Jesus Heals: Finding Hope, Wholeness, and Peace by Allison Gingras is the latest edition in the Stay Connected Journals for Catholic Women series. This is a scripture-based reflection/journal that invites women to ponder the ways Jesus healed women during his earthly ministry and the ways he can bring healing to our own bodies, minds, and hearts today.
This book is designed to encourage readers to reflect and pray. Each chapter features prayers, scripture reflections, additional scripture verses to read and ponder, reflection questions, and lined areas for journaling (you could also choose to journal in a separate notebook).
Gingras, who is a frequent speaker at retreats, writes in a conversational style. She shares her own experiences of healing as well as times she has struggled in her faith. Reading her words is like having a faith-filled conversation with a dear friend.
She acknowledges that no matter how much we pray and have faith, sometimes healing doesn’t come in the way that we want. She does, however, emphasize that Jesus loves us and that “even when he doesn’t physically make us well in the way we hope, he can significantly transform us if we are open to it” (24). At those times when our prayers go unanswered, it is because “a greater good will come from the journey than would be produced by a miraculous cure” (50).
Gingras also encourages readers to take advantage of the Church’s sacraments of healing: the Sacrament of Reconciliation and the Anointing of the Sick.
Jesus Heals offers women the opportunity to reflect on areas of their lives that need healing and to bring those needs to Jesus in prayer.
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