Lent Sunday Theology Talks
Theology and Spirituality of
HEALING
3. “Lay Their Hands on the Sick, and They Will Recover” (Mark 16.18): The Healing Mission of the Church.
The Rev. Dr Luigi Gioia
Theologian in Residence
Dear Friends,
On Sunday March 23rd I will give a talk on the Healing Mission of the Church with a particular attention to the history and practice of the anointing of the sick. Here is an abstract of the talk:
The Gospel says about Jesus’ disciples that they “were casting out many demons and were anointing with oil many sick people and healing them” (Mark 6:13). Today, practically nobody in Christianity would say to anyone to pray for healing instead of going to see a doctor. And yet people keep praying for healing. Sociological studies have consistently shown that prayer is the most common healing practice used outside conventional medicine in the United States. Prayer and faith bring meaning, hope, comfort, sustain patience and give strength to people who are experiencing illness. It could be said that Christian healing power results from compassionate care and listening presence.
Here are the titles and the dates of the series (click on the title to see video-recordings of previous talks):
March 9: “Jesus’ miracles and healing activity: should we expect miracles today?”
March 16: “What is spiritual healing? The approaches of faith and science”.
March 23: “‘Lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover’ (Mark 16.18): the healing mission of the Church”.
March 30: “How do faith and prayer bring us hope in times of illness and suffering?”
The class will take place as usual on Sunday at 10 am in the Parish House, 5th floor.
I recorded a podcast on the “Prayer for Healing” with Gillian last week. You can listen to the Podcast HERE
All blessings,
Fr. Luigi Gioia
Theologian In Residence
