The Sunday Sermon Archive

Dear Friends,

Today, we see Jesus forgive a man his sins and then heal his body to prove that He has the power to forgive sins — that He is God. (Saint Matthew 9: 1-8)

This man who is healed is brought upon a pallet by his friends. It is the faith of his friends that moves Jesus to heal the man. First, Jesus forgives the man his sins. Saint Peter Chrysologos says: "The paralytic hears the words of pardon, and says nothing; neither does he offer thanks in return; for he longed more for the cure of his body than of his soul; he grieved over the temporal afflictions of his enfeebled body, but had no tears for the eternal penalty of the loss of his soul: judging that the present life was more agreeable than the future. Rightly did Christ look with favor on the faith of those who had brought him there and ignore the foolishness of the man lying sick; so that by the merit of others' faith, the soul of the paralytic was healed before his body."

A good physician does not listen to the misguided requests of the person he is treating but rather to what is best for his patient. Saint Peter Chrysologos continues: "… a sick man will always crave for and ask for things that may be harmful. Instead, he (the physician) will make use, now of the iron, now of fire, now of the bitter draught, and apply them even to the unwilling, so that when well they will understand what was done for them, which they could not when ill."

In this life, we should strive to see the loving hand of God in the various pains and ills of our bodies. He is the all-knowing and all-loving Physician of our souls. Many times, we must suffer in our bodies for the cure of our souls. It is to our shame that we often only pray when we want physical relief in this life.

We should frequently remind ourselves that the Protestant mentality of material/physical prosperity being a sign of God's blessing is often far from the truth. Jesus taught us to embrace and lovingly seek out our daily crosses, not worldly pleasure and comfort. The path He shows us to Heaven is through Calvary. Jesus walked this path, the early martyrs and all the saints, and so must we if we wish to enter Heaven.

Illnesses, sufferings, and hardships are blessings from God. He may be calling us to return to Him in prayer; or He may be impeding our sinful activities to prevent the loss of our souls; or imposing a penance for our sins so that we may avoid Hell or lessen our time in Purgatory; or He may be directing us to a more perfect conformity to Himself.

It is suitable for us to seek relief from these burdens, but always with the proviso that it is God's Holy Will and not our own. It is better if we thank God for the crosses, embrace them for the love of God, and leave it to Him to give us relief as He likes. Jesus prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane to be relieved of His cross, but then added, "Not My Will, but Thine be done." This is the perfect petition for the relief of our material or physical crosses — always in conformity to the Will of God.

We should look upon Job in the Old Testament when our crosses are more tolerable. Repeating with Job, the Lord gives, and the Lord takes away, blessed be the Name of the Lord. In essence, we seek to love God no matter what happens to us in this world. The ultimate expression of this acceptance, conformity, and unity with the Will of God is seen in Jesus and His Blessed Mother. Mary's "Fiat" is brought to our eyes thrice daily when we pray the Angelus. "Be it done to me according to Your Word."

When God takes away or lessens our physical/material cross, we must return to our house and away from the world. Instead of being carried or tossed around by our bed of suffering, we should take control of the bed of suffering and accept it as we walk away from the world, our fallen natures, and the devils. In the quiet of our houses, we must thank God for the physical gift He has given us, but more importantly, we must thank Him for the spiritual gift of healing our souls. This cannot be done very well in the hustle and bustle of the world, so we need to distance ourselves from the world and others to draw nearer to God.

In going to our houses, we are also to turn away from the temptations and occasions of sin that often cause our miseries.

May the Immaculate Heart of Mary inspire, guide, and protect us!

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