The older I get, the more I realize that everyone I meet is
in need of God’s healing. Young or old, rich or poor, everyone is wounded in
some way, whether that be physically, emotionally, mentally, spiritually, or
some combination of the above. It is the price we pay for living in a fallen
world.
Bob Schuchts is a retired marriage and family therapist and
the founder of the John Paul II Healing Center in Tallahassee, Florida. In Be Transformed: The Healing Power of the Sacraments (Ave Maria Press, 2017), Schuchts writes “the sacraments are God’s
primary remedy for healing the whole person, the whole family, the whole
Church, and the whole world. They are powerful because the Holy Spirit is
always working in and through these sacred mysteries to usher us more fully
into the resurrection life of Jesus.” He continues, “When received in faith,
the sacraments have tremendous power through the Holy Spirit to radically
transform our lives.”
Schuchts explains that there are seven deadly wounds that we
all experience to greater or lesser degree: rejection, abandonment,
powerlessness, confusion, fear, shame, and hopelessness. Each of the seven
sacraments works to heal one of these deadly wounds.
In Baptism, we received “a public blessing declaring that
you and I are precious and unrepeatable gifts of the Father.” This helps heal
the wound of rejection. “In the Father’s household, there are no unwanted
children, only ones who have not yet realized their true dignity.”
Holy Communion heals the sense of abandonment. “Jesus gave
us the sacrament of his presence as a means for us to continually abide in him.”
Confirmation gives us the Holy Spirit’s power, thereby
counteracting the sense of powerlessness we so often feel.
By setting up rightful spiritual authority, the sacrament of
Holy Orders works to end confusion. We are called to submit to our Father’s
authority and the authority given to the Church.
The sacrament of Matrimony counteracts fear. “God intended
the sacrament of Matrimony to be the source of love and life in every family
and the foundation of security for every human person.”
Reconciliation heals wounds of shame. We repeatedly fall
into sin, but Christ offers forgiveness to all who seek it. “The full
restoration of our identity is a lifelong process,” but the sacrament of
Reconciliation aids that restoration and gives us courage to continue in spite
of our brokenness,
In times of sickness or at the end of life, the Anointing of
the Sick heals wounds of hopelessness. It is the sacrament of resurrection,
promising us that Jesus is stronger than death and that eternal life awaits.
Schuchts offers many stories from his own and others’ lives,
testifying to the power of the sacraments to transform lives. God wants to heal
our brokenness and has provided His sacraments as a major way of being present
to us in our times of need. Be Transformed invites us to take a deeper look at the sacraments and the
power God exercises through them.
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