Heart Hurts

Seeking spiritual healing from the Divine Physician

Mark 16:15-20

Jesus appeared to the Eleven and said to them: "Go into the whole world and proclaim the Gospel to every creature. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved; whoever does not believe will be condemned. These signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will drive out demons, they will speak new languages. They will pick up serpents with their hands, and if they drink any deadly thing, it will not harm them. They will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover." So then the Lord Jesus, after he spoke to them, was taken up into heaven and took his seat at the right hand of God. But they went forth and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the word through accompanying signs.

          A couple of weeks ago one of our students got sick in church. Do you remember that? He didn’t quite make it to the bathroom. I believe that a number of students were sick with a “stomach bug” recently. Maybe some students are sick right now and missing school today. Raise your hand if you have been sick before. Raise your hand if you liked being sick. That was a trick question – to see if you’re paying attention!

          Boys and girls, there are two kinds of sicknesses. The first kind is the sickness of the body, like a stomach bug. We lay in bed and moan and groan. Where do you go when your body is sick? Most of us run to momma! But if it’s a really serious sickness – like cancer – where do most people go? They go visit a doctor. How many of you have parents who are doctors? They have a very important job in healing the body.

          The second kind of sickness is of the soul or spirit. Spiritual sickness is when you feel sad because your dog has died. How many of you have felt sad? Your body is fine – maybe even fit as a fiddle! – but your spirit hurts, or your heart hurts. Now, where do you go when you have a spiritual sickness, and who can heal you? Well, moms are good doctors of the soul, too. But some of like to talk to a friend, and our hearts feel better. But the best person to heal a spiritual sickness is Jesus! Only Jesus can heal the deepest hurts; only Jesus can heal us when our heart hurts. That’s why he’s sometimes called the “Divine Physician,” the “Divine Doctor.”

          In the gospel today, Jesus gives his apostles the power to heal, too. He tells them they will drive out demons, they will speak new languages (like Spanish and English!), and they will lay their hands on the sick and heal them. Now, sometimes they did miraculous healings – maybe even cured stomach bugs! – but most of the time they left healing the body to the doctors. The apostles’ main job, therefore, would be to heal the hurts of the soul, to heal people when their hearts hurt, to heal the deepest kind of sadness with the love of Jesus.

          Boys and girls, today is the Feast of St. Blaise and we celebrate the tradition of blessing throats. We will pray that anyone who has any throat problems will be healed. But remember that there is another kind of sickness, the spiritual kind, when your heart hurts. So, as you come forward try to think of anything that makes you sad and hurts your heart. When we touch your throat with those blessed candles, we will pray that Jesus will heal that hurt, too.

          This is one of the great blessings of a Catholic school: we help to heal all your hurts. The physical hurts are taken care of by our super nurse, Mrs. Jennifer Shelby, and the spiritual hurts are taken care of by our super doctor, Jesus. But remember, boys and girls, the deepest hurts are always the spiritual ones – the heart hurts – and only Jesus can heal those.

          Praised be Jesus Christ!