As mass killings in schools, shopping centers, a Las Vegas concert, synagogues, and elsewhere have proliferated, we hear the now-routine response, “our thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families,” a phrase that has become an ugly social profanity.
Hi Pauley, you have to be my friend, Pauley, P, lover of kindness, lover of poetry and lover of Ida Puliwa. What a lovely poem that captures perfectly the thoughts that I had when I was reading Rick's's article –that because because God is love, and we are all made in his image and have the God spirit built into us, when we share that loving concerned power directed towards our friends, who are in pain or suffering an illness – or simply suffering lack of love at the hands of others – God's healing Power is acting. Thank you for your poem and thank you for your wisdom and kindness.
Rick, I always look forward to reading your thoughtful, masterfully written essays. Back when I was teaching medical psychology to clinical psych PhD students, some interesting articles came out, trying to scientifically quantify the event of healing prayer – across a distance, i.e. outside of the hospital walls – for patients in the coronary care unit. Your thoughtful article brings up the same sort of intellectual/spiritual arguments that I had between different different parts of myself. This exhaustive theological/scientific essay from a very scholastic rabbi is more than you or your readers will probably want to read – but rushing through it, I found it thoughtful - and by picking out the parts that I could read quickly, I found it instructive. Do questions still remain for me about the host of conflicting belief systems that quarrel among themselves in the center of my head? Certainly. But now, this rabbi's voices can join mine. Here is his summary, which may be enough for you. Conclusion:
Prayer offers empirically documented though tentative support for adjunctive
benefits in medical outcomes, with the strongest evidence emerging in
psychological and quality-of-life domains rather than direct physiological
measures. Jewish theological frameworks provide a robust intellectual
foundation for understanding these effects not as supernatural bypass of
natural healing processes but as meaningful interventions that address the
spiritual and existential dimensions of illness experience. This synthesis
advocates for balanced, patient-centered care that bridges scientific
methodology with spiritual wisdom, recognizing that the question of prayer's
efficacy may be less important than the question of how prayer can be
So happy you are doing well. I remember you and your family from SMCC. Brendan is same age as our son Tony Young.. our daughter Dina is one year younger than the boys. They all graduated from SM high school.
I enjoy reading your stories almost as much as hearing your sermons.
If God is Love
Like A=A
Then thinking about
And praying for
Someone's well being
Or someone's
peace that passes all understanding
Is an act of Love
Therefore
An act of God.
:)
Hi Pauley, you have to be my friend, Pauley, P, lover of kindness, lover of poetry and lover of Ida Puliwa. What a lovely poem that captures perfectly the thoughts that I had when I was reading Rick's's article –that because because God is love, and we are all made in his image and have the God spirit built into us, when we share that loving concerned power directed towards our friends, who are in pain or suffering an illness – or simply suffering lack of love at the hands of others – God's healing Power is acting. Thank you for your poem and thank you for your wisdom and kindness.
Rick, I always look forward to reading your thoughtful, masterfully written essays. Back when I was teaching medical psychology to clinical psych PhD students, some interesting articles came out, trying to scientifically quantify the event of healing prayer – across a distance, i.e. outside of the hospital walls – for patients in the coronary care unit. Your thoughtful article brings up the same sort of intellectual/spiritual arguments that I had between different different parts of myself. This exhaustive theological/scientific essay from a very scholastic rabbi is more than you or your readers will probably want to read – but rushing through it, I found it thoughtful - and by picking out the parts that I could read quickly, I found it instructive. Do questions still remain for me about the host of conflicting belief systems that quarrel among themselves in the center of my head? Certainly. But now, this rabbi's voices can join mine. Here is his summary, which may be enough for you. Conclusion:
Prayer offers empirically documented though tentative support for adjunctive
benefits in medical outcomes, with the strongest evidence emerging in
psychological and quality-of-life domains rather than direct physiological
measures. Jewish theological frameworks provide a robust intellectual
foundation for understanding these effects not as supernatural bypass of
natural healing processes but as meaningful interventions that address the
spiritual and existential dimensions of illness experience. This synthesis
advocates for balanced, patient-centered care that bridges scientific
methodology with spiritual wisdom, recognizing that the question of prayer's
efficacy may be less important than the question of how prayer can be
thoughtfully integrated into comprehensive healthcare delivery. https://www.jyungar.com/essays-on-healing/2025/9/25/the-efficacy-of-prayer-in-medical-outcomes
So happy you are doing well. I remember you and your family from SMCC. Brendan is same age as our son Tony Young.. our daughter Dina is one year younger than the boys. They all graduated from SM high school.
I enjoy reading your stories almost as much as hearing your sermons.
Best to you and your family.
Ladeana Young