242 "IN MY NAME THEY WILL LAY THEIR HANDS ON THE SICK, AND THEY WILL RECOVER"

YOUCAT Lesson 242

YOUCAT the catechism for Catholic youth

242  Why should the Church take special care of the sick?

Jesus shows us: Heaven suffers with us when we suffer.  God even wants to be rediscovered in “the least of these my brethren” (Matthew 25:40).  That is why Jesus designated care of the sick as a central task for his disciples.  He commands them, “Heal the sick” (Matthew 10:8), and he promises them divine authority: “In my name they will cast out demons;…they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover” (Mark 16:17-18).  [1506-1510]

Art: …..Jesus healing the mother-in-law of Peter at Capernaum. …..242

One of the distinctive characteristics of Christianity has always been that the elderly, the sick, and the needy are central to it.  Mother Teresa, who cared for those who were dying in the gutters of Calcutta, is only one in a long series of Christian women and men who have discovered Christ precisely in those who were marginalized and avoided by others.  When Christians are really Christian, a healing influence goes out from them.  Some even have the gift of healing others physically in the power of the Holy Spirit (the charism of healing).

“I would prefer even the worst possible Christian world to the best pagan world, because in a Christian world there is room for those for whom no pagan world ever made room: cripples and sick people, the old and the weak.  And there was more than room for them; there was love for those who seemed and seem useless to the pagan and the godless world.”  Heinrich Boll (1917-1985, German writer)

“Care for the sick must have priority over everything else: They should be served as though they were really Christ.”  St. Benedict of Nursia (ca. 480-547)

"Heal the sick . . ."

…….1506   Christ invites his disciples to follow him by taking up their cross in their turn..(Compare Matthew 10:38.)¹¹⁴    By following him they acquire a new outlook on illness and the sick. Jesus associates them with his own life of poverty and service. He makes them share in his ministry of compassion and healing: "So they went out and preached that men should repent. And they cast out many demons, and anointed with oil many that were sick and healed them.".(Mark 6:12-13.)¹¹⁵ –Catechism of the Catholic Church, Second Edition

…….1507   The risen Lord renews this mission ("In my name . . . they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover.")(Mark 16:17-18.)¹¹⁶   and confirms it through the signs that the Church performs by invoking his name.(Compare Acts of the Apostles 9:34; Acts 14:3.)¹¹⁷    These signs demonstrate in a special way that Jesus is truly "God who saves."(Compare Matthew 1:21; Acts of the Apostles 4:12.)¹¹⁸ –CCC

……1508   The Holy Spirit gives to some a special charism of healing(Compare 1 Corinthians 12:9,28,30.)¹¹⁹   so as to make manifest the power of the grace of the risen Lord. But even the most intense prayers do not always obtain the healing of all illnesses. Thus St. Paul must learn from the Lord that "my grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness," and that the sufferings to be endured can mean that "in my flesh I complete what is lacking in Christ's afflictions for the sake of his Body, that is, the Church."(2 Corinthians 12:9; Colossians 1:24.)¹²⁰ –CCC

…….1509   "Heal the sick!"(Matthew 10:8.)¹²¹    The Church has received this charge from the Lord and strives to carry it out by taking care of the sick as well as by accompanying them with her prayer of intercession. She believes in the life-giving presence of Christ, the physician of souls and bodies. This presence is particularly active through the sacraments, and in an altogether special way through the Eucharist, the bread that gives eternal life and that St. Paul suggests is connected with bodily health.(Compare John 6:54, 58; 1 Corinthians 11:30.)¹²² –CCC

…….1510   However, the apostolic Church has its own rite for the sick, attested to by St. James: "Is any among you sick? Let him call for the elders [presbyters] of the Church and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord; and the prayer of faith will save the sick man, and the Lord will raise him up; and if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven."(James 5:14-15.)¹²³    Tradition has recognized in this rite one of the seven sacraments.(Compare Council of Constantinople II (553) Denzinger-Schönmetzer 216; Council Of Florence (1439) 1324- 1325; Council Of Trent (1551) 1695-1696; 1716-1717.)¹²⁴ --CCC

241 JESUS HEALS THE WHOLE MAN, SOUL AND BODY

YOUCAT Lesson 241

YOUCAT the catechism for Catholic youth

241  Why did Jesus show so much interest in the sick?

Jesus came to show God’s love.  He often did this in places where we feel especially threatened: in the weakening of our life through sickness.  God wants us to become well in body and soul and, therefore, to believe and to acknowledge the coming of God’s kingdom.  [1503-1505]

Painting: …..Mary  receives Jesus from the cross Pieta by El Greco.....98.....241

Sometimes a person has to become sick in order to recognize what we all—healthy or sick—need more than anything else: God.  We have no life except in him.  That is why sick people and sinners can have a special instinct for the essential things.  Already in the New Testament it was precisely the sick people who sought the presence of Jesus; they tried “to touch him, for power came forth from him and healed them all” (Luke 6:19).  91

“When Jesus heard it, he said to them, ‘Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick; I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.’”  Mark 2:17

“The sick person is able to sense more than other people notice.”  Reinhold Schneider (1903-1958, German author)

Christ the physician

…….1503   Christ's compassion toward the sick and his many healings of every kind of infirmity are a resplendent sign that "God has visited his people"(Luke 7:16; compare Matthew 4:24.)¹⁰⁴   and that the Kingdom of God is close at hand. Jesus has the power not only to heal, but also to forgive sins;(compare Mark 2:5-12.)¹⁰⁵   he has come to heal the whole man, soul and body; he is the physician the sick have need of.(compare Mark 2:17.)¹⁰⁶    His compassion toward all who suffer goes so far that he identifies himself with them: "I was sick and you visited me."(Matthew 25:36.)¹⁰⁷    His preferential love for the sick has not ceased through the centuries to draw the very special attention of Christians toward all those who suffer in body and soul. It is the source of tireless efforts to comfort them. –Catechism of the Catholic Church, Second Edition

…….1504   Often Jesus asks the sick to believe.(compare Mark 5:34, 36 ;Mark 9:23.)¹⁰⁸    He makes use of signs to heal: spittle and the laying on of hands,(compare Mark 7:32-36; Mark 8:22-25.)¹⁰⁹   mud and washing. (compare John 9:6-7.) ¹¹⁰    The sick try to touch him, "for power came forth from him and healed them all."(Luke 6:19; compare Mark 1:41; Mk 3:10; Mk 6:56.)¹¹¹    And so in the sacraments Christ continues to "touch" us in order to heal us. –CCC

…….1505   Moved by so much suffering Christ not only allows himself to be touched by the sick, but he makes their miseries his own: "He took our infirmities and bore our diseases.".(Matthew 8:17;compare Isaiah 53:4.)¹¹²    But he did not heal all the sick. His healings were signs of the coming of the Kingdom of God. They announced a more radical healing: the victory over sin and death through his Passover. On the cross Christ took upon himself the whole weight of evil and took away the "sin of the world,".(John 1:29; compare Isaiah 53:4-6.)¹¹³   of which illness is only a consequence. By his passion and death on the cross Christ has given a new meaning to suffering: it can henceforth configure us to him and unite us with his redemptive Passion. --CCC

Lent: March 1-April 14, 2017

Lent: March 1-April 14, 2017

The Temptation of Jesus in the Desert by 16th century master illuminator Simon Bening. …..This depicts Satan tempting Jesus to change a stone into bread. The other two temptation sites are included: the temple in the far background where angels would uphold Jesus in a fall, and the mountain from which Satan would give Jesus all the kingdoms in the world if Jesus would prostrate and worship Satan. .....88

…….566   The temptation in the desert shows Jesus, the humble Messiah, who triumphs over Satan by his total adherence to the plan of salvation willed by the Father. –Catechism of the Catholic Church, Second Edition

…….540   Jesus' temptation reveals the way in which the Son of God is Messiah, contrary to the way Satan proposes to him and the way men wish to attribute to him.(compare Matthew 16:21-23.)²⁴⁴    This is why Christ vanquished the Tempter for us: "For we have not a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tested as we are, yet without sinning."(Hebrews 4:15.)²⁴⁵    By the solemn forty days of Lent the Church unites herself each year to the mystery of Jesus in the desert.

Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time, February 26, 2017

Photo: ….. Yellow shafted flicker photo by Rick Pruden. …..”Look at the birds in the sky; they do not sow or reap, they gather nothing into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are not you more important than they?” –Matthew 6:26

Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time, February 26, 2017
Lectionary: 82

The first reading is from the Prophet Isaiah 49:14-15

  

Zion said, "The LORD has forsaken me; my LORD has forgotten me."  Can a mother forget her infant, be without tenderness for the child of her womb?  Even should she forget, I will never forget you.

 Responsorial Psalm 62:2-3, 6-7, 8-9

R. (6a) Rest in God alone, my soul.

Only in God is my soul at rest;
from him comes my salvation.
He only is my rock and my salvation,
my stronghold; I shall not be disturbed at all.

R. Rest in God alone, my soul.

Only in God be at rest, my soul,
for from him comes my hope.
He only is my rock and my salvation,
my stronghold; I shall not be disturbed.

R. Rest in God alone, my soul.

With God is my safety and my glory,
he is the rock of my strength; my refuge is in God.
Trust in him at all times, O my people!
Pour out your hearts before him.

R. Rest in God alone, my soul.

  

The second reading is from the 1 Corinthians 4:1-5

Brothers and sisters:  Thus should one regard us: as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God.  Now it is of course required of stewards that they be found trustworthy.  It does not concern me in the least that I be judged by you or any human tribunal; I do not even pass judgment on myself; I am not conscious of anything against me, but I do not thereby stand acquitted; the one who judges me is the Lord.  Therefore do not make any judgment before the appointed time, until the Lord comes, for he will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will manifest the motives of our hearts, and then everyone will receive praise from God.

  

Allelluia: Hebrews 4:12

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
The word of God is living and effective;
discerning reflections and thoughts of the heart.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

  

The Gospel of St. Matthew 6:24-34

Jesus said to his disciples: "No one can serve two masters.  He will either hate one and love the other, or be devoted to one and despise the other.  You cannot serve God and mammon.

"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink, or about your body, what you will wear.  Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?  Look at the birds in the sky;
they do not sow or reap, they gather nothing into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them.  Are not you more important than they?  Can any of you by worrying add a single moment to your life-span?  Why are you anxious about clothes?  Learn from the way the wild flowers grow.  They do not work or spin.  But I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was clothed like one of them.  If God so clothes the grass of the field, which grows today and is thrown into the oven tomorrow, will he not much more provide for you, O you of little faith?  So do not worry and say, 'What are we to eat?' or 'What are we to drink?'or What are we to wear?'  All these things the pagans seek.  Your heavenly Father knows that you need them all.  But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given you besides.

Do not worry about tomorrow; tomorrow will take care of itself.  Sufficient for a day is its own evil."

But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given you besides.
Do not worry about tomorrow; tomorrow will take care of itself.  Sufficient for a day is its own evil."

240 IN THE OLD TESTAMENT MAN LIVES HIS SICKNESS IN THE PRESENCE OF GOD

YOUCAT Lesson 240

YOUCAT the catechism for Catholic youth

The Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick

240  How was “sickness” interpreted in the Old Testament?

In the Old Testament sickness was often experienced as a severe trial, against which one could protest but in which one could also see God’s hand.  In the prophets, the thought appears that sufferings are not just a curse and not always the consequence of personal sin.  That by patiently bearing sufferings one can also be there for others.  [1502]

Painting: …..Guernica by Pablo Picasso 1937. …..Guernica is a painting by Pablo Picasso. It was created in response to the bombing of Guernica, a Basque Country village in northern Spain, by German and Italian warplanes at the behest of the Spanish Nationalist forces on 26 April 1937 during the Spanish Civil War. …..240

“This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah, ‘He took our infirmities and bore our diseases.’”  Matthew  8:17

Illness in human life

The sick person before God

…….1502   The man of the Old Testament lives his sickness in the presence of God. It is before God that he laments his illness, and it is of God, Master of life and death, that he implores healing.(compare Psalm 6:3; Psalm 38; Isaiah 38.)⁹⁹    Illness becomes a way to conversion; God's forgiveness initiates the healing.(compare Psalm 32:5; Ps 38:5; Ps 39:9-12,; Ps 107:20; compare Mark 2:5-12.)¹⁰⁰    It is the experience of Israel that illness is mysteriously linked to sin and evil, and that faithfulness to God according to his law restores life: "For I am the Lord, your healer."(Exodus 15:26.)¹⁰¹    The prophet intuits that suffering can also have a redemptive meaning for the sins of others. compare Isaiah 53:11.)¹⁰²    Finally Isaiah announces that God will usher in a time for Zion when he will pardon every offense and heal every illness.(compare Isaiah 33:24.)¹⁰³ --CCC