The Catechism in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz) - Day 206: Healing the Sick (2024)

Episode Date: July 24, 2024

By taking up our cross and following Christ, we gain a new way of seeing sickness and frailty. Along with this newness of vision, the Church is given the command from her founder to heal the sick. Since its beginning, the Church has anointed the sick among us, praying for their healing and salvation. Amid their sufferings, the suffering can endure, uniting themselves to Christ’s own afflictions for the sake of the Church. Today’s readings are Catechism paragraphs 1506-1513. This episode has been found to be in conformity with the Catechism by the Institute on the Catechism, under the Subcommittee on the Catechism, USCCB. For the complete reading plan, visit ascensionpress.com/ciy Please note: The Catechism of the Catholic Church contains adult themes that may not be suitable for children - parental discretion is advised.

Hi, my name is Father Mike Schmitz and you're listening to the Catechism in a Year podcast, where we encounter God's plan of sheer goodness for us, revealed in scripture and passed down through the tradition of the Catholic faith. The Catechism in a Year is brought to you by Ascension. In 365 days, we'll read through the Catechism of the Catholic Church, discovering our identity in God's family as we journey together toward our heavenly home. This is day 206, reading paragraphs 1506-1513. As always, I am using the Ascension edition of the Catechism, which includes a Foundations

of Faith approach, but you can follow along with any recent version of the Catechism of the Catholic Church. You can also download your own Catechism in a Year reading plan by visiting ascensionpress.com C I Y and you can click follow or subscribe in your podcast app for daily updates and daily notifications today is day 206 We're reading paragraphs 1506 to 1513 yesterday We talked about illness in human life and the sick person before god how jesus christ is the physician And also today we're moving on that jesus invites his disciples to follow him By taking up their cross in their turn. But also, Jesus gives out in the Holy Spirit a special charism of

healing. One of the reasons for healing, the miracles, the mighty works, would often accompany the proclamation of the gospel. That if someone comes along and says, you know, we talked about this before many times, if Jesus himself comes along and says you know we talked about this before many times if Jesus himself comes along and says I am I'm God people would say well okay well before I believe you you need to prove it so the healings are not only a sign of God's love and care for the poor care for the sick there are also signs that he is who he says he is similarly he sends out his apostles right sends out his disciples and tells them to heal as well not only as a sign of his love and a sign of his care for all the people, but also as a sign that the message,

the message of the gospel is true. And so that's gonna be one of the signs. And then we're gonna talk today about the sacrament of the sick and how actually does the sacrament of the anointing of the sick actually get played out? How, I say played out, you know what I'm saying? How about how the sacrament of the anointing of the sick actually get played out. How, why is it played out? You know what I'm saying? How about how the sacrament of the anointing of the sick gets prayed out?

Ha ha, see what I did there? So let's in order to enter into the reading for today, paragraphs 1506 to 1513, let us call upon our heavenly Father in the name of Jesus Christ and pray in the power of the Holy Spirit as we pray Father in heaven, we love you and we know without a doubt that you love us we know that

Whether you heal us or whether you are just present to us in the midst of our pain midst of our suffering We know that you love us Lord God for all the moments when it's difficult difficult to acknowledge this difficult to accept your love as it is difficult to accept your love as it is difficult to accept your will or God as often as it is hard to to not be healed we ask that you please come and meet us with your strength and meet us with your grace help our hearts not to become hardened to you but help our hearts to continue to melt in your presence. Help us always to trust you and help us to never stay afar from you,

especially when we need you the most. In our woundedness, in our wickedness, in our suffering and in our sickness, be with us this day and every day. Help us choose you this day and every day. In Jesus' name we pray, Amen. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen. This is day 206. We are reading paragraphs 1506 to 1513. Heal the Sick Christ invites His disciples to follow Him

by taking up their cross in their turn. 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. The risen Lord renews this mission saying, In my name they will lay their hands on the sick and they will recover, and confirms it through the signs that the church performs by invoking his name.

These signs demonstrate in a special way that Jesus is truly God who saves. The Holy Spirit gives to some a special charism of healing 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. Heal the sick. 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. However, the Apostolic Church has its own right for the sick attested to by St. James, who wrote, 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 any sins, he will be forgiven." Tradition is recognized in this rite one of the seven sacraments. A Sacrament of the Sick

The church believes and confesses that among the seven sacraments there is one especially intended to strengthen those who are being tried by illness, the Anointing of the Sick. The Council of Trent stated, This sacred anointing of the sick was instituted by Christ our Lord as a true and proper sacrament of the New Testament. It is alluded to indeed by Mark, but is recommended to the faithful and promulgated by James, the apostle and brother of the Lord. From ancient times in the liturgical traditions of both East and West, we have testimonies

to the practice of anointings of the sick with blessed oil. Over the centuries, the anointing of the sick was conferred more and more exclusively on those at the point of death. Because of this, it received the name extreme unction. Notwithstanding this evolution, the liturgy has never failed to beg the Lord that the sick person may recover his health if it would be conducive to his salvation. The apostolic constitution, sacrum unctionam infirmorum, following upon the Second Vatican Council established that henceforth, in the Roman Rite, the following should be observed. The sacrament of anointing of the sick is given to those who are seriously ill by anointing them on the forehead and hands with

duly blessed oil pressed from olives or from other plants saying only once Through this holy anointing may the Lord in his love and mercy help you with the grace of the Holy Spirit May the Lord who frees you from sin save you and raise you up of the Holy Spirit. May the Lord who frees you from sin save you and raise you up." Right, there we have it, day 206, paragraphs 1506 to 1513. There are so many things just to highlight today. Not only here's the context or here's the content of the sacrament of anointing of the sick, that very end where we'll talk about that in a second, but just at the very beginning, what happens? We'll talk about that in a second. But just at the very beginning, what happens? Jesus Christ, 1506, invites his disciples to follow him by taking up their cross in

turn. Now this is, Jesus has recast the vision. We talked about this yesterday, but Jesus has recast the vision for the role of illness, the role of sickness. Now I remember talking with a man years ago, and he's a good man, really good man. He was going through a lot of problems though. He wasn't Catholic at the time, and he was experiencing a lot of, I guess, physical and emotional,

some mental illness, all these things. And he was struggling because he was saying, okay, so I know the reasons for illness. I know that God uses illness to correct us, right? God uses illness to give us wisdom. He gives us illness to help us grow in maturity. So God gives us illness and He allows us to experience these things as a correction, right?

I'm living the wrong way. And so God allows me to kind of get what I've chosen in this life so I don't get what I've chosen in the next life. See, it allows me to experience the consequences of sin, like, you know, suffering, so that I can wake up and change my life. Another one is because he wants to mature us, right? God wants to grow us in this understanding, wants to grow us in patience, wants to grow us in grace. And the third reason, that God wants to

soften our hearts, right? He wants to make us more compassionate, more patient with others. Like these are some things. And so he was sharing with me that he's like, well you know, I'm looking at my life and there's, there's no real big change. I can see God, you know, I'm not, I'm not living out of his will that I know of at least. And he said, the next thing is I think I'm growing in this maturity and I'm trusting him more. And also I'm growing in compassion for the sufferings of others. So there's no other thing that God can do or wants to do in this.

And coming from a Catholic perspective, I was able to point out that Jesus does give a fourth, essentially a fourth reason, as it were, for suffering, that he allows us to experience illness. And that is because it's redemptive, that we recognize that sometimes God doesn't take away the pain, doesn't take away the sin. And even St. Paul talks about this, right? It's in paragraph 1508. It says that St. Paul must learn. Remember St. Paul, he begged the Lord. He said, hi,

how many times? Three times I came before the Lord and I begged him to take this thorn in my side away from me. And we don't know what that thorn in his side was But he begged the Lord to do it and instead he didn't get the healing he wanted But he got the response from the Lord Saint who said my grace is sufficient for you my grace is enough for you for my power is made perfect in weakness Even more we recognize that that st. Paul goes on to teach not only the Colossians, but also all of us He says in my flesh I complete what is lacking in Christ's afflictions for the sake of his body, that is the church. Think about that. In my flesh, I complete what is lacking in Christ's

sufferings for the sake of his body, the church. Now, John Paul II years ago, he wrote an encyclical called Salvifici Dolores, which is on human suffering. And he asked the question, wait a second, so what's lacking in Christ's afflictions? So like what is lacking in the sufferings of Jesus? I don't know if you've ever thought, if you've ever come across this Colossians chapter one, verse 24, where St. Paul says, in my flesh I complete what is lacking

in the sufferings of Christ. So what's lacking in the sufferings of Christ? What's lacking in Christ's afflictions? And the answer John Paul gives is nothing, nothing. And this is, Jeff Cavins taught me this. He introduced me to Salvation Dolores the answer John Paul gives is nothing, nothing. And this is, Jeff Cavins taught me this. He introduced me to self-intentioned Dolores, where John Paul teaches this.

What's lacking in the suffocations of Christ? Nothing. Because John Paul goes on to say though, I'm paraphrasing, he says, but so that you and I might participate in the mystery of Christ's redemptive work of this world. He extends to us a sliver of his cross So that you and I can be co-workers. We can participate with Jesus in the salvation and redemption of the world

So in my flesh in your flesh in our sufferings We complete what is lacking in the sufferings of Christ what's lacking nothing But Jesus Christ because, because He wants us to not only participate, He doesn't just want us to share in His glory, He also wants us to share in His affliction. He doesn't just want us to share in His resurrection, He wants us to share in His crucifixion.

Why? Because He knows that not only, I mean, why is the big question, and the answer is a mystery, but there's many things that happen to us as we carry that cross. Maybe the most important is at the heart of it, we become more like Him who didn't avoid His cross. He didn't run away from His cross,

but He embraced His cross out of love for His Father and love for us. And so we get to do that when we embrace our cross with the heart of Jesus, our heart becomes more like Him. When we embrace it out of love for us. And so we get to do that when we embrace our cross with the heart of Jesus, our heart becomes more like him. When we embrace it out of love for the Father, out of love for our fellow man, we become like him and that's the entire that's the entire point. Yes, God has extended his grace to heal to the Apostles and to the disciples and to Christians now. There are some people a

charism of healing. Some people have a charism of healing. That happens right now. I don't know if you know this. God still heals today. There are people that God, oh man, have come into contact with people who have done this, people who have been healed, people who have been given that gift of the ministry of healing.

It's amazing. But not everyone gets healed. Everyone does have the opportunity though to unite our sufferings to Jesus. And sometimes, again, why does God allow this to happen? Well, there's a bunch of reasons. And one of those reasons is, as I said, you're redemptive suffering and there's the correction, there's the maturity, there's the softening of our hearts. I think there's something about all of this that, you know, my good pal, C.S. Lewis, he had written about this in the book, The Problem of Pain.

You know, C.S. Lewis wrote three books on the mystery of suffering, the mystery of evil in the world. One was an essay. He approached this from three different perspectives. One is intellectually, the other is kind of imaginatively, and the third is just gut punch emotionally. And the intellectual approach was the problem of pain.

This essay, just breaking it down and saying, what is this, how do we understand this intellectually? The imaginative presentation of the problem of pain or the mystery of evil and how God can use it and redemptively is in a book called till we have faces. It's a novel. It's fiction. It's probably one of my favorite novels of all time till we have faces. And the third book, the one that processes grief, processes suffering on a gut level is his personal journal called A Grief Observed that he kept after his wife, Joy had died. And that one is just, it's just, it's really raw. It's like,

again, it's a gut punch. But when CS Lewis was writing the problem of pain, he has this, he has this quote and it is quote is at, I think it's just, it's fascinating and might help us today before we move on to the heart of the 19 of the sick. He says this, he says, we can ignore even pleasure, but pain insists upon being attended to. God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pains.

It is his megaphone to rouse a deaf world. No doubt, pain as God's megaphone is a terrible instrument. It may lead to final and unrepented rebellion. But it gives the only opportunity the bad man may have for amendment. It removes the veil. It plants the flag of truth within the fortress of the rebel soul. We talked about this yesterday, how pain, suffering, illness, it reminds us that we're finite. It reminds us that we're limited. it reminds us that we're limited, it reminds us that this life will not go on forever.

And sometimes that's God's megaphone, to rouse a drowsy and deaf world. Now, the church does come and meet the sick. We want the sick to not know that they're abandoned. And so, as I mentioned yesterday too, the letter of St. James, chapter five, there's the heart of the sacrament of anointing of the sick.

Where St. James writes, this is the Bible, it says, is any sick, or any among you sick? Let them call for the elders or presbyters of the church. Let them pray over them, anointing them with oil in the name of the Lord. The prayer of faith will save the sick man and the Lord will raise him up. If he's committed any sins, he will be forgiven." And that's one of the seven sacraments. And so what is this? It's a true and proper sacrament. This is, remember,

Jesus would reach out and touch the sick. He would come into contact with the sick. And this is one of the ways Jesus extends his healing. He extends his healing ministry where he reaches out through the body of Christ and touches the sick through the anointing of the sick. And so we have this as it says, extreme unction and what happens it's given to those who are seriously ill. We'll talk about that tomorrow. They were given to those who are seriously ill by anointing them with the forehead on the forehead and the hands with blessed oil saying only once that this holy anointing may the Lord in his love and mercy help You with the grace of the Holy Spirit and the Lord who frees you from sin save you and raise you up

You know, this is such an incredible incredible grace If you've received the anointing of the sick it is a gift to you If you've been there when your loved one has received the anointing of the sick is so So consoling in such a blessing And I am so grateful to the Lord, not only for all the times that people I love have received the anointing of the sick, particularly at the hour of death, just so grateful to the Lord,

but also grateful that the Lord has called me to be a priest and has given me the ability to be there for many people. And I, you know, my role as a college chaplain, I don't do the anointing of the sick as often as some of my brother priests do. But those men who just, well, in the middle of the night at any time of the day, will leave their warm beds and go through the darkness, go through the night,

go through the cold to be at the bedside of any sick person. I'm so humbled by my brother priests who constantly and just with no regard for self, they show up. It's amazing. If you ever received that sacrament of anointing of the sick or someone you love in the middle of the night or in the most weird time, I'm just so grateful, right? Our priests, I'm so time. I'm just so grateful, right? Our priests, I'm so grateful. I'm not one of them.

I only occasionally get to do the anointing of the sick. It's a grace every time. I am in awe. I am in awe and I am humbled by my brothers who will continually show up. And so let's pray for them. Honestly, let's pray for those priests who get called on day or night.

And pray for all those who are sick, especially those who suffer alone. And just know that I'm praying for you. Please pray for me. My name's Father Mike. I cannot wait to see you tomorrow. God bless.