Note: Bonus Talk 1 on a series on the Mass.  Read the first part here. For an overview of Venerable Bruno’s method, go here. For a PDF of the method, click here.

This talk on healing through the Eucharist was developed for a 6-part summer series on the Eucharist led by Oblate seminarians.  There was small turnout for the talk on Sunday, June 28, 2020, at St. Clement Eucharistic Shrine.   I end the talk by leading everyone in praying the Chaplet of Divine Mercy. You can check out my two other Eucharist talks from the series: Be the Wheat on July 19, 2020, and Be not afraid on Aug. 9, 2020.

If you desire deeper healing in your life, check out the John Paul II Healing Center from Tallahassee, Fla.

The text for the talk is below the video.

Today, I want to talk about spiritual healing through the Eucharist.  Our fundamental identity is a beloved child of God.  But do we believe that in our hearts?  We often walk around with spiritual amnesia, not knowing who we are.  Meanwhile, the devil wants to keep us there.  He does that with lies.  Those lies come when we are hurt, either by others or by our own sins.

When I was a young boy, my older sisters were talking about going out somewhere.  I asked, “When are we going?”  One of them said to me, “We didn’t invite you.”  I said, “Oh, OK.”  I walked away.  In that hurt, these thoughts exploded in my head.  “Nobody loves me.  Nobody wants me around.  I don’t belong.  I will never belong.”  The devil tells us the perfect lies.  And we believe them.  We make vows.  “I will never be hurt again.  I won’t trust them ever again.”  We build walls around our wounded hearts.  For me, I spent less time with my sisters.  I wouldn’t share my dreams and worries with them because obviously they didn’t care about me.

But all those walls prevented me from loving fully.  They affected how I interacted with everyone, not just my sisters.  I was slow to help and share.  If I put myself out there, I might get hurt.  God forbid that people see me for who I really am: Broken, wounded, looking for love in all the wrong places.  What would they think of me?

Meanwhile, the devil pats himself on the back.  No love.  No longer an image of God.  Look out for No 1, me.  But this monstrance shows how wrong the devil is.  Jesus came to dwell among us to show us the Father’s love.  “He suffered death and was buried and rose again on the third day.”  St. Paul tells us the truth that by our baptism, we share everything in Christ.  We were buried with him under the cleansing waters, but we also have newness of life.

Jesus in today’s Gospel offers the cure for our hurt and pain.  The tiniest act of love to another brings Jesus.  With Jesus comes the Father and the Holy Spirit.   God is with us.  We have His power to heal our hurts.

Elisha the prophet demonstrated that in the first reading.  A woman first fed him during his travels.  Later, she built a room so he could stay and rest.  In gratitude, Elisha asked, “What can I do for you?”  He offered her an appeal to the king or to the top general.  But she said that she felt safe among her people.  Elisha’s servant tells of her deep desire for a son.  She must have faced years of disappointment.  Her reaction to Elisha’s prophecy?  She said, “My lord, you are a man of God; do not deceive your servant.”  Why be disappointed again?  But Elisha was right.  God gave her a son.  For her kindness, she received her heart’s desire.

How much more do we receive in Mass!  We provide a home for Jesus when we receive him in Holy Communion.  Here in adoration, we pray to Him truly present in that monstrance.   But we can ask him to reside in our hearts through spiritual communion.

Invite Jesus into your heart.  When he makes a home in your heart, he will ask you, “What shall I do for you?”  Share.  Share from your heart all your pain and worries.   “Jesus, this has been going on in my life …”  “Jesus, this person hurt me today …”

After you shared your hurt, ask him: “Jesus, reveal to me what You want me to know right now about myself.”  No matter how or what he gives you, it points to a truth.  The truth that He loves you completely and you cannot do anything about it.  Let that truth sink deep in your hearts and begin to heal all the wounded places.  When you remember who you are (a beloved child of God), then you can love more and share yourself a little more.  We love because he is with us.  When we are hurt, we don’t build walls.  We turn to Jesus to heal the hurt and to remind us of his love.

Receive Jesus into your heart and let him heal your wounded heart.

God bless.