I remember a time in prayer a couple years ago, maybe 5 or 6, when I heard the voice of the Holy Spirit say, “Read Ephesians 1.” It caught me off guard. However, I was obedient to that small voice.
What surprised me about that chapter was verses 13 and 14 that reads:
“In him you also, who have heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and have believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, which is the first installment of our inheritance toward redemption as God’s possession, to the praise of his glory. (Emphasis mine) In these verses, St. Paul tells us that this sealing of the promised Holy Spirit is the first installment of our inheritance.
Ask yourself this question, “What does ‘first installment’ imply?”
It means that there is a second, third, fourth and so on.
It means that God wants to give you more beyond the gifts of Baptism and Confirmation.
Our inheritance starts now, today, this minute.
God wants to shower you with gifts.
I have experienced this in so many ways in my life. Some people (especially my wife) would call me a perpetual learner or perpetual student. Every time I have finished school or a degree or postgraduate work or a certificate, I always want to learn more.
Why? Because I have come to know that God wants me to continue learning, God wants to give me more skills to use in my ministry to be his instrument of healing to others.
One of my spiritual gifts that I have discovered is that of teaching and healing. What I learn I desire to give to others. I receive a lot of joy by giving my gifts away to others.
I say this not to brag or to be boastful. However, when I finished my masters work in theology, I dove deeper into St. John Paul II’s teaching on the Theology of the Body.
That opened my eyes to deeper human formation connected with how the human person is made in the image and likeness of God. There have been many blessings that I have experienced from my time of study at the TOB institute. However, I knew God had more!
Five years ago, I had a very profound healing experience at a Healing the Whole Person Retreat put on by the team from the JP II Healing Center. This sent me to study more about healing (emotional, physical, and spiritual healing) here.
I have had deeper dives into evangelization and discipleship training. I have also completed a two-year program with Encounter Ministries in Michigan going deeper into physical and inner healing, prophecy, and discipleship. Yet, God has always said there is more!
So, I say all this to show you that there are many paths to your healing and many paths to your restoration and renewal of the mind. God has blessed me with many skills so that I may do deeper work with my clients. I am starting to encounter more and more people who are seeking healing in the area of coaching outside of normal mental health counseling. Coaching and healing ministry are emerging areas of need in our Church today.
The skills that I have learned through Metanoia Catholic and other ministries are allowing me to help people to stay mentally healthy so that they do not have to go to counseling. As coaches I am finding that we can be that person that can accompany others in a way that a counselor or therapist cannot.
I am amazed at the healing that Jesus can bring through just one or two sessions with a client through such exercises as healing of memories or healing of emotions or just a simple act of forgiveness. I am so excited to be a part of this up-and-coming coaching ministry within the Church. I only wish that I had these skills years ago when I first started in ministry!
However, at the same time, I recall that line again from the book of Ephesians that this is only the first installment. Coaching is a new area in the discipleship process.
With coaching, I can walk with and accompany others into a deeper intimacy with Jesus Christ. With coaching I can be an instrument of God’s healing for others. I can show them that there is more! And I can help give them those skills to attain the more.
