The fact that the sick may be healed is the Good News we are called to proclaim.

As the children of my parish prepare for the Sacrament of Penance, they are focused not on their sinfulness, but on the joyous truth that their sins can and will be healed. However, our sacraments of healing require human ministers, because we are the persons through whom Christ heals.

We ask for Christ to be present to others in suffering, yet as St. Teresa of Avila prays, “Christ has no body but yours, / No hands, no feet on earth but yours, / Yours are the eyes with which he looks / Compassion on this world.” Insofar as we offer the presence of Christ to others, Christ can heal through us.

Lord, give us the grace to be conduits of your healing.