The Healing Touch
Touch, yes, touch, speaks the wordless words of love. We receive so much touch when we are babies and so little when we are adults. Still, in friendship, touch often gives more life than words. A friend’s hand stroking our back, a friend’s arm resting on our shoulder, a friend’s fingers wiping our tears away, a friend’s lips kissing our forehead — these bring true consolation. These moments of touch are truly sacred. They restore, they reconcile, they reassure, they forgive, they heal.
Everyone who touched Jesus and everyone whom Jesus touched were healed. God’s love and power went out from him (see Luke 6:19). When a friend touches us with free, nonpossessive love, it is God’s incarnate love that touches us and God’s power that heals us.
Henri Nouwen
Henri J. M. Nouwen (1932-1996) was one of the leading spiritual writers of the 20th century. He was the author of The Wounded Healer, Making All Things New, Reaching Out, and many other bestsellers. He was the senior pastor of L’Arche Daybreak in Toronto, Canada — a community where men and women with mental disabilities and their assistants create a home for one another.
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