Starting this September, after selected Tuesday evening Masses, I will be present after Mass near the St. Anthony statue to pray for those desiring prayers for healing. See below for those dates when this time of prayer will be available. Following the 11:00am Mass on the fourth Sunday of the month the parish’s healing prayer group will available near the St. Anthony statue to pray for healing also.
On September 20th (Sunday) there will be an outdoor Mass for Healing at 7:30PM in the parking lot. This Mass will take longer than the usual hour, because we will not rush the time of praying for and with each other for healing. And, we will include in this Mass a time of praying for healing for our Nation. Please join us that evening for a powerful time of prayer in Jesus’ Name.
Jesus desires that we pray for healing as a church. Although these times of prayer include an ordained priest and prayer teams, please note this: Jesus calls everyone to lay hands on the sick for healing (Mark 16).
Now, here’s the danger of having a healing prayer team in any church: parishioners may then think “those people” are the people who pray with others for healing, but it’s not anyone else’s responsibility. There couldn’t be anything further from the truth. Having a prayer ministry here at St. Francis de Sales does not remove the responsibility that every Christian has to live like Jesus. And, Jesus shows - time and again - that we are to go and proclaim the Good News and minister in the charisms of the Holy Spirit. This is not the task of a select few, “special” people. This is the very mission of the entire Body of Christ, each according to their own vocation in the Church.
But, praying with people for healing really isn’t “my thing.” I’ve heard this not a few times in my short time as a priest. And, there are a lot of possible undertones pulling the strings beneath those words. That might mean: I don’t know how to go about doing “that” so I’m not going to start now. That might mean: It’s not my job to do that, I’m just an ‘x.’ And, it might be someone saying: That “Holy Spirit stuff” isn’t my spirituality or how I pray. In each of these cases, the major point that is missed is that Jesus and the Church calls each of us to live like Jesus Christ and build God’s kingdom like Jesus built the Kingdom. And, this means that every single Christian has a responsibility to proclaim the Good News and grow in the gifts of the Holy Spirit. If you consider yourself a Christian, then it’s your thing to be like Jesus, and Jesus healed people as a major part of how he lived his relationship with God the Father in the Holy Spirit. (Please take a look at past blog posts that discuss praying for healing. And, please watch the Parish Mission videos about the Holy Spirit and Praying with Others for a crash course on these topics).
It can be scary to ask for healing and it can be scary to pray with others for healing. But, the more we step out and practice, the easier it becomes. We can’t guarantee anyone a healing; but, if we move in the Holy Spirit of Jesus Christ and we allow Jesus’ charity to guide all that we do, then we can guarantee that God’s love will be present in, with, and through us when we pray.
Here are the dates after the Tuesday evening Mass (around 7:15PM) when I will be available to pray with people for healing while Adoration takes place:
September 1
September 15
October 13
October 27
November 10
November 24
