Brethren, Peace and Good to all of you in Jesus Christ Our Lord.
One of my favorite Bible passages are found in the book of Sirach, also called Ecclesiasticus, chapter 38, verses 1-15. It reads thusly:
1 Give doctors the honor they deserve, for the Lord gave them their work to do.[a]2 Their skill came from the Most High, and kings reward them for it.3 Their knowledge gives them a position of importance, and powerful people hold them in high regard.
4 The Lord created medicines from the earth, and a sensible person will not hesitate to use them.5 (A)Didn't a tree once make bitter water fit to drink, so that the Lord's power[b] might be known?6 He gave medical knowledge to human beings, so that we would praise him for the miracles he performs.7-8The druggist mixes these medicines, and the doctor will use them to cure diseases and ease pain. There is no end to the activities of the Lord, who gives health to the people of the world.
9 My child, when you get sick, don't ignore it. Pray to the Lord, and he will make you well.10 Confess all your sins and determine that in the future you will live a righteous life.11 Offer incense and a grain offering, as fine as you can afford.[c]12 Then call the doctor—for the Lord created him—and keep him at your side; you need him.13 There are times when you have to depend on his skill.14 The doctor's prayer is that the Lord will make him able to ease his patients' pain and make them well again.15 As for the person who sins against his Creator, he deserves to be sick. (Good News Translation via Bible Gateway)
I think these verses have had a profound influence in the way the Catholic Church views illness and healing. Yes, we Catholics pray for the healing of body, soul, and spirit, even for miracles, but we also trust medical science and we do so in large measure because of the verses above. That’s why you don’t see Catholic faith healers roaming about and those whose vocation is to pray for the sick do so under the strict directives found in the Instruction of Prayers for Healing published by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith back in 2000 – when the current Holy Father was the prefect. The Instruction states:
§ 3. Anything resembling hysteria, artificiality, theatricality or sensationalism, above all on the part of those who are in charge of such gatherings, must not take place.
For a Catholic, the choice is not between prayer and medicine, but a holistic, synergistic approach of both. If the Protestant Reformers hadn’t ejected Sirach from the canon, sects like Christian Science or Jehovah’s Witnesses which deny, or severely limit the practice of life-saving medicine, may have never arisen.
My brothers and sisters: everything is a gift. Healing, whether it comes from the hands of a physician or from answered prayer – or from both, usually – is always a gift from God. May the Lord bless us all, and keep us in good health to glorify Him, Amen.