Dear Friends in Christ,

Lent is underway! Our 40-day journey towards Easter has begun. When we first think of Easter and the Resurrection, the words salvation and Savior are top of mind. Savior is the title most closely associated with the high holy days - the Triduum - for which Lent prepares us. Through his passion, death & resurrection, Jesus saves us from our sins. But healing is also a great part of his mission. Jesus often heals physical and spiritual maladies in the Gospels, all pointing us toward wholeness and freedom in Christ. So, the first truth we need to appreciate is how central healing is to Jesus’ mission. We will spend time this Lent being attentive to healing as a theme. 

Perhaps you may not have given this too much thought, but if we are saved, then from what? Various answers hold sway and even converge: our sins, eternal death, and the evil one. We are in need of saving. If Jesus is not only our Savior but also our healer, then we also must admit to having a need which requires his touch; call it a wound. All three Synoptic Gospels record his words: “The righteous do not need a physician but the sick do” (Mt 9:12, Mk 2:17, Lk 5:31-32). Jesus came to bring healing to the sick and sinners. The second truth to convey then, and this may be a bit challenging to admit: we are all in need of healing. One key question to ponder this Lent: what kind of healing do I need? Where do I need greater wholeness in my life?

The third truth to appreciate is that healing is mysterious. In an upcoming Gospel, we will ponder why a man would be born blind. Jesus’ answer is telling but also shrouded in mystery: “so that the works of God might be made visible through him” (Jn 9:3) We should not be looking to assign blame to the man or his parents, instead this blindness is present for the greater glory of God.

This week we journey back to the beginning, to origins of creation and that original wound which afflicts all of humanity (See: Gn 2-3). We learn of the serpent and his temptation which caused our first parents to fall, committing the Original Sin, which is passed on to all of us. A misuse of freedom, an impatience, a taking what was not given, a disobedience - all ways to read the rich multilayered account.

But the Good News is that from this very beginning, God was immediately planning and preparing for this deep work of healing, although it was only in the fullness of time that the promise came to fulfillment. Called the Protoevangelium (first Gospel), we find the promise moments after the Fall: “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; they will strike at your head, while you strike at their heel,” (Gn 3:15). We can think of the woman as both Mary and the Church. We consider Jesus as the first-born offspring, with all the members of the Church as his adopted sisters and brothers in the fight against the serpent and his offspring. Even from the first moments of the Fall, God had begun plotting a mysterious unfolding path to wholeness and victory in Christ.

So, this Lent, I invite you to consider healing. We will have opportunities to share with you in the coming weeks. Even as you make your plan for Lent, use healing to shape your prayer, fasting and works of charity. Where do you need more of God’s healing touch and presence in your life?

Yours in the Divine Physician,

Fr. Joel