“Spiritual PET Scan”

The first time I remember hearing about the PET Scan  was from my brother who was regularly having this test done a number of years ago. Today it seems that  most of my friends are getting this test done. “In fact the PET Scan is a relatively new diagnostic tool for cancer and other conditions; it can detect changes in metabolic processes before they become visible on other imaging tests.” The point of this test is to help the doctor find the problem in order to be able to fix it. Often a medical problem is not visible; while a broken leg is pretty obvious, a cancer growing inside of you is not. A PET Scan can help the doctor diagnose the problem.

What about our soul? Is there a “Spiritual PET Scan” for the soul? Maybe to detect a sickness that is not obvious from the surface?  Hmmmmm.  Well, fortunately there is and it’s been around a lot longer than the PET scan. It’s called the Word of God.

“The word of God is living and effective, sharper than any two-edged sword, penetrating even between soul and spirit, joints and marrow, and able to discern reflections and thoughts of the heart. No creature is concealed from him, but everything is naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must render an account.” (Heb. 4:12-13) Wow, you can’t hide from the Word of God. It’s really much better at diagnosis than the PET scan. “The sword of the Spirit is the word of God”. (Eph. 6:17)

When Jesus comes in with his scalpel, called the “sword of the Spirit”, there is no hiding our sickness. Jesus discerns the reflections and thoughts of the heart…no creature is concealed from him. I used to think about going to confession to Padre Pio who was able to “read hearts”. (also referred to as reading souls; he knew a penitent’s sins, hidden motives, or forgotten faults before they even spoke them.) Woe, you really needed to examine your conscience before you went into the confessional. Yet, after going to Padre Pio for confession, you could have a great confidence that you made a good confession. (see note below on confession)

As we spend time in praying thru the scriptures (the word of God) we are bringing our soul into the SPS (Spiritual PET Scan) and the Holy Spirit will reveal to us the state of our soul. We will experience conviction for our sins, a prescribed treatment, and hope for tomorrow. Yes, the doctor is in and he is ready to diagnose and prescribe what’s needed for any sickness of our soul.

So, as we are encouraged to get our annual physical checkup, let’s look to get a daily spiritual checkup by taking some time in reading and praying the scriptures. Let’s be alert to the divine physician’s discernment of our heart, and let’s do whatever he tells us. As Catholics, we also have the wonderful sacrament of Confession to receive his mercy and forgiveness.

Note: Regarding Confession, we don’t need Padre Pio in order to be confident our sins are forgiven. “As long as you made a sincere effort to examine your conscience before hand, the priest’s absolution covers every sin you committed, including the ones that slipped your mind.” (ref. CCC par. 1456 and 1458)