Healing has a special place in Jesus Youth (BJRE054)

 


Healing has a special place in Jesus Youth. 

(By Dr. Edward Edezhath. Published in Kairos Magazine in 2022) 

Our prayer group used to have a weekly slum outreach. I remember my first visit. “Lawrence can get violent and might attack you. Don’t go near him!” the young man’s mother warned as we entered a small hut. In a corner of the room, we saw a dirty-looking young man in chains. In that poor and shabby area, this was yet another deeply disturbing scene for us. That was in early 1978. My friend Joy and I were making our first exploratory visit to see what the young people from our group could do there. 

There were about 50 huts in that colony, and we visited each to get to know them. When we reached this house, Lawrence’s mother told us the young man's story. As a child, he was taken to a church feast and, in the crowd, he was accidentally stepped on the head, which caused him serious problems ever since. Occasionally, he could become violent, so he had to be kept in chains. 

Joy and I were on a mission from our prayer group. We knew our friends were fervently praying for us, and we were also praying in the Spirit. Looking at Lawrence, I felt a profound love and power rising within me. “Shall we pray for him?” I whispered to Joy. He gazed at me as I extended my hands, but when I touched him and prayed, he suddenly became gentle. I unfastened his chain. He was as gentle as a dove. Was it a miraculous healing? I can’t say. But I’m sure that deep love and its genuine expression can heal. Anyway, that day marked the beginning of our ‘slum ministry.’ 

Healing has a context.

Charismatic Renewal has fostered a deeper understanding of sickness and healing. Our ailments and wounds stem from sin and a lack of love. The salvation Jesus offers us also includes an invitation to healing. Furthermore, an essential aspect of healing is that it encompasses more than just physical ailments; it involves our spirit, mind, emotions, and relationships. “Healing is about becoming a wholesome person. “

For many, Charismatic Renewal is primarily all about healing through retreats or large prayer gatherings where individuals seek cures for illnesses and other physical issues. Healing sessions often become dramatic and noisy, disturbing many within church circles and society. However, in Jesus Youth, ‘healing’ takes a different shape and emphasis. There is always a focus on healing the ‘whole person’- body, mind, soul, and relationships. The Sacraments of Reconciliation and Eucharist provide profound healing experiences. Inner Healing sessions, where we discuss emotions and relationships, are vital to the journey toward wholesomeness. Interestingly, assisting others is an essential aspect of the healing process.

Why is the Jesus Youth healing approach so different from other charismatic groups? One significant reason is that the needs of youth differ from those of other segments of society. Pope Francis articulates this well: “Young people . . . experience setbacks, disappointments, and profoundly painful memories. Often, they feel ‘the hurt of past failures, frustrated desires, experiences of discrimination and injustice, and feelings of being unloved and unaccepted.‘ Additionally, ‘there are moral wounds, the burden of past errors, and a sense of guilt for having made mistakes. ' Jesus makes his presence felt amid these crosses borne by young people; he offers them his friendship, consolation, and healing companionship. The Church aims to be his instrument on this path to interior healing and peace of heart.” (Christus Vivit, 83).

Jesus Youth’s mission of healing

The passing of the young, saintly girl Ajna George has hit the headlines these days. Many videos have been released highlighting the different Jesus Youth programs in which Ajna participated. One such video is about the weekly outreach of her college JY group to the sick and suffering. Watching those beautiful moments of young people in action, I told myself, ‘This is the best healing ministry that the Lord wants Jesus Youth to do.’ 

A large group of old and sick people has gathered there, and the JY is moving among them. Those college boys and girls, with much love and beaming smiles, gently hold the hands of one or the other suffering person and attentively listen to them. I am sure that later, those youth would have given them something to eat and offered clothes to those in need. But more than all that, their loving touch and smile impart the much-needed healing of the Lord.  

Giving and receiving healing

What Jesus said becomes quite relevant here: “Give, and it will be given to you; good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap” (Luke 6:38). When we reach out in love and pass on the Lord’s healing touch to those who need it, we are healed in the best way possible.

Many times, along with youth groups, I have visited hospital wards, old-age homes, or slum areas. We prepare with prayer before we go. Upon our arrival, every young person comes alive, smiling, listening, offering kind words, and sometimes praying with those in need. Afterward, there is a time for evaluation and sharing experiences. Many would say, ‘For the first time, I reached out to needy people. More than what I gave, I received love and care from those who are suffering. '

I believe Jesus Youth’s healing charism is most beautifully expressed not during a prayer session or retreat but when young people go out to offer love and care in dire situations. When youth are challenged to extend their hands and hearts, listen to the needy, and pray with them, the hand of the Lord becomes visible to those in need of healing. Furthermore, these caretakers also receive love and healing in generous measures, transforming them into wholesome individuals.

Topics:

    Healing 

    Jesus Youth Charism

    Outreach

    Accompaniment 

 


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