Another way to think of the parish is a hospital. Normally, we think of hospitals as places people go to who are sick and they want to become healed. Medicine is designed to bring healing to people’s lives. The parish is to be a place of healing and restoration of lives. Here, grace and mercy are at work to restore people’s lives. The parish is a kind of hospital. This flows from the ministry of Jesus who on earth brought healing to people’s lives. He expected his Church to continue to do what he did. The parish is that place where the broken and wounded, the sick and weary come for healing, restoration and renewal. Grace and mercy are the two wings of the Father’s love for those who are broken.
The parish as a hospital can come in a variety of ways and forms. Some ways are comfort for the grieving through one on one care and bereavement groups; visitation to the sick in hospitals and homes.
Another way is for Christians meeting with other Christians who are sick or inwardly hurting and praying with them for healing, peace and restoration. Prayer is a powerful force for good when “prayed” with someone becomes ministering to their needs. God can do more through prayer when exercised in love and faith. This is not simply praying for someone (important as this is) but praying with someone at a given moment. It is a moment of grace and mercy, healing and peace for that person in need of prayer. While any Christian can do this, developing prayer teams who learn to minister the Lord’s grace and mercy and healing to another is a wonderful gift to a parish community.
Another way is through a ministry called Stephen’s ministry. This is the training of Christians who will then come alongside another person when that person is in a life crisis to help them with friendship, prayer and sharing of God’s word with that person through the time of struggle. Another way is the ministry of Unbound. This is another type of prayer ministry that walks a person through situations in their life where they are “stuck” in their spiritual growth because of negative habit patterns. The ministry of prayer through Unbound is to help the person become “unstuck” or “unbound.” In other words, to help a person become free in that area of their life.
“And he called to him his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every disease and every infirmity.” Mt. 10:1