May 1, 2012 – Catechism 1499-1505

Illness brings us a glimpse of death.  Have you ever felt so sick that you felt like you’re going to die.  I never thought about it as a teaching lesson to give us a sense of our mortality.  I haven’t felt that sick very often, but there have been those times when you really could not get out of bed. Every muscle hurts, you don’t want to open your eyes, but lying down and being still doesn’t seem to help.  In that moment, have you ever reflected on how fragile our bodies really are.  How all of this is something that is just a passing moment in the history of the world.  When we feel the weakness of our bodies, it allows us the opportunity to reflect on what we are really made for and that we don’t belong to this Earth. 

Jesus didn’t heal everyone.  I have wondered about that sometimes.  Was there anybody that actually died during the time Jesus was on Earth.  He healed so many and had so many miracles, sometimes it seems like that is what was happening. But Jesus did not heal everyone. Some people that did die while Jesus was on Earth; Holy Innocents in Bethlehem, Herod that met the wise men, Lazarus (although he was raised), and Judas (who died Thursday night or early Good Friday by all accounts I have understood.      

Connection of sin and illness.  I think I have talked before about sin being seen as a illness, but it is brought up again and again that Christ, when He heals, is healing the soul from sin as well.  The two are usually connected.  Maybe that is because we cannot see the soul, but we can relate or understand more the physical healing.