Tag: healing

Tobit 11: Homeward Journey
Tobit 11: Homeward Journey

Saturday, November 8, 2025

I love this story and I can never read it enough for it is the tale of healing, fidelity, and joy. It is a story with an ending we all wish for ourselves and our loved ones. It is even a story we might wish for our enemies.

Commentary tells us that this story harbingers the miracles of the New Testament and even prepares us for miracles in our own lives. In this homeward journey, everyone is happy with their new in-laws, cataracts are removed, a family rejoices. The reader senses that all the characters will live happily ever after, and so pushes on toward the end of the tale in delicious anticipation of the revelation of the angel Raphael’s identity. This is the ideal ending to a perfect bed-time story. The loyal but harried young couple meets, overcomes odds, weds and returns home. Goodness comes out of evil and illness – even in exile. Our journey home has its reward.

Today’s first reading at Mass is from Hebrews 13:1-8 and it reminds us that we never know when the stranger beside us may be an angel: Let brotherly love continue. Do not neglect hospitality, for through it some have unknowingly entertained angels. Be mindful of prisoners as if sharing their imprisonment, and of the ill-treated as of yourselves, for you are also in the body. Let marriage be honored among all and the marriage bed be kept undefiled . . . Let your life be free from love of money but be content with what you have, for he has said, ‘I will never forsake or abandon you’. Thus we may say with confidence: ‘The Lord is my helper, and I will not be afraid. What can anyone do to me?’ Remember your leaders who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

When we feel as though the journey behind us has been too arduous, or the journey before us will be too difficult, let us remember how Tobias and Sarah overcame fear to journey home.

When it seems that the present leg of our journey offers no hope and little comfort, let us remember that healing angels accompany us in the guise of fellow travelers.

When we find ourselves distracted in our journey by the many tempting way stations, let us remember that Holy Spirit accompanies us, the Father calls us, and Jesus Christ heals us.

Let us remember, and let us rejoice as we join one another in the journey homeward.

A re-post from October 14, 2011.

Image from: http://namakparay.blogspot.com/2010_06_01_archive.html

39.533225 -76.430369
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November 8, 2025

angels, enduring, fidelity, healing, Hebrews 13:1-8, hospitality, joy, miracles, Raphael
Luke 18:1-8: The Persistent Widow
Luke 18:1-8: The Persistent Widow

Friday, September 12, 2025

This has for a long time been one of my favorite stories. Perhaps this is because it has to do with the importance of stamina, something I look for daily. It is so easy to give up. And it is so important to continue.

Yesterday I spent pilgrim time with friends renewing the soul and remembering what is accurately the most significant work of each day breathing, living, and remaining in God. The world so quickly distracts us, and we so easily are drawn away from the only path that can lead us to the tranquility we seek. In the end, there is only God.

The persistent widow and the unjust judge. It is likely that this story has universal appeal because the figures represent archetypal images we see and hear each day. We relish this story because on any given day we are either the judge or the widow and so we know these roles well. When we are overwhelmed, cranky, and feeling our “underdog” status we lash out at others, trying to snatch what we perceive to be rightfully ours. We are the unjust judge. When we are tired but hopeful and we allow God to smooth away fatigue, we come to understand that we must become the persistent widow. When we are wounded but determined, we come to know for certain that in the end, there is only God.

Elizabeth Seton
Yesterday’s pilgrimage was to the National Shrine of Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton in Emmittsburg, Maryland, a memorial to a woman with a remarkable story. http://www.setonshrine.org/ Mother Seton was a familiar friend of both sorrow and joy and the details of her biography illustrate that she fully understood her role as a persistent widow. Her life is a model for those who are determined to remain close to God knowing that although there will be sadness they will fail at nothing and they will never be alone. Through the turmoil, strife, happiness, and joy of her journey, Elizabeth Seton recognized that in the end, there is only God.

My granddaughter likes a particular saying and recently I gave her a mug with its words printed in blues and purples: Just when the caterpillar thought the world was over, it became a butterfly. This granddaughter is wise beyond her years for one so young; she already knows how to be the persistent widow. She understands the importance of doggedness, the need for perseverance, the sensibleness of diligence. She – and her mother – believe that in the end, there is only God. They believe, and try to act in the belief that, restoration and resurrection are God’s healing gift. I thought of them a great deal on our pilgrimage yesterday.

I am convinced that fatigue is the devil’s companion and that our little demon doubts and anxieties weigh us down to exhaust us. A cloud of anxiety descends and suddenly we find ourselves believing that there is nothing for us but sadness. Our eyes become clouded and we act as if we are doomed to a life of sorrow when in reality we are creatures of joy. Spiritual weariness will tell us that we are worth little and that we are alone. It will take its toll and lead to inertia and so, we must keep moving forward in the journey, always seeking God, always asking for healing and rebirth. We must ask for manna and feed ourselves, always thanking God. We must “go away for a little while” as Jesus did, and find pilgrim companions who thirst as we thirst and who understand the importance of nourishing one another, always loving God.

I believe that in today’s parable the unjust judge recognizes God in the widow and so he finds in her favor, hoping that no one will notice or remember what she has said. I also believe that the persistent widow has nourished herself and bolstered her soul for the journey. She has slacked her thirst and hunger with the manna of God’s goodness, she has rested awhile in the company of those who know and understand her plight. In this way she has come to fully understand and to act in the belief that there is nothing but God. She fully strengthens herself to once more go up against the enormous obstacle that blocks her path, not worrying about what others think of her, only knowing that in the end, there is only God.

A re-post from August 20, 2011.

Images from: https://kentuckycounselingcenter.com/life-after-widowhood/

Other links of interest about Elizabeth Seton:

The National Shrine of Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton

https://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/elizabeth-ann-seton

Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton
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September 12, 2025

caterpillar to butterfly proverb, determination, diligence, Elizabeth Seton, healing, only God, restoration, resurrection, retreat, spiritual wearniess
John 15:1-5: Branches
John 15:1-5: Branches

Thursday, June 12, 2025

We have examined scripture to reflect on the ways in which the beauty, wisdom, truth, and love in our identity in Christ exemplify our relationship with God in the Spirit. Jesus tells us who he is, reflecting Yahweh’s promise of “I Am Who I Am”. Today we continue to reflect on who we are, and on how we respond to God’s call for merciful justice in all of creation.

“I am the Vine, you are the branches. When you’re joined with me and I with you, the relation intimate and organic, the harvest is sure to be abundant. Separated, you can’t produce a thing. Anyone who separates from me is deadwood, gathered up and thrown on the bonfire. But if you make yourselves at home with me and my words are at home in you, you can be sure that whatever you ask will be listened to and acted upon. This is how my Father shows who he is—when you produce grapes, when you mature as my disciples”. (THE MESSAGE)

Rather than giving in to our fear that we might fall away from the Vine of Christ, we consider the beauty of union with all of creation.

Rather than seeking revenge for the injustices we suffer, we reflect on the wisdom of grafting ourselves to the healing truth of the abiding Spirit.

Rather than lamenting the evil that stalks societies, we contemplate the truth of pruning away all that separates us from the courage and patience of God.

Today we have the opportunity to produce fruit on the great vine of life. Today we rejoice in the gift of Christ’s vineyard. Today we come together in the Spirit of beauty, wisdom, truth, and love.

We pray Psalm 80, and we consider God’s gifts of healing, restoration, and transformation while we repeat verses 8-10 as the antiphon,

You brought a grapevine out of Egypt;
    you drove out other nations and planted it in their land.
You cleared a place for it to grow;
    its roots went deep, and it spread out over the whole land.
It covered the hills with its shade;
    its branches overshadowed the giant cedars.

To find more Vine and Branches posts on this blog, enter the words, Vine or Branch into the blog search bar to explore other reflections.

When we compare other versions of these verses, we discover the beauty, wisdom, truth, and love of our relationship of Vine and Branches.

Image from: https://www.stpeterschurchchicago.org/cm/articles/vine-and-branches
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June 12, 2025

beauty, healing, love, Psalm 80, restoration, transformation, truth, wisdom
Luke 24:13-35: Drawing Near
Daniel Bonnell: The Road to Emmaus

Luke 24:13-35: Drawing Near

Wednesday, April 30, 2025

In this second week of Eastertide, we continue to relive the Easter miracle of our resurrection as we re-visit the Gospel readings for the Easter Octave. Today we find a theme we often visit during our Noontimes, the road to Emmaus. Despite our having read and heard this story so often, we find a newness today.

As they talked and discussed, Jesus himself drew near and walked along with them; they saw him, but somehow did not recognize him. (GNT)

Perhaps we re-live this story so often because we walk with Jesus as these followers do. They – and we – move through life with eyes on a distant Emmaus some miles away. They – and we – stride quickly forward to escape a terrible Jerusalem that put an end to the beautiful dream. They – and we – rehash a story that is at once too terrible and too beautiful to recall. “Such promise,” we say to one another. “Such disaster,” we whisper to this stranger. “Such disappointment,” we hear ourselves sigh.

We move forward with the stranger who draws near, and we have the odd sensation that we know him; yet we do not recognize the strong body coupled with the compassionate heart. His words comfort and challenge in the same moment. His eyes tease and console in the same gaze. What is it, we ask ourselves, that draws us near?

They were deep in conversation, going over all these things that had happened. In the middle of their talk and questions, Jesus came up and walked along with them. But they were not able to recognize who he was. (MSG)

It is no wonder that this is a favorite story for in it we see Christ as we need him. Tending to our wounds while animating us to gather strength. Challenging our doubt while calming our anxiety. Drawing near to our hearts while healing our fear.

In this Eastertide, as we move toward our own Emmaus, let us commit to looking for Christ in each person we meet every day. Let us promise to give over to Christ each worry that plagues us every night. Let us remember that Christ rises to heal us each morning and walks with us to heal us every afternoon. Let us welcome the stranger who draws near to affirm to one another that despite our harsh circumstances, we are not abandoned. Then let us draw near to the Spirit in one another, for it is in this act of openness that we find our healing, unending encounter with the living Christ.

As they talked and discussed, Yeshua himself came up and walked along with them, but something kept them from recognizing him. (CJB)

When we explore varying translations of this story, we open our ears and eyes, and we draw ever nearer to Christ.

For more reflections, enter the word Emmaus into the blog search bar.

Image from: https://fineartamerica.com/featured/the-road-to-emmaus-daniel-bonnell.html
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April 30, 2025

Emmaus, fear and anxiety, healing
Tobit 5: Rafael
Tobit 5: Rafael

Jacopo Vignali: Tobias and the Arcangel Raphael

Monday, March 24, 2025

A Favorite from May 12, 2010.

I have always loved this story of synchronicity, healing and steadfastness and each time I read it I reflect upon – and marvel at – the number of times that the angel Rafael has been present in my life. Sometimes I know he is present in the healing hands of physicians, ministers and friends. Other times it is only until well after an event that I realize I have been visited by an angel. God constantly sends us his guides; we may or may not be aware of their presence.

We are created to experience joy rather than sorrow, reunion rather than separation, salvation rather than abandonment. We are meant to be free from bondage, free to enter into relationship with the force that created us, free to enter fully into our divinity. In yesterday’s MAGNIFICAT Meditation by Fr. Maurice Zundel we read: We are called into a heart-to-heart relationship with the Lord in which our whole being must enter . . . The only way to enter into the mystery of the universe is through the divine presence. When we are hidden in the presence of God . . . we are at the heart of the true universe.

Fr. Maurice Zundel

Humans have a yearning to belong, an ache to be part of something significant, and I believe that this is what makes human love so alluring to us. We want to be the center, the axis point, the object of someone’s love . . . and yet we already are. Rafael walks with us and guides us more times than we even know; and he arrives as the healing messenger of God. Let us give thanks and be glad. Let us rejoice and praise God.L et us keep a sharp look out for the Rafaels in our lives, and let us repeat our stories of God’s power to save, of God’s infinite and compassionate love, for we are creatures of joy and not woe.

Cameron, Peter John. “Meditation of the Day.” MAGNIFICAT. 3.11 (2010). Print.

To learn more about Fr. Maurice Zundel, a Swiss theologian, visit: https://amishcatholic.com/2018/02/28/maurice-zundel-on-prayer/

Images from: https://www.pictorem.com/99562/Tobias%20and%20the%20Archangel%20Raphael.html and https://amishcatholic.com/2018/02/28/maurice-zundel-on-prayer/
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March 24, 2025

angels, Fr. Maurice Zundel, freedom, healing, joy, love
Isaiah 22:15-25: Denunciation
Isaiah 22:15-25: Denunciation

Domenico Fetti: The Parable of the Mote and the Beam

Saturday, March 15, 2025

Adapted from a Favorite written on September 11, 2009.

At times we are called to rebuke one another. At times we are rebuked by our sisters and brothers. Most of us steer clear of conflict when we can. Some of us relish conflict; it gives us a place to hide from our own troubles. Others do not like conflict but engage in it when they feel they must, answering God’s calls to a particular place or person. Today we read about people being denounced for their dishonesty. This is a familiar portion of Isaiah often referenced as Jesus gathers the lost sheep lead astray by corrupt leaders.

There is a huge difference between self-examination and seeking self. In Luke’s Gospel, Jesus makes this clear to us as he tells the parable of the blind leading the blind. In this story he asks us to look at the splinter of wood in our neighbor’s eye after we remove the beam from our own (Luke 6:39-42). He calls us to the difficult task of opening our hearts for healing, of making ourselves available for discipleship, of looking out for the common good before our own.

We always seem to forget that we need not fuss about all that is around us when we first make room in each day for Christ to enter into our thoughts and actions. Some of us, because we put the world first, are like pegs fastened in secure places but still are cut down and perish. We believe we have everything in place to ensure our happiness at the expense of others yet even as we close ourselves off to hoard our dreams, we set ourselves up for denunciation. When we enter into or avoid conflict based on our own comfort levels, we set ourselves up for denunciation. When we begin and end each day without Christ, we set ourselves up for denunciation. When we make each day’s journey without dedicating all we do to Christ, we set ourselves up for denunciation.

So rather than seek our own ease, rather than look at other people’s splinters, we must look to our perspectives, motivations and actions. These beams we remove from our own eyes will tell us if we are setting ourselves up for denunciation. And after reading Isaiah, this is an understanding we will want to gain. It is action we will want to take. It is love we will want to share.

Image from: https://www.thecatholicthing.org/2017/08/03/splinters-beams-and-clear-sight%E2%80%A8%E2%80%A8/
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March 15, 2025

common good, discipleship, healing, Luke 6:39-42, pegs in sure places, rebuke, splinters and beams
Job 40:1-5: Arguing with the Almighty – Part III
Job 40:1-5: Arguing with the Almighty – Part III

Saturday, February 1, 2025

Fresco from the Cathedral of the Annunciation depicting Job and his friends.

Ought we to argue with God? Absolutely. Will we receive unusual and even vague answers? Precisely. Is this the path to wisdom and eventual serenity? Without a doubt. And this brings us to the point of this reading: when we assume a proper relationship with God, all else falls into place. When we turn to God only, when we believe in God only, when we act through God only, then we find the peace promised to us.

In the scope of the universe, we are quite small; but even in our smallness, each of us is important to God. We never once hear the Maker say to Job, “I will get back to you in a minute after I finish dealing with a world war, genocide in a number of places, two hurricanes and an earthquake, along with an outbreak of a dread disease and thirteen governments gone bad with corruption.” God does not put us aside or put us on hold. God is attentive and present all through this story. And what we see is God’s constancy, fidelity, and willingness to listen to Job’s complaint. We can be assured that, like Job, we send our petitions upward. Like Job, we discover that God will hear us because God is always abiding.

When the whirlwind surrounds us, we remember that this is where God speaks most clearly. When the tempest envelops us, we summon the courage and openness to hear what God has to say. When terrors overpower us, we learn how to forbear, hope, and remain faithful to the promise that God and we hold together, the promise of rescue, healing and restoration.

Tomorrow, the end of Job’s story.

Image from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eliphaz_(Job)
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February 1, 2025

God abides, healing, rescue, restoration, whirlwind
Tobit 3: Seek Consolation – Death
Tobit 3: Seek Consolation – Death

Saturday, December 21, 2024

Jean-Baptiste Jouvenet: The Raising of Lazarus

We have sought consolation from paralysis, blindness and deafness. We have looked for peace when we are speechless or plagued by possession. Today we reflect on how we might seek comfort in the face of death or deep loss.

We know the stories of those Jesus raised from the dead while he walked among us as human: his friend Lazarus, the widow of Nain’s son, the synagogue leader Jairus’ daughter. We also know the story of how, through the intercession of the risen Christ, Peter brought Tabitha/Dorcas back from death, and Paul called back Eutychus. When we look at the Old Testament, we remember that Elijah restored life to the widow of Zarephath’s son, and Elisha to the Shunammite woman’s son. And perhaps most importantly, we know that Christ has the power to return each of us to eternal life once we leave this earthly one.

Henry Thomson: The Raising of Jairus’ Daughter

All of this reflection on restoration speaks to our desire to overcome death. It exemplifies our hope that deep loss is not permanent. And it resonates with our expectation that Christ’s love for each of us calls all of us to union with him . . . out of certain death and into certain life. In this holiest of seasons when we celebrate the coming of Jesus to the world, we return to one more story of restoration. The story of Tobit and Sarah.

I have always turned to this Book when I am in the middle of a hopeless situation, when the circumstances in which I find myself offer absolutely no anticipation of salvation for myself or for someone I hold dear. Each time I spend time with these verses, I come away refreshed by the themes the story offers: healing, restoration, desperate prayers made, and desperate prayers answered. There are soap-opera elements, cliff-hanging events. There are people focused on money, power and sex; yet, over all of these forces, love holds sway. And it is the only place in the Bible where Raphael is featured. He is, indeed, so important that the story cannot take place without him.

James Tissot: The Raising of the Son of the Widow of Nain

So why does this archangel visit these characters disguised as a traveler? How does he bring them hope, rebirth and transformation? What is the attitude of each character before God the Creator? And what might we take away from the lessons laid out here?

If we have time to read the whole of Tobit today, let us do so. If not, let us focus on Chapter 3. Tomorrow a Prayer for Death . . . and Birth.

Adapted from a reflection written during Advent 2007.

For a quick re-cap of the Old and New Testament resurrection stories above, visit: https://www.gotquestions.org/raised-from-the-dead.html

Images from: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Jean-Baptiste_Jouvenet_-_The_Raising_of_Lazarus_-_WGA12033.jpg and http://spirituallydirected.blogspot.com/2010/06/widow-of-nain.html and http://www.boomerinthepew.com/2010/10/do-you-believe-that-jesus-literally-raised-the-widows-son-from-the-dead.html
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December 21, 2024

Elisha and Elijah, Eutychus, healing, hope, Jairus, Peter and Paul, resurrection, Tabitha, the Shunammite woman, the widow of Zarephath, Widow of Nain
Mark 7:31-37: Seek Consolation – Deafness
Bartholomeus Breenbergh: Jesus Healing a Deaf Mute

Mark 7:31-37: Seek Consolation – Deafness

Wednesday, December 18, 2017

How often do we listen without really hearing? How often do we pass along information we believe to be correct but which is, in fact, not true? In the enormous universe of God’s love, we find that we are given countless opportunities to be open to the voice of God.

Some people brought him a man who was deaf and could hardly speak, and they begged Jesus to place his hands on him.

How often do we believe that we cannot bear to hear the day’s news? How often do we turn away from information we cannot take in? In the infinite presence of Christ’s healing, we discover that we have endless access to understanding.

So Jesus took him off alone, away from the crowd, put his fingers in the man’s ears, spat, and touched the man’s tongue.

How often do we grope to comprehend the purpose of the conflict that surrounds us? How often do we open ourselves to healing and transformation? In the immeasurable gift that is the presence of the Spirit, we encounter consolation that changes us forever.

When we do not feel Christ’s presence in our lives, when we fear that we will not hear God’s voice, when we look for consolation we believe will never arrive, we might offer our deafness to the one who created us, in the Advent hope of the presence of God among us.

When we compare differing translations of these verses, we find that our deafness might be more gift than curse.

Image from: https://www.art.com/products/p55384713736-sa-i7044540/bartholomeus-breenbergh-jesus-healing-a-deaf-mute-1635-detail.htm
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December 18, 2024

healing, openness, transformation