“The best and most beautiful things in the world can’t be seen or even touched. They must be felt with the heart” Helen Keller.
One way to explain Healing Charism is to imagine cooking a large pot of stew or soup. Every part of the world, every culture will put in a different variety of herbs and spices so no two dishes taste alike. Thus it is with the Healing Charism. It is that mix of flavours that make our Congregation different from other Religious Congregations. But any charism is a gift, a gift given by the Holy Spirit for a specific purpose. As a gift from the Spirit it has a dynamic, alive and fluid quality to it. We feel its influence in us as we feel the wind on our faces, or watch the trees sway. But we cannot pin it down, describe it. It changes us from the inside and prompts us to explore new ways to give it expression as our world around us changes and fresh challenges emerge.
The concept of Healing implies that we recognize that there is a wound. We come across physical sickness and ill health but also the wounds inflicted emotionally, psychologically and spiritually. Our very society is wounded. To have a Healing Charism implies a willingness and a desire to reach out to those in need, to comfort, to cure when possible; maybe our role is to “lighten the load” and just to be a loving presence in the face of suffering. We are acutely aware of our own woundedness, and at best we are wounded healers.
Our MMM Constitutions asks us to think about the mystery of the Visitation. Mary, with selfless love, in simplicity and faith, went in haste to answer a human need, her cousin’s pregnancy. She brought with her the light that is life, her own unborn Son, Jesus. MMMs also have that sense of urgency and desire to show forth the love and compassion of Christ who came to heal and to liberate.
In the world of health and medicine where we are situated, and mindful of God’s reverence for each person, we are committed:
- To care for the sick and to minister to them,
- To promote the health and wholeness of persons and communities
- To proclaim the sacredness of life, the dignity of each person, and the meaning of human life and death.
Our world is in much need of healing of wounds, both seen and unseen. We MMMs want to share this Healing Charism with everyone we meet and especially in communities worldwide often overlooked or underserved.
Hands
Thank you, God, for my hands.
I may not be a famous painter or musician, but my hands make Your Presence real to me.
With my hands I cook and clean, I drive the car, I touch the keyboard. Through my hands I give your loving caress to someone in pain or distress. My hands reach out in friendship to clasp another’s hands.
With my hands I both give and receive.
As I open my hands, may I be open to see the needs of our world today. Yes, thank you, God for these hands of mine.
