Opening Prayer
Lord, I enter Thy Church as a spiritual clinic, seeking the surgery not of the body, but of the soul. I recognize that Thy Word is a medicine that does not grow weak with time nor fail against the most serious diseases. I bring the only price Thou demandest for this treatment: a sincere intention and a right attitude of heart.
I petition Thee for the healing of my spiritual wounds through the medicine of Thy Word. Let the words proceeding from heaven, dispensed through the preaching of Thy Church, restore health to my soul. Grant me the grace to receive this heavenly healing and to go my way restored in the interior chambers of my spirit.
Amen.
Matthew 13:44-52
44The kingdom of heaven is like unto a treasure hidden in a field. Which a man having found, hid it, and for joy thereof goeth, and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field. 45Again the kingdom of heaven is like to a merchant seeking good pearls. 46Who when he had found one pearl of great price, went his way, and sold all that he had, and bought it. 47Again the kingdom of heaven is like to a net cast into the sea, and gathering together of all kind of fishes. 48Which, when it was filled, they drew out, and sitting by the shore, they chose out the good into vessels, but the bad they cast forth. 49So shall it be at the end of the world. The angels shall go out, and shall separate the wicked from among the just. 50And shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 51Have ye understood all these things? They say to him: Yes. 52He said unto them: Therefore every scribe instructed in the kingdom of heaven, is like to a man that is a householder, who bringeth forth out of his treasure new things and old.
St. John Chrysostom
St. John Chrysostom explains that while bodily medicine decays, “divine medicine” retains its power forever. This medicine is “put together not from herbs… but from the words proceeding from heaven.” This Sacramental view of the Word suggests it is “dispensed… by the tongues of those who preach.” In the Mystical Body, both “rich and poor alike” have access to this treatment. It is linked to the Eucharist, which provides “forgiveness of unrecognized sins” and acts as the “food for the soul”.
Chrysostom emphasizes that the “price” for this medicine is not silver, but a “sincere intention and attitude.” It is a surgery “not for bodies, but for souls.” He argues that unlike human remedies, God’s Word never “declines over time” nor “fails to overcome every spiritual disease.”
“The Church is a clinic that offers an excellent surgery—a surgery, not for bodies, but for souls… And the remedy it offers for these errors… is God’s Word.”
— St. John Chrysostom
Mary and the Magisterium
Mary is the “Mirror of Virtue” who lived with a “pure soul,” which St. Athanasius says is necessary to “understand the teaching of the saints”. The Magisterium, through the Bishop as the “Physician of souls,” must avoid the “failure to correct” the flock. They act as “earthly angels” who administer the “fire of reproof” and the “salve” of mercy. Mary, the “Star of the Sea”, guides us to this “divine medicine” dispensed by the Office of the Priest.
- What spiritual ailments—anger, pride, or greed—am I suffering just now?
- Am I listening to God’s Word to learn about the specific remedies He offers me?
Closing Prayer
Great Physician, you can heal the broken heart, the troubled mind, the disordered soul. Thank you for the medicine of Scripture.
Amen.
