So we’ve had some time now to get to know our new Holy Father, Pope Francis, and it seems that he’s well loved. Not only by Catholics but by Protestants and by people that aren’t even of any faith seem to really love and respect the Pope. When I asked people why, “What do you like about him?” Their response is usually something like, “He’s the Pope of the people. He likes to go out into the crowds.” It’s funny but he’s created this whole difficulty for security because he’s just randomly walking out into the crowd. He’ll be in procession and then all of a sudden he’ll make a beeline and head out into the crowd and go interact with the people. People love that he does that he walks out with the people. Often people will say that to me, “Father I like it better when you come down in front of the people. We like when people can come close to us.
What I’ve loved about the Holy Father is not only does he do this, we’ve seen some beautiful images already of the way that he is so tender and good to people. One of the first images I got to see of him was walking through the crowd. There was a brother that was actually holding up his disabled brother. They were both middle aged and he was holding his disabled brother up right there at the edge where the pope would walk by and the Holy Father walked over to him. He stopped everything that he was doing. He was even in the pope mobile and stopped the pope mobile. He got down from the pope mobile, walked out into the crowd, put his hands on this man, embraced him and kissed his forehead and spent just a few tender moments with him.
I’m sure you saw on Holy Thursday how the Holy Father went to the prison and he washed the feet of the prisoners. Not only did he wash their feet, he picked up every foot he kissed their foot. He was so tender and close to them.
I can’t help but think of that when I hear the gospel today of Jesus. He goes into this huge crowd. He has a crowd with Him and then He joins this other crowd of this woman and He sees that they’re carrying a casket. So He goes right up to the woman and He lays His hand and touches the casket and says to the man inside, “My son I tell you arise.” He raises from the dead and then He hands the boy back to his mother. Our pope is showing us the goodness of not only being out with the people but a touch and tenderness.
Most of Jesus’ miracles involve some kind of touch. Whenever He was healing someone He takes mud from the ground touches their eyes or touch their ears or He lays hands on people and that’s how He healed someone, through touch.
I know for me as a priest when I see miracles happen. When I see people healed, when I see wonderful things happen it’s often through the laying on of hands. It’s often through touch. So when people come to me in confession, if they come face to face, it’s amazing because I get the experience that moment of in the person of Christ to lay hands on that person. Physically, after they’ve made their confession and I speak those words of absolution, “I absolve you from you sins in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit” their body will loosen and I look and there’s a big smile on their face. There’s something about that invocation of hands.
This happens in hospitals when I go pray over people in the hospitals, there is a part of the anointing of the sick where there is the laying hands. Usually when I do that, I invite the whole family to come around the sick person and lay hands on them and just pray for a moment in silence and just touch them and right in front my eyes I can see that person go to peace as he’s held by the whole family and Jesus is there. There’s something very powerful about that.
Well, the wonderful thing is in Baptism, you have been given all the power that Jesus has. So when Jesus commissioned His disciples, He said, “Go and baptized them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit and you will not only be do the things I have done, but even greater things. In your baptism, you are given all the power and ability that Christ had. To heal the sick . . . to raise the dead . . . to work miracles. You’re given that power.
I know for us, sometimes we pull away from things that are uncomfortable so when someone is suffering, we have a tendency to pull back. Someone is in a nursing home, it’s difficult for us to go there. When someone is in jail or someone is in the hospital, or someone is suffering with a mental illness, or you see someone with a disability, there’s a part of us and that wants to avoid or pull back. That person that is suffering has experienced that all their life. They’ve experienced people pulling back from them.
I know people and have often worked with people that have disabilities something disabilities what it’s like and people walk away from that person. You walk into a party and all of a sudden you bring that person in and there’s an awkward tension and people pull away. Their whole life they experience rejection. They experience people pulling away from them. So what if you are Christ? You are Christ. What if you went after those people that are hurting? What if you went after that person that was disabled, or what if you went after that person that’s in jail or the hospital or nursing home? Sometimes you don’t even know what to say and sometimes you don’t have to say anything. All you have to do is touch them. Lay your hands on them. Pray that God will heal them and restore them and bring them the strength. That’s how miracles happen.
We heard about this in the readings today all involve touch. In the first reading it’s the widow. When you’re a widow in biblical times you have nothing. Because women were almost seen as property with the husband providing for the family and when the husband died, the woman was literally left with nothing. All she had was her a son and then her son died and she was left with nothing. So the prophet Elijah takes the son and brings him up to the bed and place the dead boy on the bed and lays his hands on the boy three times and says to God “Breath the Holy Spirit back into this boy” and brings him back to life.
We have that same ability. We have that same grace and the same power the Holy Spirit to not only heal the sick, but to raise the dead. It often comes through touch.
I just want you to think about that. If anybody ever asks you to pray for them, or to pray for someone, take that opportunity right then and pray over them. Touch them with your hands. Lay your hands on them and if you can’t say a prayer out loud say a silent prayer. But in some way, touch them because in that touch you invoke the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit works through your hands and brings about healing.
Just think if there’s anybody in your life right now that needs that. Is there anybody at all that seems kind of secluded? Is there anybody you know that is in a nursing home, or is in the hospital, or is in jail or maybe lives alone? Someone you can reach out to with just a touch and let them know that they are loved. Through your touch by the power of the Holy Spirit, you can work some miracles. You can not only heal the sick but you can raise the dead.
