The root of healing
Give up your faults and direct your hands aright, and cleanse your heart from all sin.
I am always amazed at the complexity of vegetable gardening. Before I started gardening, I thought it would be rather simple. Put seeds in ground. Water them. Eat vegetables. Unfortunately, I have learned the hard way that it is NOT simple.
One thing I have learned is that weak or unhealthy plants attract pests or disease. The problem is that by the time you see the pests or disease, the plant is already weak or unhealthy. Our modern reaction is to attack the manifestation of the problem. Kill the pests! Spray something to counter the disease! Unfortunately, attacking the manifestation of the problem will not eliminate the underlying cause. If you do not eliminate the underlying cause, the manifestation is likely to come back again (i.e. more pests and disease).
If you see an insect infestation starting on a certain plant, you can certainly take a commercial pesticide and kill them. You will no longer have an organic garden, of course, and you probably will not want to eat the vegetables from that plant after spraying it with chemicals. You likely also killed all of the beneficial insects in the area as well. But the direct attack on the problem will have killed the pests. Problem solved?
If these plants were already weak or unhealthy, spraying chemicals to kill the pests that showed up is not going to cure the underlying cause. A different approach is required. Ultimately, to solve the problem you have to investigate the potential underlying cause. Is your soil imbalanced or not full of nutrients? Have you used supplements or natural fertilizer to feed the plants? Are they getting too much or too little water?
Some of these issues can be addressed immediately. Others will require advance planning for the next gardening season. For example, perhaps a companion plant would help deal with the underlying problem. Marigolds are often planted next to tomato plants because their roots deter nematodes from attacking the roots of the neighboring tomato plants. A fall cover crop might provide the nutrients and biomass for rich soil for next season.
You might also need to come up with a more direct approach to the immediate problem of pests on the plants. You can hand pick the pests off. You can spray a natural pest deterrent like neem oil or peppermint oil that is not toxic to beneficial insects or humans. You can apply an organic liquid fertilizer to quickly get nutrients to a struggling plant. These will address the manifestation of the problem, but unless you put in the time and effort to deal with the underlying cause(s), the problem will return.
Human sickness, whether physical or mental, is likewise a very complex problem. Modern medicine generally approaches the problem of sickness by diagnosing the symptoms and then prescribing a solution. The pharmaceutical industry is a multi-billion dollar industry in the United States that has formed a symbiotic relationship with the medical profession. Thus, the solution to sickness is often to attack the manifestation of the problem with a drug and not investigate the underlying cause. We throw serious medication at the manifestation or symptom first. Like the chemical pesticide, this can cause all kinds of collateral problems. Medications have side effects and can have long term impacts on people.
In contrast, the holistic or natural medicine approach looks at the potential root causes of the problem, tries to address those, and then tries to deal with the manifestation of the problem in the least intrusive manner. I have worked with such a doctor for the last ten years, and have seen several long term chronic health issues resolve over time as we address the root causes. At times, pharmaceutical medications have been used for specific purposes in the program and have helped.
Please note that I am NOT suggesting that people do not need medication or physicians. The Word of God teaches that medication and physicians are a gift from God:
Honor the physician with the honor due him, according to your need of him,
for the Lord created him; for healing comes from the Most High, and he will receive a gift from the king. The skill of the physician lifts up his head, and in the presence of great men he is admired. The Lord created medicines from the earth, and a sensible man will not despise them. Was not water made sweet with a tree in order that his power might be known? And he gave skill to men that he might be glorified in his marvelous works. By them he heals and takes away pain; the pharmacist makes of them a compound. His works will never be finished; and from him health is upon the face of the earth.1
In the spiritual realm, similar principles apply. For those who believe they are dealing with demonic problems, the Church officially recommends that exorcists approach a potentially demonic problem by having the person first screened by medical and psychiatric professionals. Fr. Gabriel Amorth, the former exorcist for the Diocese of Rome, took a different approach.
Fr. Amorth writes in his book about his exorcism ministry that he would always first say a short exorcism prayer in Latin over a person who came to him claiming problems. He would tell the person he was giving them a blessing. If a spiritual (i.e. demonic) problem existed, it would manifest and could be addressed. If nothing happened, the person received a blessing and could take further steps with medical and other professionals to deal with their problem. In other words, Fr. Amorth would check the spiritual first and then move to the natural or scientific.
My spiritual mentor has been involved in deliverance and healing ministry for decades. He discerned early in life that God had given him a gift to heal sickness that was being caused by demonic influence. People would come to him who had exhausted their options and resources with doctors who could find no cure for their problem. Too often, prayer was the last resort. After serious prayer of fire, however, the person would be delivered from demonic influence and physical healing would follow. We should NOT attribute every sickness to demons, but we should always go to the Lord in prayer first.
The Bible teaches us that sin can be a cause of sickness. It further teaches us that not all sickness is the result of sin. Thus, while we cannot always assume that a particular sickness is the result of sin, we must acknowledge that it could be the result of sin. On several occasions in the Gospels, Jesus first forgives a person’s sins and then heals their physical sickness.2
Archbishop Fulton Sheen believed that many psychiatric conditions he encountered in his ministry were the result of unresolved sin.
The principal reason for the increase of nervous disorders in the world is due to hidden guilt or unatoned sin locked on the inside until it festered. These souls are running off to psychoanalysts to have their sins explained away when what they need is to get down on their knees and right themselves with God.
When disgusted with our sins, we can go into a confessional box, become our own accuser, hear the words of absolution Our Lord Himself gave, make amends and start life all over again, for none of us wants our sins explained away; we want them forgiven. That is the miracle of the sacrament of Penance and the rekindling of hope.
— Rt. Rev. Fulton J. Sheen, The Seven Virtues, at 41-42 (1940).
If sin is a possible cause of sickness, we should first approach our problem with prayer and discernment as to whether we have unresolved sin in our life. Is there something that we have refused to confess and repent from? Perhaps there is unresolved sin from our ancestors that requires repentance and prayer for forgiveness. Perhaps we harbor unforgiveness that has become the root cause of sickness in our life. These are spiritual realities that we need to confront. The Word of God teaches us to take this approach:
My son, when you are sick do not be negligent, but pray to the Lord, and he will heal you. Give up your faults and direct your hands aright, and cleanse your heart from all sin. Offer a sweet-smelling sacrifice, and a memorial portion of fine flour, and pour oil on your offering, as much as you can afford. And give the physician his place, for the Lord created him; let him not leave you, for there is need of him. There is a time when success lies in the hands of physicians, for they too will pray to the Lord that he should grant them success in diagnosis and in healing, for the sake of preserving life. He who sins before his Maker, may he fall into the care of a physician.3
We should always take advantage of the ordinary means of dealing with physical or mental sickness. That might include consulting with a physician or mental health professional or speaking with a priest or pastor. It may require taking medication. God expects us to use the ordinary means of healing available to us.
That being said, do not neglect to take your situation to the Lord in prayer. St. Paul tells us to “pray without ceasing.”4 We should strive to root out sin in our lives. Repent. Go to confession. Pray earnestly to the Holy Spirit for wisdom and discernment: “Come Holy Spirit. Grant me wisdom and discernment as to the root cause of this problem. Lead me and guide me to people or resources that can help me.” It is here, in sincere open prayer, that the Holy Spirit can move and connect us to those who can help us.
The Lord is ultimately The Healer. In sickness or suffering, we should put all our hope and trust in Jesus. My prayer for you today is that you would “have no anxiety about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And [that] the peace of God, which passes all understanding, will keep your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”5 Amen.
God loves you!
Eric A. Welter is an employment lawyer and trial attorney with a long-time devotion to intercessory prayer. He is a Catholic Christian who has been involved with intercessory and healing prayer ministry for over twenty years.
Sirach 38:1-8. All Scripture references are to the Revised Standard Version, Catholic Edition, unless otherwise indicated.
E.g. Mark 2:1-12; Matthew 9:1-8.
This blessed me so much. I look forward to all your post. A true man of God.