If you ask anything of me in my name, I will do it. (John 14: 13)
There was a young woman in RCIA a couple of years ago when I was working in a parish. She was always cheerful, positive and had a bubbly personality. She had a beautiful voice that she shared with the parish, even before coming into the Church. She was full of questions, no matter what the topic. She soon married, and they had a beautiful little girl. A year ago I heard that she had a brain tumor—glioblastoma. She started a blog soon after her diagnosis. In the beginning she wrote often about her treatments and about how she was doing and feeling. She had many followers. Most of them repeated how often they and their friends were praying for her, asking God to heal her, as was I.
The posts became less frequent. In September, she died. Occasionally her husband, now a widower with a young daughter, posts on the blog. In his latest post, the pain and the heartbreak came through in every word. He wrote about how during the eight months from diagnosis to her death they grew closer together, they grew in their faith, and they were “really living the way we should have been living all along.”
Sometimes it is hard to believe this saying of Jesus. We ask for something, something like health, but Jesus doesn’t do it. At least he doesn’t the way we think it is going to happen. Maybe Jesus did do it. Maybe the blog did “heal” her when she shared her pain with others. Maybe others were healed through her words. Maybe her husband is being healed by sharing his pain and sorrow. It’s about life, death, and resurrection. Jesus did do that!
Sr. Ann Clark, CPPS
Dayton