God Heals

One of my “guilty pleasure” shows is Dr. Pimple Popper on TLC. I watched it often on Hulu when I want some light entertainment without too much-needed brain activity. In this particular series, Dr. Sandra Lee treated patients who needed help or suffered from some types of skin deformities, illnesses, or diseases. Some patients and cases were really heartfelt while others had very shallow reasoning as to why they would like the procedures to be performed on them.

Those who were really suffering and got the needed alleviation from her dermatological treatments and surgeries really touched my heart. The many daily and small activities we take for granted in our normalcy were hard for some because of their excess skin-cell growths or physical conditions. These people were suffering not only physical pains but also emotional and psychological hardships from others as well. They were looked down on and outcasted by others because of their physical or skin conditions. Therefore, to be able to heal or help in some way to alleviate their struggles were a great motivation and blessing for the patients — as well as the viewers.

For me, I find a similar connection to healing in a place where many pilgrims come for healing as well. One of the places that I love to visit the most is Lourdes! For me, this place is a foreshadowing of heaven; because here, everyone is treated with dignity and respect. As a matter of fact, the sick, disabled, and elderly are treated with the utmost respect and care. They have the prominent, first, and foremost important places at Mass, in the processions, and in any activities! To be able to see people who are often frowned upon, outcasted, ignored, and forgotten to be cared for has deeply touched my heart and brought me to tears many times, for this is what we are called to be as the Church.

I think if each and every one of us could live the heartfelt spirit that is enlivened in Lourdes, the world would definitely be a better place, for sure. For me, this is holy ground because people do not just care for one another at this place, they also come to find God and healing for their souls. We find a lot of people coming to Lourdes, seeking healing and cure for their ailments, just as they did in the Lord Jesus Christ‘s own time. For better or worse, good or shallow reasons, people come there to ask God for healings through the intercession of the Blessed Mother.

I had seen with my own eyes the physical healings given there. Nevertheless, I had also seen people disappointed because they did not get what they asked for. Over and over again, I come to hear many testimonies and believe this place is a holy ground because I have personally known people who received healing (for their souls). In a very amazing and humbling way, those acts of healing were so intimate and personal that no one else would have known unless they were told by the people themselves! It is, then, important for us to remember what it means to be healed by God because His desire to heal us is much deeper than what we can understand and incomprehensible for us at times.

In the Sacred Scriptures, we have seen the Lord wanting people’s own personal faith and an intimate trust in Him! He did not care to heal people so that they can praise or make Him an earthly messiah or king. He came to this world to teach us the truth and lead us back to our heavenly homeland. The Lord came to free us from the bondage of sin, enslavement to the lies of this world, and manipulations of the Deceiver. Jesus‘ own mission was to reveal to us our true identity, made in the image and likeness of God — as sons and daughters of our Heavenly Father, His disciples, and instruments of the Holy Spirit.

Our Savior and Redeemer did not desire to only heal us physically, He came to free us and desires to heal our souls deep from within! The truest re-formation and transformation that we can receive from God is one that is heartfelt, personal, and intimate so we can be free from lesser goods, manipulations, and lies as to live fully, totally, and completely belonging to Him. In the beginning, when Adam and Eve kept their eyes on God, they were able to love one another without guilt and shame. In the beginning, they were happy and content with each other and with Him who loved them so much that He gave them life and permitted them to share with Him in the act of caring for creation. Nonetheless, when they lost focus on Him and began to listen to the lies and manipulation of the Evil One, that was when they lost their contentment and peace in His love.

The Devil and his dirty and cheap tactics only fill us with deceiving lies and manipulations to question God‘s goodness and focus on our vain, self-centered goods. The greatest acts of disobedience and betrayal in salvation history — as well as our very own’s — have been based on our egocentric desires to be in control, have things our way, and want more than what we have been blessed and loved with. By thinking that we deserve more or that whatever we have is not enough makes us feel empty and unhappy. We are filled with vanities that want “more” without knowing when “more” is enough or what it truly means to be happy and content. Therefore, too many of us fell and continue to fall into the pitless trap that the Devil has set up for us. Too many of us have spent our lives chasing after vanities and things that we think will make us happy but end up having nothing really satisfy us in the end! Too many of us are unhappy, frustrated, and resentful of life and of others for what we do not have or think we deserved. We have really never understood what it means to have the simplicity of heart and be loved without conditions.

To be honest, we talk much about unconditional love in our day and age, but too many of us are willing to love unconditionally. Too many versions of our love for one another have been perverted, cheapened, manipulated, or self-serving. Too many of us have ended up objectifying others or being objectified because we really do not know how to truly love and be loved from the heart. Sadly, but true, we have cheapened true love into some shallow, perverted, unhealthy, physical, sexual, or psychological satisfaction, pleasure, or fulfillment. Hence, too many have ended up using others or being used to fill the void and emptiness that only God can fill. Instead of coming to the Healer asking to be healed and filled with His grace-filled, infinite, powerful love, we have too oftentimes settled for cheaper, destructive, or toxic solutions and alternatives. Therefore, the only way to free ourselves from the prodigious path is to change our way and return back to Him who desires, waits, and wants to heal us deep from within!

Therefore, it is important for us to be humble and come to the Healer to find rest for our souls and seek true healing from Him! It might not always be the healing that we expect or desire, are able to comprehend, or understand according to our feeble minds and limited capacity. Even if we do not get what we think we deserve or desire, let us remember that He truly loves and cares for us beyond our imagination and understanding, so it is best to trust and give ourselves rest in His providential care. Simply put, instead of getting frustrated with what we do not have, let us give thanks and receive what He has given us from the goodness of His care for our souls, deep from within and for our eternal good.

In all things, let us remember that the Lord came to set us free from the bondage of sin and enslavement to the things of this world so we can truly be liberated to live as children of our Heavenly Father, His disciples, and instruments of the Holy Spirit for one another. If anything arises or could deter us from loving Him, let us do our best to shun them away and not let them distract us from being focused on loving Him. In all things, ask ourselves the real question deep from within: “Am I truly free and at peace at this moment to truly give myself in loving Him and to embrace the present moment?” If not, let us be real, humble, genuine, and transparent to seek forgiveness through the Sacrament of Reconciliation so as to be healed and able to receive the needed sacramental grace to love and give ourselves wholeheartedly, genuinely, and intimately to the One who gives His everything to us. May each and every one of us recognize, embrace, and receive the love and healing God desires and wants for us so we can truly be free to live our present vocation and life eternal!