DAILY HOMILIES #healing

Do you have a Bible? Do you really know how powerful it is? When last did you devote some hours of your day to reading and meditating on God’s word? Could it be that you really do not have the time for God’s word? The truth is that you always have time for anything you consider to be important to you. The word of God is more important than riches, fame, comfort, or anything you can think of. The word of God is life.

we cannot hide our real identity from the devil and his agents. We cannot pretend to be mighty Christians when our lives are full of hidden sins. Satan laughs at us when we hide under the shadow of pretence. It is human beings who need signs and wonders to be displayed in other to believe and it is human beings who can be deceived. Satan does not need any of that. He is capable of recognizing a true Christian from that who is not.

The letter to the Hebrews, in drawing our attention to the importance of God’s words, says: “The word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and spirit, of joints and marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And before him no creature is hidden…” (Hebrews 4:12-13).

To be merciful is to have a heart of pity for others, a heart that feels the pain of others, a heart that wants to see them well again, strong, healthy and back to the light. In today’s Gospel passage, Jesus, “moved with pity” stretched out his hand and touched a leper. Jesus didn’t have a hardened heart. The book of Hebrews admonishes us: “Today, when you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts… take care; brethren lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart.” (Hebrews 3:8-13).

As children of God, when we leave the Church, we are to realize that our time in the Church was a time of spiritual impartation. We carry something with us when we leave, something we cannot see physically yet it is real. More still, we even receive the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ. We should never assume we are empty. We should consciously take what we have received and reached out to the sick; those who cannot come to church; those who do not yet believe in God; those who are passing through some difficulty or another.

One symptom of this disease is the speed with which its victims detect errors and flaws here and there. Another symptom is that people sick with this disease are never happy! In fact, they grow old quickly because of too much squeezing of faces.

Know that even if it is only one person you help, it will mean the whole world to them. Search your heart, you can hear God calling you. Just as Jesus appointed the twelve, He wants to do something through you. God does not work in a vacuum; He works through people.

Life is hard. Nothing good comes easy. Bad things happen without warning. Life will always give you reasons to complain. Problems are never exhausted. But how are we to stay alive and win? Faith! Believe and keep believing. Prayer works. God cares.

Some of us have been Christians for more than 18 years yet we are still bent over spiritually. Darkness (sin and evil) still rules in our lives. It is not about how often we attend Church; it is about whether we worship God in spirit and in truth. Let us pray today for Divine healing from whatever is preventing us from standing upright before God.

As we struggle to make progress in our spiritual lives every day, let us realize that every step we make in the right direction pisses off the devil more and more. This is a truth clearly hidden from the worldly-minded; a truth which St. Paul says in our first reading, always sounds like mere gibberish to the unspiritual man.

Since there are no perfect humans, and Jesus is saying that divorce is not an option, how are couples to find joy in marriage? The answer is forgiveness. Forgive quickly. St. Paul would say: “Be angry but do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil.” (Ephesians 4:26-27). If couples learn to forgive each other seventy times seven times, marriages would be blissful. Forgiveness sustains marriage.

Unforgiveness is like holding hot coals in your bare hands hoping to throw them at your offenders. Once a snake brushed a saw in the farmer’s tool shed and in anger the snake rolled itself around the saw hoping to crush it but the snake ended up committing suicide. Unforgiveness is suicidal. On the other hand, forgiveness is self-healing. It is releasing a prisoner only to discover you are the prisoner.