Dare to believe that you can be healed.
God’s mercies are new every morning. If we haven’t had a successful Lent so far, the Lord in merciful. Fr. Steve lists the core values of the parish:
- Mission-focused – we are focused on the spreading of the gospel.
- We are authentically Catholic – we can rest securely in the authority of the Church’s teaching. The Church does not need to “get with the times,” instead it proclaims the truth.
- We are supportive of families – families are the building blocks of society and they are under assault. Our school also supports families.
Fr. Steve encourages us to speak up if we feel we are not adhering to these values.
Come and See and Alpha are opportunities in the parish to spread the good news. Jesus says we must be born again. And that is what we offer to other people. That is the good news. We want to make sure that every man, woman, boy and girl in the parish has that born again experience and can come into a profound and personal experience of God.
Fr. Steve retells the story of the Israelites who were plagued with serpents in the desert because of their grumblings. Moses lifted up a bronze serpent and when they looked at it they were healed. Just so, in the New Testament, Jesus is lifted up and all who come to him are healed. The prayer is that we will be open to perceiving reality the way God does.
John 12:32 “When I am lifted up I will draw everyone to myself.” There is no one who will not be healed if they believe.
“… but only say the word and my soul shall be healed,” we say at Mass. Do we believe it? Jesus wants us to be free of the lies and inner vows we have made by way of self-protection, which block love coming in or going out. Jesus died so that we could find healing and freedom. Dare to believe that you can be healed.
In his post-communion comments Fr. Steve stresses the importance of healing as central to the gospel message.
