CATHOLIC HER ITAGE
INSPIRED BY THE “GREAT PHYSICIAN” “There’s a reason why Christ is called ‘the Great Physician’,” said Bishop David Konderla. “Healing was, and is, part of His ministry.” Christ’s healing works are recounted throughout the four Gospels in the New Testament. In contrast to the magnitude of His life and ministry, the pages of the New Testament are thin and delicate, like butterfly wings, forcing you to slow down and contemplate the words they contain. In John 5:6, Christ asks a man who has been infirm for 38 years: “Do you want to be healed?” Ever the noble physician, He asks permission before providing care. His words are not unlike the Hippocratic Oath to “do no harm” coined by the Greek physician Hippocrates, who died 375 years before Christ was born, whose oath every physician must pledge. At this point in the scripture, the man is well beyond any known medical cure or treatment of the day. Yet by His divine hand Christ grants him the gift of health. Throughout the Gospels we find countless other references to Christ’s healing. The Warrens knew these stories well. More significantly, they understood and embraced the spiritual tradition of healing, for to truly serve others, the whole person must be treated. For where science and technology fall short, God can provide.
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