Being Catholic Now by Kerry Kennedy

Author:Kerry Kennedy
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Non-Fiction
ISBN: 9780307449757
Publisher: Crown
Published: 2009-01-15T00:00:00+00:00

GRACE WRIGHT

Grace Wright (b. June 3, 1964) ministers to the sick in St. Francis Xavier parish of Wilmette, Illinois, and is trained in Reiki therapy and Catholic healing practices. She’s currently a part-time illustrator and graphic artist.

* * *

A few years ago, I trained to become a minister of CARE, a person who has the ability to go the tabernacle after the host has been consecrated and take it out of the church to somebody in need. It’s a privilege to be able to take the living Jesus with you, after you leave the church. The training is rigorous so that when you deliver Communion to somebody who is homebound, possibly psychologically needy, but still Catholic, who wants to receive Jesus, you won’t go in and become a psychologist. You won’t go in and try to cure them mentally and physically, but instead you’ll be there to listen and help to bring the Holy Spirit to them.

The training ended with hands-on healing. It’s about bringing energy to a person through the Holy Spirit. We used Reiki.

Right after the Reiki training, I was diagnosed with a brain tumor. It’s going to be fine, but it was such a blessing that I had those healing people in my life at a time when it was scary.

Every time I have an opportunity to be a healing minister, it heals me; I get strength from it. I do believe it was God’s hand that brought me to that situation.

Because a lot of people who are homebound are two generations ahead of me or even three, often the questions they have about the Gospel are things that I take for granted. For instance, there is this one woman, who just lost her dear friend, who was Jewish. She said to me, “I am concerned that Eliza is not in heaven because she is Jewish.” My role is not to change her faith or our faith, but my role is to give her my impression of faith and also to help her through the thinking. I told her that I couldn’t believe in a God that wouldn’t allow everybody to enter heaven, especially the good, caring woman that she described Eliza to be. I believe that all people of all faiths will go to God. She was so relieved. And to think that it was such a simple gesture. Something that I wouldn’t have given a second thought to really terrified her.

Healing happens in that way too. It was simply the healing of the mind in this instance. So I read the Gospel, talk a little bit, pray the Our Father, deliver the host, usually say a healing prayer, and then ask her if I can lay my hands on her or hold her hand or shoulder. Everyone usually says yes. You can feel the Holy Spirit just because of the one-on-one situation—being there, reaching out and touching a person not only physically but emotionally. That is what a healing minister is meant to do.

I feel the Holy Spirit working through me.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.