Physical Healing is only a “sign” of a Greater Healing to come

New Apologetics “Only a God who loves us to the extent of taking upon himself our wounds and our pain, especially innocent suffering, is worthy of faith.” (Benedict XVI, Urbi et Orbi Message, Easter 2007).

In taking all human suffering to himself, our suffering is transformed to have the same redemptive significance as the suffering of Christ:

“Entrust to the Lord the discomfort and pain you have to face, and in His plan you will become means of purification and redemption for the entire world.” (Benedict XVI, Address to the Sick, Hospital of San Mateo, Pavia Italy April 22, 2007)

Physical healing is a *sign* of the radical victory over evil which Christ has achieved. It is not (in itself) the victory, but is a symbol pointing to the fullness of victory. Being something less than a complete vindication of the human person from the diminishment wrought by suffering and death, no physical healing can restore us to the destiny of *perfect* wholeness which was lost. In order to truly shatter the power of evil, God, through the Paschal Mystery, has caused it to be that the act of things falling apart is the same as them coming together into a higher order. He has thus turned evil against itself through redemptive suffering and has utterly abolished its power to harm us if we are in Christ.

This is not to say that we should seek suffering, but that (because of Christ’s union with us) whatever evils befall us will not take away our dignity. Rather, our pain will become the means of restoring the dignity of the whole human race, and we will share in God’s own glory.

December 18, 2012 at 1:34am · Like

Elmer L. Best Sin is a made-up disease used to sell you a made-up cure. I am amazed adults beleive these fairy stories.

December 18, 2012 at 7:53am · Like

New Apologetics Elmer Best Would you like to discuss your objection in terms of what can be argued by reason alone? If so, please create a post to this page, our admin will approve it, and we can begin a new discussion thread.

December 18, 2012 at 11:30am · Like · 2

Peter Picciolini Elmer, why would you be on this FB page if you didn’t believe?

December 18, 2012 at 11:45am · Like · 1

New Apologetics Peter Picciolini All are welcome here provided they have come to discuss their ideas respectfully.

December 18, 2012 at 11:54am · Like · 2

Zoraida Clark Healed here on earth or taken to heaven and being healed. Bible does not promise we will be healed, He just gives us the strength to endure.

December 21, 2012 at 7:04pm · Like

Larry Gearhart Also, see chapter 5 of the Letter of James.

December 22, 2012 at 7:00am · Like

Don Kauffman The scripture they are using is ‘by His stripes we are healed’.

December 22, 2012 at 12:32pm · Like

Marie Fortner read Isaiah 53 (old testament) if you have a Bible with a center reference column see what chapter and verse it tel you to go to. You will find many verses that confirms that he took our sickness & decease. And bye his stripes we are healed .

December 22, 2012 at 12:48pm · Like

New Apologetics Marie Fortner Don Kauffman Physical healing, while a great good, is limited in many ways by the presence of evil in the world. The influence of evil (in disrupting right order) can affect whether or not a person can be physically healed, and even if they are healed the world’s evil will cause one to continue to suffer and die anyway.

To bring about a total victory over evil, Christ has taken every suffering to himself. United to us in our suffering, he is able to redeem our injured state so that it has the meaning of sharing his glory. When Christ suffers in union with each of us, he causes it to be that evil cannot touch us though we be wounded or slain by it. Our sufferings are transformed by a gift of God to have the same meaning as Christ’s sufferings. His suffering and death were the means of the purification and redemption of the whole world. So it is with ours in union with him:

“Entrust to the Lord the discomfort and pain you have to face, and in His plan you will become means of purification and redemption for the entire world.” Pope Benedict XVI

December 22, 2012 at 1:28pm · Like · 2

Michael Clemons Be sure to know the difference between being ‘healed’ and being ‘cured.’ Christ may not cure our earthly diseases, but he will forever heal us ,,if we but ask.

December 23, 2012 at 5:18pm · Like

Peter Picciolini Jesus took our sins to the cross because it is our sin that separates us from God. It is in our sin that we are not able to transmit Grace, in or our. It is in our sin that we may lose the gift of salvation. Jesus did not take our sickness and disease …See More

December 23, 2012 at 5:52pm · Like

Richard Griswold the only cure he is speaking of is SPITITUAL. iN heaven there will in fact be no disease but he DID NOT die for our temporal sicknesses. To suggest he did is to abuse the Scripture.

December 23, 2012 at 6:11pm · Like · 1

New Apologetics Peter Picciolini Richard Griswold Through the redemption, Christ has conquered every evil, and among those evils are suffering and death. Suffering and death are (when considered in themselves apart from the redemption) entirely contrary to the plan of God. They can only work for our good because of what Christ has done to overcome their power to destroy. Indeed, it must be remembered that suffering and death are the very reasons why sin is offensive to God in the first place. If sin did not cause suffering (i.e. a deprivation of a due good), then what we now call “sin” would be just another good.

December 23, 2012 at 7:26pm · Like · 2

Herb Gimbel Peter, suffering is part of the human condition; we pray to Jesus to help see us through our illness.

January 15, 2013 at 4:43pm · Like