Praying for Healing

"Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The fervent prayer of a righteous person is very powerful." Jas 5:16

Admitting our mistakes and sins against others is often the first step towards healing. Only when we take responsibility for what we have done to hurt others, especially when we have seriously harmed their reputations, are they able to accept our apology and begin to recover. James knew how devastating back biting, slander and calumny could be to the health of the early Christian community and was determined to address it. Fissures within and among ourselves can soon become unbreachable divides if we don't recognize them for they are and seek ways to reform our lives.

The early church struggled with serious differences of opinion about how to welcome new converts to Christianity from the gentile world, and we can only imagine the conversations between leaders like Peter, Paul and James, the Elder. Some believed that every convert had first to commit themselves completely to the law of Moses. Others, like St Paul, in the fifteenth chapter of the book of Acts writes, "Why, then, are you now putting God to the test by placing on the shoulders of the disciples a yoke that neither our ancestors nor we have been able to bear? (Acts 15:10)

In our day, we continue to struggle with how best to look at and treat other religious traditions. Pope John Paul II, no doubt because he personally experienced the horrors of the holocaust against Jews, worked hard and long to help Catholics address their antisemitism. Pope Francis is following in John Paul's footsteps. In his address to the newly created Cardinals, Francis strongly encouraged them to work for peace and to against discrimination imposed on minorities and other people who are "excluded" by attitudes of superiority and condescension.

The work of healing unnecessary divisions between and among Christians and other religions continues to be hugely important in a world so divided by sectarian and religious violence. With St James we must remember that the prayer of the righteous is very powerful.

Today, pray for the strength to seek healing with anyone against whom you have sinned.

What do you think are the best means to heal the unnecessary divisions among religions?