Such anxiety over bodily ailments is natural for a parent, yet let us not fix our gaze only on what perishes. You ask for the health of your daughter and your brother, and rightly so, for we are commanded to pray for one another. But consider: when the woman of Canaan cried out for her possessed child, the Lord seemed to reject her utterly, not granting a word at first. Yet her faith did not waver, and she pressed on, casting herself upon mercy alone. To her He said, “Great is thy faith, be it unto thee even as thou wilt.” See how her faith contributed not a little to the healing. So too you must approach the Physician of souls and bodies, not as one demanding a due, but as a beggar of mercy, with unshaken trust. Cease not your supplication, even when the answer delays.
Yet while you seek restoration of bones and blood, remember the far greater healing wrought by the blood of Christ. The law purified earthly things with blood of goats and calves, but only half-complete, a shadow. Now the very blood of the Son, shed once for all on the Cross, cleanses not flesh but conscience, and grants eternal life where mere health of the body is but a passing vapor. Our Lord Himself declared, “Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, ye have no life in you.” Do not shudder at this mystery; rather, let it teach you that the life of the soul is the true need. What profit if the body be whole but the soul remain estranged from God through unrepented sin? The Cross reconciles all things to God, making peace through His blood.
Therefore beseech Him for bodily relief, yes, but beseech Him first to grant repentance and a living faith to every member of your household. Pray that they may be among those who have eternal life abiding in them. For the sickness that devours eternally is far more terrible than any deficiency of the body. Let your prayer be not only “Heal them, Lord,” but also “Cleanse them by Thy blood, and make them Thine own forever.” If you do this, you have placed them under the sure protection of the Almighty, who foreordained this redemption. Nothing is more pleasurable or sweeter than virtue, orderliness, and the fear of God; these are the true health of a household. So while physicians may aid the flesh, seek the husbanding of the soul above all, committing your cares into the hands of Him who alone gives both temporal mercy and eternal joy.