and eternal life or even say thanks to all and exchange good bye to all.
2. Holy Souls who have wonderful charisms, revelations, great joy in their sickness and are called to challenge the devil and defeat the evil (2 Cor. 12:9) may not be healed. For example, St. Little Theresa of Child Jesus, St. Alphonsa of Kerala, etc.
3. Those who are in need of increasing of their faith and who have a special call to receive powerful charisms in order to have a special charismatic ministry in the Church (1Pt. 4:12–14). For example-The man with the epileptic son prayed, “Lord increase, my faith. And help my poor faith” (Mk. 9:24). Just after that prayer, his son was healed because Jesus increased his faith as he asked for. Above all Jesus said that I will do and give everything for all those who believers in me (Mk.9.23).
There is a possibility of your healing
All these people may have supernatural healings but natural healings do not take place in their lives. But the number of these three categories may be less than 1% of the total population. Rest of them have all possibilities of being healed by care, prayer and medicine.
Major blessings waiting for those who are not healed
Suppose you belong to one of these three groups, even if you believe in Jesus, offered all prayers and available medicines, you might still not be healed. Then there will be some supernatural blessings going to take place in your life, career or ministry. There was a boy in a parish, who, went to Church to offer Holy Mass daily, whether rain or shine. One day he was about to go to the Church to participate in Holy Mass, when his parents said, ‘It is better that you do not go today to Church, as it might rain heavily.’ But he took his bicycle and went to the Church. He was an altar boy too and everybody liked him in the parish. All the parishioners thought that he would become a priest. After the Holy Mass when he came out from the Church compound and entered the main road, he was knocked down by a bus and died on the spot. It created a scandal in the parish. All the people asked, ‘Why has God not protected him? He was a holy child yet why has this tragedy struck him? But what is the answer? He belonged to the first group of people who are not to be healed and his time of death had come. Nobody can extend the deadline, no, not even by an hour (Lk.12:25). His death was already assigned by God according to Psalm 139:16, even before he was formed in the womb of his mother.
Our Faith must increase to heal our dear ones
Faith comes through hearing the word of God (Rom.10:17). And we must grow in our faith by hearing, meditating and speaking the word of God. Sometimes our dear ones are terribly sick and deeply troubled. Though we pray for them, nothing positive happens. What does Jesus say about it? Jesus said to a man, who was the father of an epileptic boy, “... increase your faith in order to get a healing for your son.” Immediately the man cried out and said, “...increase my faith” (Mk 9:24). Jesus increased his faith and healed his son. Sometimes we are under probation of our faith. Unless we are strong in faith some people who are dear to us may not be healed.
Sometimes our stomach is so full even God cannot go inside
Give space to God in our heart and stomach (enjoyment). Satan has come steal, destroy and kill (Jn.10:10). Through the light of Jn.10:10, let me answer the second question of Prophet Jeremiah. ‘Why has my brook dried?’ Some people think that God has deceived them or cheated them. Jeremiah gave the example of a deceiving brook which suddenly dried-off. There are sufficient blessings and abundance in our life. But we might fail to worship God in our prosperity, who has the power to protect it. Jesus used the parable of a rich fool to explain about a man who had everything in abundance but trusted in his wealth instead of trusting God. This rich man started to eat, drink and place excessive confidence in his possessions. But then Jesus questioned that if he asked for his soul that night who then would enjoy his vast possessions (Lk. 12:13-21). Why did sudden tragedy strike that man? He had no trust in God. He trusted only in his wealth, so God couldn’t protect him. The devil destroyed him. Apostolic Exhortation – Gaudete Et Exsultate says “On the Call to Holiness in Today’s World, (68)-“Wealth ensures nothing. Indeed, once we think we are rich, we can become so self-satisfied that we leave no room for God’s word, for the love of our brothers and sisters, or for the enjoyment of the most important things in life. In this way, we miss out on the greatest treasure of all. That is why Jesus calls blessed those who are poor in spirit, those who have a poor heart, for there the Lord can enter with his perennial newness.”
The devil has the power of death (Heb. 2:14). Sometimes our prosperity, health and everything may be drained unexpectedly because there is no protection from God, because no space is given for God to protect it.
Why do I have blocks and bondages?
Third question of the prophet: Why are many people standing against me? There are lots of blocks and bondages “If God is with you who can be against you” (Rom.8:31). Sometimes we are far away from God, and so enemies are so close to us. When David was close to God, all his enemies were far from him. But after committing sin when he was away from God, then he was chased out from his palace even by his own son. Why did enemies increase in David’s life? It is because he was away from God.
Return to God while you are sick and suffering (Sir.38:15)
Please pray (Sir.38:9) while you are taking medicine. Then medicine works effectively through the skills of the physicians (Sir 38:13). When we are far-off from God or when we are far-away from our Heavenly Father, all situations will stand against us. The Prodigal Son was very far away from his father’s house. Therefore, his life ended up in the piggery. All his friends left and stood against him. Even pigs stood against him; his master exploited him by not giving food or water. When this prodigal son returned and came back, the Father restored his life. Therefore, when we return back to God with ten-fold zeal, He himself will restore our life and protect us from our enemies (Baruch 4:28). CCC 1468 says "The whole power of the sacrament of Penance consists in restoring us to God's grace and joining us with him in an intimate friendship." Reconciliation with God is thus the purpose and effect of this sacrament. For those who receive the sacrament of Penance with contrite heart and religious disposition, reconciliation "is usually followed by peace and serenity of conscience with strong spiritual consolation." Indeed, the sacrament of Reconciliation with God brings about a true "spiritual resurrection," restoration of the dignity and blessings of the life of the children of God, of which the most precious is friendship with God. Sacrament of confession heals body and Soul (CCCC 395 and James 5: 14-16).
Therefore, Prophet Jeremiah instructed us to return back to the Lord. God will restore your life. Then our sickness will be healed, we will not be cheated by anybody and people will not stand against us.
Conclusion
How to return to the Lord to enjoy the restoration in all areas of our life? It is through the six methods as it is given below.
1. Hear the Word of God and read the Word of God (1 Cor. 1.21) and be the doers of the Word of God (Mt.7:24-28). Therefore, please listen carefully to the proclamation of the Word of God as long as your problem persists.
2. Receive pastor’s prayer (Gen. 20:17). Holy Mass is a general prayer for everybody by the pastors in the Church. So, attend the Holy Mass daily if possible until your crucial problem is over. Online adoration, prayers and Holy mass are sufficient enough during this pandemic.
3. Take Medicine (Sir. 38:1-15). And the application of available scientific methods is also needed to solve certain problems and to get healing in certain diseases.
4. Please take care of our health and wealth (Mk. 5:43).
5. Get anointed by the power of the Holy Spirit (1 Jn. 2:27) or have fellowship with holy spirit through the directions given in Logos Prayer Book (PP 1-14). You may download this book from https://www.frjosevettiyankal.org/downloads (Book’s Name Infilling of the Holy Spirit)
6. Please have intimacy with Jesus. The payers and home works from the Logos prayer book pp.15 to 112 help everybody to develop an intimacy with Jesus.
These six methods will help us to grow in our spiritual life, to solve all problems and also prevent almost all problems in future. Let us faithfully follow the six methods given above; our problems will be solved; sickness will be healed and peace will be re-established in our hearts besides the restoration of the lost prosperity both spiritual and material.