The great thing about this book is that it covers the Christian healing process from a number of different perspectives all of which blend extremely well together and have given me much hope while dealing with a long-standing illness. This 109-page book has so much to offer that I know I will leave something out in this review but I will try to give a decent overview of the book. The book is written by Dennis Linn a former Catholic Priest and his brother Matthew who is a Catholic Priest, as well as Barbara Ryan a nurse who began a healing ministry. The Linn brothers have written a number of wonderful books on healing, both physically and emotionally, by recognizing God's love and His desire for us to be happy. Ms. Ryan has also written a number of books on healing and prayer which include her experiences as a nurse where she say that praying for those who were sick complimented the medical care the sick were receiving and in some cases cured those who medicine failed. The structure of the book is unique. It is broken up into 12 chapters which each look at a part of the Roman Catholic Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick. Yet while doing so it looks at: 1. how Christ and the Apostles healed; 2. how early Christians healed; 3. the Tradition of healing within the Catholic Church; 4. the history of the sacrament of healing in the Catholic Church; 5. how medicine and healing prayer work together; 6. studies showing how prayer heals; 7. how forgiveness is an important part of the healing process; 8. how the caring of others and the need for human support outside of any religious context helps people heal; and 9. real stories of how healing prayer, forgiveness and recognizing God's love have healed people physically and emotionally when all else had failed. Perhaps the greatest thing about this book is the author's expression of how much we are loved by God. There is a prayer for healing in the Epilogue in which we ask Jesus to heal us. It is a remarkable prayer combining both scripture and imagery in a way that allows me to feel Christ's healing touch in a special way. This book is recommended for anyone who wishes to broaden their insight into the power of prayer and who wants to be more open to Christ's healing gift. This book makes no promises that just reading it will physically or emotionally heal a person. I am still fighting a long-standing illness, yet I am more at peace with my symptoms and with God and I have felt better over time.
Jesus wants you to heal; death can be the unltimate freedom
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 17 years ago
Once again, the Linn brothers bring us an easy-to-read book about healing within the context of the new Catholic Rite. With nurse Barbara Ryan, the Linns explain how we can ask for healing. We receive a basic history lesson in healing- its beginnings, the origin of "redemptive suffering", anointing with oil, etc. We learn why we sometimes don't heal- we often need to forgive ourselves, others, and GOD. (Yes, that's right, we need to dialogue with GOD about our situation!)The Rite is explained in each chapter. This book is great for the lay person who wants to lay healing hands on sick family and friends. Yes, we all have the power to heal. People of other denominations and religions will also find this book useful. It's very inspiring for all who wonder about illness, suffering, etc. God Bless!
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