Within the rarely used Fourth Eucharistic Prayer is a passage which says; “that we might live no longer for ourselves, but for Him”. This is a passage which struck me deeply a long time ago and speaks to me still. This person is Jesus. This is our life’s calling.

Are we doing it? Are we aware of it? Are we committed to it? Is it a serious challenge for me?

To live for Christ is to live in the Holy Spirit. There is no change, no renewal, no maturity in our Christian Spiritual lives unless we allow the Holy Spirit to come and work in us. He waits for the invitation. It is our choice. The Spirit can only work with us as we are. Only in as much as I am willing to cooperate mentally, spiritually and emotionally with the Holy Spirit; is the Spirit able and free to work with me. This is why healing is so important in our lives. The reason for this is to bring us to wholeness so that we can give ourselves away, and for this we need freedom and self knowledge. We cannot give away that which we do not own. Through our Baptism we are gifted by the same Spirit to come to this point.

The gifts we are looking at this time are the Charisms of Power. According to Paul these are: Faith, Healing and Miracles.

FAITH The Charism of Faith is not about intellectual belief. This charism is the faith which Jesus exercised and taught to his disciples. A faith which “can move mountains”, the outcome of which is beyond our experience or expectation. (Matt21;21, Mk 11; 22-23, 1 Cor. 12;9 )This gift arises from confidence in God. It believes that God wants to act and we are inspired by God, through the Holy Spirit, to manifest an expectancy that He will act. It is to believe without doubting as the old penny catechism used to tell us. This means entrusting myself to God and believing absolutely that I am connected to Him; and in Him to the power of Christ,- so that God’s purpose will be accomplished.
This gift works alongside Discernment, Words of Knowledge and Wisdom. Invaluable to this gift is the use and gifting of the Word of God, ie “Logos” as in the Scriptures but specifically the “Rhema” Word which brings its own power and indicates the mind of God for this situation at this point of time. This is the Word of Discernment. The gift of Faith is especially valuable and necessary in the areas of deliverance, oppression and possession.

Within the Gospels there are 3 types of Faith highlighted:

• Saving Faith – the gift of salvation and baptism
• Fruit of Faith ( Gal 5;19)- Faithfulness
• Charism of Faith - Faith of Power - Lk 17: 5-6- “Increase our Faith” Jesus said that these signs will accompany those who believe: “They will lay hands on the sick and they will recover” (Mk 16;17-18). This specific gift of healing partners the gift of Faith- acting in the power of God; in the name of Jesus.

• Which gift of Faith do I have?
• Could I pray for a deeper level of Gift?
• How far would I want to go?

HEALING God wants to heal the whole person. I believe that we all have the power to heal through the gifting of the Holy Spirit but only God can cure. This we will talk about later. Healing is an important gift and there are many levels of healing. To smile at someone in the street, to listen to someone’s concerns, to accompany the lonely, to visit the sick neighbour, to invite a single person into my family for Christmas or Easter Lunch; to turn and give a firm handshake in Mass at the sign of peace; to make eye contact, to make people feel noticed and part of the community, are all healing acts.

In Lk 4;18-19 quoting Is 61;1-2; Jesus proclaimed his mission Statement to the Jews in the Synagogue. “the Spirit of the Lord has been given to me for he has anointed me. He has sent me to bring the good news to the poor, to proclaim liberty to captives and to the blind new sight, to set the downtrodden free and to proclaim the Lord’s year of favour.” This is our Mission Statement too.

There are many levels of sickness in body, mind, emotions and spirit in need of healing. As disciples of Christ we are called to “proclaim liberty to captives” (held by illness, sin, memories, abuse, anger, unforgiveness, rejection, or the evil one); to give sight to the (physically, spiritually and emotionally) blind; “to let the oppressed and downtrodden go free” (to work for justice in individuals and in groups) and to “bind up hearts that are broken”, (by inner healing, healing of memories, healing of family tree etc.) We are called “to proclaim a year of favour of the Lord” (to be a sign for healing ourselves. This means to recognise our own need and invite healing for self. This will involve forgiving self, restoring relationships with others and setting free those we feel ‘owe us something’. This all can be painful but ultimately freeing.)

Healing is about bringing our lives to wholeness so that we truly become new creations in Christ. As we do this we become signs and witnesses to others. We are personally enabled to deal with life’s challenges - to meet change, loss, bereavement, physical, psychological, spiritual, emotional, relational difficulties and to help others to do the same. Often this healing of self brings with it the gift of tears, joy, gratitude, insight and foresight, which are healing gifts in themselves.

To receive the gift of healing does not necessarily mean to be cured of physical illness etc. There are many ill or disabled people who live whole mature spiritual lives, witnessing to others through their condition faith, acceptance and peace. This is truly what evangelisation is about. St Paul was one of these living with his cross which did not leave him. He asked three times to be healed but the reply was, “my grace is sufficient for you, my power is made perfect in weakness”. 2 Cor 12;9 and he accepted that. Christ himself was not relieved of his sufferings nor was his Mother.

How many of us can say that we are doing and experiencing all of these things? Not all are called to major healing ministry but we are all called to minister healing in one way or another.
• Which of these am I doing?
• Which could I do with a little more effort on my part?

MIRACLES Miracles are divine interventions where God works beyond the law of nature in order to encourage, strengthen and support the faith of his people; or to correct a given situation which cannot be achieved by any other means. Miracles are not only for the good of those cured but also witness to the unbeliever. The result of miracles is awe and wonder and glory given to God (see Paul Callaghan testimony, page 24). Miracles do not depend on the sanctity of the person involved, nor of those who are cured. Sometimes miracles are transmitted not through people but through a relic or a place or a shrine. Healing and Miracles again are greatly helped by Discernment, Trust, Expectant Faith, the Word of God, Word of Knowledge and Wisdom. All gifts of the Spirit are for the building up of community.

This area of the Power Gifts needs a strong faith and a great deal of humility. It needs a constant tuning in through prayer into the mind of God as much as we are able. Praying for healing for others is better exercised as a group, although one person may have a stronger gift. This is not only because we are a communal church and accountable, as pointed out by James, but also because of recent Church experiences we are now a ‘Safeguarding Church’ and wisdom and prudence, which we have already highlighted in another article, need to be exercised in all areas of the Healing Ministry.

A danger for the healer/miracle worker can be that concern for his/ her reputation can replace the work of God and His Spirit and miracles, healings, numbers can be exaggerated. Verification of all healing thus should be sought. Also any sign or wonder, no matter how wonderful and amazing, can never take the place of the centrality of the Word of God and the greatest miracle of all is the ongoing miracle of our salvation and personal transformation as we become more and more like Christ. We also need to remember that not all who come for healing have a strong expectant faith and therefore to make faith a condition for healing can cause more damage than good, especially if nothing perceptible happens immediately. God answers all prayer but, as with Paul it is not always answered as we ourselves would want. Healing in the main depends on the faith of the minister rather than those being ministered to.

Ron Rolheiser says that we may kick against the restraints of life for a while until the healing insight comes that life is about happiness and joy amidst the frustrations of disappointment and pain. This is the natural situation of things and that peace comes when we see this and accept it. Karl Rahner says, that in the torment of the insufficiency of this life, we finally come to see, that our symphonies in the main, remain unfinished.

This was the story of Christ until his Resurrection. This is our story, this is our witness. We live our lives in expectant faith, coming through a long journey into wholeness, where we minister to each other and offer healing on the way; where miracles may happen, but we do not rely on them, and where we reach our final stage of completeness in Christ, with the Father and Spirit as we have been promised.

• Where do I fit in?
• Where am I on the journey?
• Can I live with my crosses?
• What help do I need?
• Where can I find it?
• Will I Look?

Next time we will look at the gifts of service so vital to our Christian lives and calling.

Pat Kennedy has a Masters Degree in Pastoral Theology. She is a member of the English NSC, the chairwoman of the Hexham and Newcastle Diocese DST, where she is clerk to the Council of the Laity and works in Adult formation.