In an article in Therapy Today, Rev Dr Gerard Byrne on being asked how he reconciles his twin roles of Catholic priest and counsellor, Gerard says “fundamentally I believe that the greatest psychologist we’ve ever had is Jesus Christ and that in the scriptures, the reports of his life and ministry, the way he behaved and lived on earth, we have the blueprints for every encounter that we will have. He made sense of it all.”
whilst I really like what Gerard’s saying about the power of Jesus’ ministry, I’m wondering to what extent counselling, healing, worship and salvation walk comfortably together?
and where is the role of the church?, should we dive wholeheartedly into a ministry of healing and counselling?, should we find ways to communicate salvation to our generation?,
or, how do we follow Jesus?
Though Jesus looked across Jerusalem with compassion, he wasn’t always ‘comforting’ to those who sort him out, and as a counsellor I’d struggle to be quite as ‘challenging’ as he was at times.
I’d very much like to hear your experiences and opinions, (bearing in mind this is a public blog, so share your experiences thoughtfully,) but do people have experiences of being challenged and finding that helpful?, or comforted and finding that healing?, and do you wish your church was more, or less, involved in healing – or that they’d just use a different approach? Or what aspects of Jesus’ work, do you feel are relevant to us today?
For myself, I’m very much aware of finding hope and compassion as I’ve grown within my church, though I doubt I’d cope with a public challenge similar to the confrontations Jesus had with women on occasions. and I can’t see myself telling a deeply religious person, who felt contaminated by dead bodies, that they ‘were like unwashed tombs’!
I feel deeply challenged by Gerard’s words, and think I’ll have to re-read the gospels, in the light of ‘blueprints for every encounter’, – and so am also very much hoping to hear your views