Colleen Orchanian

[This is a continuation of a series on healing, highlighting three more resources available to us in the healing journey.]

I had thought when I read about the healing miracles in the Gospels that they happened so quickly and easily. Jesus says a word or touches the person and BOOM, they are healed. Then everything is great. No more brokenness.

But I realized that I had made assumptions, some of them wrong. After Jesus healed the paralyzed man at the pool, he said, "Go and sin no more." He healed the physical problem, but it was likely that more healing was needed. It is the same today. We may be healed in one way, but there are other areas that need attention. So I can see a doctor and pray and find a healing community, but there is more. I need more. More resources for the complete healing of my body, mind, and soul.

So here are three more resources that might be helpful on your healing journey.

Forgiveness

I wrote about this a bit in the post on obstacles to healing. Unforgiveness is the number one reason we are not fully healed. I explained what forgiveness was not, and what it is. Recognizing its true meaning, as we learn in Scripture, is important. If you haven't already read that post, you should.

Jesus calls us to forgive the minor and the major things. He wants us to forgive even the unforgivable. When I forgive, I am no longer a victim but a victor. Jesus is victor over the cross. Through the cross, which was to be his death and the end of him, he opened heaven for all of us. The devil thought he had victory, and then realized he had been vanquished. He had been overcome.

Where do you need to be victorious? Where do you need that shift from victim to victor? Who do you need to forgive in order to make that shift?

This is where prayer fits in–again. Prayer is one of our most powerful healing resources. There are prayers of petition and prayers of renunciation (covered in the last post). Now I'll cover prayers of forgiveness.

We may need help in articulating what we are forgiving. It isn't just the specific act of injustice, but also how it made you feel, the lingering effects on your well-being, the beliefs about yourself that followed from the injustice. Here are some examples of what you might say: I forgive so-and-so for stealing from me my security, my sense of belonging, my joy, my confidence. I forgive them for making me feel ugly and unwanted. I forgive them for making me feel like it was my fault. I forgive my parents for not protecting me.

Consider also how you need to forgive yourself. Not because you were at fault, necessarily, but because of any blame you took on yourself. But also the injustices that happened by your own free will. For example: I forgive my five-year-old self for not resisting or fighting back. I forgive myself for the horrible things I did while drunk.

A therapist or a wise spiritual friend can help you identify the deep roots of unforgiveness that block healing. Your goal is to be as specific as possible about the effects and the baggage you carry from your wounds.

The Forgiveness Prayer by Fr. Robert DeGrandis is a helpful resource.

While praying for forgiveness, you can also pray for Jesus to take the pain and heal your wounds. Just like in the last episode, we can say something like, Jesus, they owe me a debt they cannot repay. Not in a million years. They can't give me back what I lost. And I'm transferring their debt to you. Do with them what you will. Free me from the pain of this memory.

These are prayers we may need to repeat over and over again. They aren't magic charms that work if you pray them in just the right way. Paul wrote that we should persevere in prayer, and we should. If you struggle to pray for forgiveness, ask God to give you the desire and grace to forgive. And keep praying for the desire to forgive until you can ask for forgiveness with a sincere heart.

Repentance

Jesus began his ministry by saying, "Repent." It's that important. But what does it have to do with healing? How can repenting heal my wounds? So often when Jesus healed, he also said, Go and sin no more. In other words, repent! The further I get from God, the more wounded I'll be. If I want to be healed and stay healed, I need God's presence at every moment.

Healing comes from union with God. I won't have that union if I don't acknowledge who I am in all my brokenness. That's hard to do because we rarely know how broken we are, how much we need to repent, or what we need to repent of. When I first returned to the Catholic Church after 20 years away, I went to confession and had a lot of big sins—mortal sins. I am sure there was not a single venial sin that I confessed. Why? Not because I didn't have any, but because I could not see them. The mortal sins were huge. Not only that, but I didn't have the spiritual maturity to know that those little things were sins.

So I returned to Church. I was going to Sunday Mass. I was doing great. I thought I was a faithful Catholic. And then I started learning and growing closer to God. My eyes were opened to the sins that I had ignored. I had to clear out the big things to recognize the little things.

Where are you now? Are there some big sins, huge boulders that need to be removed? Peter's denying Jesus three times was pretty big. He repented of that, but still had other things that needed correcting later on.

St. Paul wrote that he doesn't do what he wants to do and does what he does not want to do. Here is a great saint who still struggles with his passions. He still needed to repent. Can you relate? We have disordered passions. And we often fall short of the glory of God. When that happens, we need to repent.

Here are questions to consider as you discern where you need to repent. Is there something in your life that is more important than God? Do you struggle with uncharitable thoughts, especially towards people who disagree with you? Do you try to impress others with your appearance, knowledge, or talents? If so, you need to repent of pride. Are you deliberately mean to others when they offend you? Do you criticize other Christians, questioning their faith?

These are just some examples of ways we may need to repent. Ask God to reveal to you where your heart is not one like God's. Cultivate holy virtue and you will always be repenting. And as you repent, you will be healed, and you will grow in compassion for those who have sinned against you.

Healing Book Groups

I facilitate a healing support group, and we read and discuss books on healing, one chapter at a time. Some of these books are ones I read before bringing them to the group, and I have found that I get much more out of the group discussion than I did by reading on my own. A comment by one person might spark an insight for another, which helps foster healing. Not only that, but the vulnerability that is present in the group helps us heal. There is acceptance of who each person is, even when we are all imperfect.

So choose a book and get together with others to read and discuss it, one chapter at a time. You can do it within your family, in your church, with neighbors, with friends. You can meet at your home around a meal, at a coffee shop, at church, or online. Three books that have been most helpful in our healing support group are Be Healed, by Dr. Bob Schuttes, Abide by Heather Khym, and Loved As I Am by Sister Miriam Heidland.

There is hope. You can be healed. God wants you to be healed. Choose the things you can do to be open to the healing touch of Jesus, our Divine Physician.

Questions for prayer:

1. How has forgiveness been a source of healing for you? Where do you struggle with forgiveness?

2. How has repentance helped you in your healing journey? Is there a fault or sin that is blocking your healing?

3. If a book discussion group is right for you, who might you invite to join you on the healing journey?