Scripture and healing question

[KGM]

My husband is meeting tonight with his sister about his father who has Lymphoma cancer. They are going to discuss the reasons why he is refusing treatment. Both his sister and father belong to a “bible christian” church and believe that if you have enough faith you will be healed. His father has p(name removed by moderator)ointed the sin that caused this sickness to be put on him and he has repented. Now he says that he does not deserve this and God will heal him.

My husband, who is a Catholic but not strong in his faith, does not understand why his dad is refusing treatment. He believes that his sister, if she could understand his point of view, would have a strong chance at convincing their dad to seek medical treatment.

My question is this. Has anyone here been in a similar situation before. What did you do about it?

Please pray for this situation. It’s a sticky one.
May God bless you
KGM

 

[Tom]

First of all, let me just say my prayers are with you and your husband. Both of my parents died from cancer. My father did not receive treatment since his was too advanced, he died fairly quickly and without much pain. My mother suffered through treatment for 18 months and died horribly, painfully. You post doesn’t go into the details of treatment, do the doctors hold out any hope? If death from cancer is inevitable I personally wouldn’t fight for treatment. The Church does not require extraordinary efforts in cases like these.
What is very important is his immortal soul. That’s where I’d be working.
May the peace and love of our Lord, Jesus the Christ, be with you,
Tom

 

[KGM]

Depending on if it is a Hodgins or non-hodgkins (we are not sure because he decided to refuse treatments before he found this out) the cure rate is somewhere between 40-70% for non-hodgkins and 50-85% for hodgkins. Without treatment the doctor gave him 2 months to live. The doctors don’t necessarily agree with his decision, but agree with the fact that miracles can happen.

About his salvation, I did put a post out on another forum concerning whether I should mention anything to him. The circumstances are very difficult for me because these people are so strong about their faith that if I were to attempt to discuss his eternal soul with him it would not be received very well by him or the three other members (his wife, daughter, and son-in-law). They all live together. This is a tough situation.

 

[Didi]

Hi KGM –

I sympathize with your difficult situation.

Four years ago I became very ill and consequently have continuing chronic health problems. I heard a lot about “If you only had enough faith, God would heal you…” and “There must be some grave sin in your life…”

For those bible-believing Christians, I suggest digging out a concordance and looking up the words: suffer, cross, affliction, etc. They might just be surprised at the biblical teachings on suffering, especially in Paul’s letters, there are many references to suffering, and the redemptive value of such. In fact, Jesus told us plainly we must pick up our cross and follow Him. If we will not suffer with Him, then we will not rejoice with Him.

Sometimes suffering occurs because of the effects of our human nature and of original sin. But God can use our suffering and turn it into good.

Your father-in-law may be in for a surprise if he isn’t cured. Not saying that God can’t do that, I believe with all my heart that He can. Sometimes, though, God has a greater purpose in mind (like the purification of our souls) and He may decide not to cure him. So where do his beliefs leave him then? Feeling as though he doesn’t have enough faith.

If Our Lord didn’t mean for us to suffer, why did the apostles and other early disciples suffer so much? Why do many of the saints suffer? Why did He tell us to pick up our crosses?

Mother Teresa used to tell her sisters “Love until it hurts. It hurt Jesus to love us.”

We should never make demands on God. We should always pray “Thy will be done” and know that He will give us the grace to follow His will. Asking for and expecting a cure is making a demand. We are not in control, God is.

God also knows that suffeirng produces many fruits. My faith had grown leaps and bounds in the last four years. In fact, I have told Our Lord that if I need this affliction in order to stay close to Him and to depend upon Him every day, I would rather stay this way than be healed and fall away from Him again. I firmly believe that He knows what is best for me. I trust in Him. Let’s hope your father-in-law will, too!

My prayers are with you!

P.S. If you’d like me to provide you with several scriptural passages about suffering either on this thread or through a personal message, I’d be happy to do so!

 

[Tom]

Prayer is your best option. They sound set in their ways and you’re not likely to convince them otherwise. Miracles do indeed occur, we’ve experienced a miracle in our family, and so I know. It might help to understand that the human life we hold so precious is just a short interlude towards our eternal life. If he dies in the love of our Lord, he will rest in Him.