Faith Healing and the Catholic Church – Ministry of Christ

MINISTRY OF CHRIST

The Apostle Peter proclaimed the message of Jesus to the first

Gentile converts by explaining “How God anointed Jesus of

Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about

doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil;

for God was with him.” [Acts 10:38] Just how he did it is

explained by the CCC as follows:

“517 Christ’s whole life is a mystery of

redemption. Redemption comes to us above all through the blood

of his cross,[179] but this mystery is at work throughout

Christ’s entire life: -already in his Incarnation through

which by becoming poor he enriches us with his poverty;[180] –

in his hidden life which by his submission atones for our

disobedience;[181] – in his word which purifies its

hearers;[182]- in his healings and exorcisms by which “he took

our infirmities and bore our diseases”;[183] – and in his

Resurrection by which he justifies us.[184] ” [CCC; notes: 179

Cf. Eph 1:7; Col 1:13-14; 1 Pt 1:18-19. 180 Cf. 2 Cor 8:9. 181

Cf. Lk 2:51. 182 Cf. Jn 15:3. 183 Mt 8:17; cf. Is 53:4. 184

Cf. Rom 4:25.]

While we do not want to miss anything that is part of the

whole council of God, our emphasis here is with the healing

ministry of Christ, namely “in his healings and exorcisms by

which “he took our infirmities and bore our diseases” The

footnote refers to two texts:

“That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by

Esaias the prophet, saying, Himself took our infirmities, and

bare our sicknesses.” [Matt 8:17]

and

“Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our

sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and

afflicted.” [Isa 53:4]

The CCC here implies that the Old Testament Scripture quoted

in Matthew 8:17 is Isaiah 53:4. When the words “griefs” and

“sorrows” are thus interpreted for us by the Holy Spirit

through St Matthew as “infirmities” and “sicknesses”.

Let’s be clear on these words “infirmities” and “sicknesses”

to be sure we are not talking about some sort of spiritual

experience but actual physical health. We will do this by

looking at a fuller context of the quoted verses. For the

reference in Matthew we have:

“14 And when Jesus was come into Peter’s house,

he saw his wife’s mother laid, and sick of a fever.

“15 And he touched her hand, and the fever left her: and she

arose, and ministered unto them.

“16 When the even was come, they brought unto him many that

were possessed with devils: and he cast out the spirits with

his word, and healed all that were sick:

“17 That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the

prophet, saying, Himself took our infirmities, and bare our

sicknesses.” [Matt 8:5-17]

Now to be exact, only the verse directly before verse 17 goes

with verse 17. Verses 14 and 15 clearly discuss Jesus healing

a physical sickness, a fever, that had the woman bedridden.

Verses 5 through 13 (given in the Faith section) discuss the

case of the Centurions’s servant who was healed by Jesus of

palsy with which he was bedridden. It is very clear looking

in context that we are talking here of actual physical

healing.

And now let us look at the Isaiah passage again in full

context:

“1. Who hath believed our report? and to whom is

the arm of the LORD revealed?

“2. For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as

a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness;

and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should

desire him.

“3 He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and

acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from

him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

“4 Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows:

yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.

“5 But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised

for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon

him; and with his stripes we are healed.

“6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every

one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity

of us all.

“7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not

his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a

sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his

mouth.

“8 He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall

declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of

the living: for the transgression of my people was he

stricken.

“9 And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich

in his death; because he had done no violence, neither was any

deceit in his mouth.

“10 Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to

grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he

shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the

pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand.

“11 He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be

satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify

many; for he shall bear their iniquities.

“12 Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and

he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath

poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the

transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made

intercession for the transgressors.” [Isa 53:1-

12]

Now this passage clearly describes the Passion of Jesus. This

describes how Jesus suffered and died to bring us forgiveness

of sins by paying the penalty of our sins while He Himself was

sinless.

But this passage also talks of physical healing. CCC # 517

shows us that by linking Matt 8:17 with Isa 53:4.