[Brian Lee]

Hi Pete,

What an amazing story of healing that happened on your SPSE outing. Praise be Jesus Christ! When it comes to the “laying on of hands” I have a few thoughts. First of all, the physical touching of a person is not necessary for the healing to take place. Matthew 8:5-13 comes to mind when Jesus heals the Centurion’s servant (who isn’t even present) simply by the words, “Go, let it be done for you.” As you mentioned though we are physical beings and sometimes Jesus healed with no words at all and only a physical touch (Mark 5:21-34). How do we reconcile this? Well this means that Jesus can and will heal as He wills, and this gives us freedom with each healing prayer to discern what is most appropriate. If someone ask for healing of a physical body part that is not inappropriate to touch (such as an arm, leg, back, foot, etc) then I will normally ask permission to touch the area they request as I pray. If, on the other hand, they ask for healing of another person, a spiritual healing, or perhaps cancer throughout their whole body then I may ask if I can join hands with them, touch a shoulder, or (as you suggest) pray with my hands open. In the end I would not be concerned about touching or not touching. I would just be open and have faith that Jesus will do what is best as long as I am faithful in asking for his healing, forgiveness, and mercy.

[Brian Lee]

The first thing to do would be do determine the intent of doing yoga. The body postures of yoga are in themselves morally neutral. If a person is doing the poses without the intent of seeking enlightenment through a higher power then act of doing the yoga stretches could be perfectly fine. I found a quote on Catholic Ansers that said, “The assertion that yoga is always a sin shades into superstition, ascribing magical effects to a physical action based solely upon its external performance. Just as it is common to kneel when praying, kneeling by itself is not a holy act.” (https://www.catholic.com/magazine/print-edition/the-trouble-with-yoga) It is a neutral posture that prepares the body for the act of praying. The same moral standard is held for yoga poses. Yoga combined with the act of seeking enlightenment is condemned. And if this is the case in this circumstance then it would be worth suggesting ways to find peace in prayer by having true communion with God. A great meditation where I have always found peace is the rosary. I would begin by suggesting that.

[Brian Lee]

The fact that they believe they are C.S. Lewis makes this a really unique situation. Since I am familiar with C.S. Lewis I would ask the person which work of his they like best. I would then ask if there was anything in particular from C.S. Lewis that shows that he believed in reincarnation (the answer would obviously be no). I would then share how C.S. Lewis was a devout Christian most notable for his liar, lunatic, or Lord argument. I would ask if they, like C.S. Lewis, believe Jesus is Lord. If they did I would share with them how the two are mutually exclusive. You cannot believe in both reincarnation and resurrection.

[Author]

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