Faith and Healing

THE HEALING TOUCH The paths of Jerusalem were crowded. People were swarming around Jesus who was traveling through the city of Jerusalem. No one knew from where but a timid woman pushed herself through the thickly-packed crowd. She was all wrapped in clothing. She was embarrassed and deeply anxious. But there was something fiery in her. Something like a burning desire – a desire to get healing. For she had been suffering from hemorrhages for the past 12 years. Through the pressing crowd she approached Jesus. She had tremendous faith. She believed that she would indeed be healed if only she touched the mantle of Jesus. And she touched. Instantly she was healed! Even Jesus was astounded. He felt that healing power has flowed out of Him. He turned and asked, “Who touched me?” Peter, the disciple, wondered. For he has been seeing hundreds of people pushing Jesus from all sides. It would be better to ask, “Who is not touching me?”! But Jesus insisted that someone had really touched Him. He kept on asking, “Who touched me?” Then the woman who had received healing timidly came forward and said, “Master, it was I who touched you.” Jesus told her, “Your faith has healed you!” (Cf. Lk. 8:43-48.) This is one of the most powerful pictures of faith healing presented in the Scriptures. It is exactly a healing by faith. Let us now examine the process once again. Take note that Jesus recognizes the gush of power from Him only when the power has gone out. There were hundreds of touches. But He feels something extraordinary in a particular touch. Because behind that touch there was the strength of faith. That is the touch of faith. No other touch in the crowd was able to bring out that power. Moreover, the woman knew that a mere touch on the edge of the cloak of Jesus would heal her. That is faith. That is the power of faith! The Holy Scriptures is abounding in examples of persons who gained healing from God by the virtue of their faith. My Healing Now, let me share with you my own experiences with faith and healing. I am a Vincentian priest. As you know, a charism of our congregation is serving the poor. So, as priest, naturally I engaged myself with taking care of an orphanage. Even at that time I had love for Jesus. I did my services for Jesus’ sake. Yet there was something lacking in me. At that time I did not have an absolute faith as I am having now. I was like any other Catholic in the world. One day, as I was praying during the Holy Mass, I fell down unconscious. I was in the unconscious state for three days. My friends and relative thought that I was going to die. So they were ardently praying for me. On the fourth day I got back my consciousness. The doctor said to me, “You are in a very critical state.