| Healing
When people ring in to the office, they often tell us wonderful bits of news. Below we share some of what we have heard from Goodnews readers
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The Lord Heals As We Go
I have had arthritis for ten years in my left knee and the last time I went to see my consultant about it back in June, he told me it was so bad that I would eventually need an operation. I reconciled myself to this as I was getting older after all. We have a monthly healing service at St Joseph's and a Mass. But as I pray with others I don't usually get time to go for prayer myself. I had developed a minor problem with my back so I went to visit an osteopath who made me do all sorts of exercises to check what was wrong. I had to use my knee a lot and he said, "just as well you don't have arthritis!" "But I do," I said and I told him about my knee. "Well you have no arthritis now" he said. I don't know when it happened but the Lord healed my knee without me at first even noticing it. Then shortly afterwards I wasn't well at all with a chest infection, bronchial infection and bad asthma. I had been in bed for a week and was on steroids and anti-biotics. The doctor told my husband that I was very seriously ill. I could hardly breathe and was feeling very depressed wondering if I was dying. I turned to the Lord and I felt him say to me to read Ezekiel 37 - the whole passage. It said, "I will put sinews in you and I will give you breath and you shall live and you will know that I am Yaweh, your God." Shortly after the priest came and gave me the Sacrament of the Sick. It was amazing. I immediately began to get better after that. People often look for spectacular miracles at big healing services, but I have found if you entrust yourself to Jesus, he will give you the health you need for the work he wants you to do, whether it's through doctors, through healing prayer or the sacraments. He heals us as we go.
Healing And Evangelisation Harvey, from a small prayer group in Hounslow, West London, shares how praying for healing led to an opening to share the gospel with an extended Indian family. I was asked by Ingrid, a member of our Hounslow prayer group to visit her sister-in-law, Diane, who was recovering from a cancer operation and recuperating with her sister who runs Harnage House, an old people's home in Brentwood. We went one Friday just to lay hands on her and pray for healing. When we arrived we found 25 members of the family there, including little children running around, as the whole family comes to visit the sister then. Many of them were nominal Catholics and were really struck by our prayers and started asking me questions about it and how they could come closer to God too. We have been going back now very regularly, both to pray for Diane and also to share about our faith with the other members of the family. It's a very casual arrangement. Sometimes others from our prayer group come, sometimes it is just Ingrid and I. Sometimes we just watch the football on television, other times they ask me to preach. We are now doing the CaFE video "Knowing God Better" with them. Our parish priest Fr Tony from St Michael's and Martin's in Hounslow has paid for the video for us. Another member of the family, Leslie, runs another old people's home too and she wants us to do something for them as well. Added to that, two of the family, who were very involved in the music ministry back home in India have started coming to our prayer group and now lead our music. It's amazing. A while back we prayed for God to open doors but we didn't expect him to do it this way.
Where To Go For Healing Dear Goodnews I would like to draw your attention to another healing centre which you might be interested in knowing about. This is Crowhurst Christian Healing Centre near Hastings in Sussex. It is Anglican run but ecumenical in ethos and has a Roman Catholic member of staff. I first heard about Crowhurst in 1997 and went there in a bit of a state. It was there that I was blessed with the gift of forgiveness and was set ablaze with the Holy Spirit and received the gift of tongues. I am now one of their intercessors and am an Area Representative and also work as a volunteer. Crowhurst has twice weekly healing services, and runs courses (residential and non-residential) on the Christian healing ministry for clergy, doctors, lay people and church healing teams. Further details from CCHC, The Old Rectory, Crowhurst, Battle TN33 9AD Yours, Mary, Hitchin, Herts.
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Gloria,
who's 73 and part of the healing ministry at St Joseph's parish in
New Malden, Surrey, shares how she experiences God's healing presence
in her life
