MR HICKSON’S MISSION.

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume XXXIV, Issue 4590, 20 August 1923, Page 4

MR HICKSON’S MISSION.

A TOPICAL REVIEW. (By the Bishop of Newcastle, in the “ Sydney Morning Herald.”) Tn view of the approaching visit to New Zealand of Mr Hickson,, on a spiritual healing mission, the following article is of topical interest: — I have been asked to give my impressions of the Mission, of Spiritual Healing conducted by Mr Hickson at Newcastle. In most points it does not differ from those in other places, and in view of the full reports given ; n the Press, it does not seem worth while merely to add to the list of remarkable cures effected. But & more general discussion may be of value. We have to face the fact that at these missions there are case; of cure which some would call miraculous and all would call wonderful, and in mist of these cases the best medical skill had failed. How are they to be explained? The simplest and most obvious explanation is to connect them with the personal) ty, of Mr Hickson, to suppp.se that he, and others like him, possess some mysterious power of healing as yet unexplained by science,, something parallel to the power of second sight, or clairvoyance, of the power of detecting subterranean water; powers which, if they exist, are purely human and restricted t,o a few favoured individuals. But we are forced tp reject this explanation. For one thing, Mr Hickson expressly disclaims the possession of any such human power. And his disclaimer is supported by other evidence. Before all his missions there is a long period of preparation, marked by special and intense prayer ; and it is found that many patients are cured during the time of preparation. Long before Mr Hickson arrives, the force which heals us is in operation, and it is clearly independent of the missioner’s presence or touch. But there was a peculiar feature of the Newcastle mission which drives us to the same conclusion. At the end of three days there were still 800 Patients waiting. Mr Hickson was leaving next morning. What was to be done ? If we sent, them back disappointed we should be saying in effect that healing came from the personal touch of the missioner, and that, apart from him, the Church was powerless. Four priests were solemnly commissioned for the work and share in the laying on of bands, and, as on previous days, I followed and gave the blessing of the Church. The results were what we .hoped. The effects upon bodily diseases and upon spiritual troubles were similar to those observed on previous days. It was clear that whatever the cause of healing might be it could be set in operation by the Church and was not dependent on specially-gifted persons. WHAT EXPLANATION? But may not the explanation lie in the power of mind over body. ? x This is a power recognised and used for ages, and of late years it has received increasing attention. We must acknowledge at once that many of the cases recorded might be sufficiently explained in this way. Probably M. Coue’s list would present many parallels. Here I would say in passing that critics in their enthusiasm for truth often show a singular lack of humanity. Even if the Church were only practising psycho-therapy on a grand scale, surely its success should be a matter of rejoicing. When we think, as we have been forced to think lately, of the mass of sickness and suffering in the community, and when we see hundreds of cases wholly or partially relieved, it seems ungracious to blame the Church for her mistaken .theories and to regard with a cold silence her successful practice. After all, whatever the explanation, much suffering has been removed, and for this we ought to be devoutly thankful. But to return. to the theory that we have simply been witnessing another triumph of mind over matter. I might give many reasons for doubting this, but shall be content .with three. In the first place, the nature of some of the cures must be considered. I am not a medical man,, and therefore speak from ignorance ; but when li hear on what seems to be reliable authority, that* cases of blindness from birth and curvature of the spine of long standing have been cured, or that a swelling diagnosed as goitre had suddenly disappeared, I find it difficult, to accept the power of the mind as sufficient explanation. And the difficulty is insuperable when I hear of infants who are too young to use their minds being cured of blindness or paralysis. Probably a complete list of cases would add to the strength of the argument.

' A second reason is one that appeals to me in my professional capacity. The patients who come to the mission shew evidences of a change of character. It may take the form of peni-. tence for past sin. It may be a 1 keen desire to live a better life. It may be that prayer becomes more natural and: more intense. It may be that they are more conscious than before that j God is a real factor in their livesBut whatever form it may take, there it a spiritual change in their life' which cannot be fully explained by , other than spiritual causes. i The third reason is one that is obvious to all observers. Those who do 1 not receive bodily healing are nob feeling the bitter disappointment that-. was predicted. Some, no doubt, are j buoyed up by . the hope of ultimate: cure, a hope which experience justi-. ties. But those who have given up* this hope are peaceful and contented- i They say that they have received 1 • some spiritual gift, which has either 5 lightened the weight of their burden, i or supplied strength to bear it easily- | Imagination, possibly, in some cases;, l] but hardly likely in. all, when we con-< sider the extraordinary variety fm f temperaments that are equally satis-1 fled with the gift they have received'- I CHRIST WORKING. i What, then,, is the true explanation. • of the wonders we have seen ? T s should say that the most | answer is the one given by Mr Hick- I son and accepted by the patients, by j

the vast body of intercessors, and by the Church at large. And that is, that our Lord Jesus Christ is working through His Church to-day as He did in Apostolic times, and tkat His divine power is healing the sick in body, soul, and spirit. If we deny His deity, or if we deny the possibility of His acting on human life, we must risk some other answer. But to one who holds the Christian belief the only difficulty is to explain our former incredulity. May I, in conclusion, suggest some of the permanent results that may' follow from this mission. F may lead to a change in the practice of medicine. To use Sir Frederick Treves’ words, “too physician-who is a physician will treat a patient without consideration of the Unknown Quantity.” As a doctor said to me the other day, “We are treating men as if they were motor-cars. Each organ and its functions are referred to specialists, who make physical tests, and no consideration is given to the real man, the spiritual being, who possesses these organs.” Possibly the doetpr of the future will welcome more readily the co-operation of the priest', who is best, qualified to deal with spiritual sickness. We shall also gain a new hopefulness in the presence of disease. Even if material remedies fail there is no need to give up the fight for health. Further, we shall all gain a truer conception of the Church. It will no longer be, as some regard it, a mere association of human beings with n common belief. We shall all see that supernatural forces are at, work in it and may be used by it. The phrase, the Body of Christ, will cease to be only a figure of speech. And with our growing knowledge of the nature of the Church willcome a clearer vision of her Master: no longer a distant Hero, dimly described through the mists of history, but the Lord of all good life, closer to us than he was to His followers in Palestine, still applying His health touch to every part of our nature and saying us from every form of evil.