Like most people of faith, I pray each day for God to reach out a healing hand to folks in need. I usually include these intercessions at Mass during the Prayer of the Faithful. Lately I find there are so many petitions for healing that I feel as if I'm repeating myself. It's a stark reminder to me of how much we need God today.

Look around the world - from the scarred nations of Iraq and Afghanistan daily groaning from the pain of war to the desperate voices of the unemployed in many countries, including our own, struggling to make it through these crushing times. Add to these the agony of those with physical and mental ailments whose cries reach our ears and touch our hearts, yet so often we feel at a loss to offer more than a slight note of sympathy and support.

In this issue you will meet Maryknoll missioners who have heard the cries of those who suffer and in Jesus' name are extending a healing hand. Sister Helen Kenny, for instance, works at a center in Hong Kong offering cancer patients hope and moral support. Father Edward Shellito uses his counseling skills in Namibia to help people overcome addictions. And Father Robert McCahill in his ministry to the sick poor of Bangladesh rides his bike through the countryside offering help to families whose children have serious medical problems.

These and all missioners would acknowledge that their human efforts are not enough. Prayer is what adds the power of God's healing touch to our own. The risen Lord holds out hope that those who call on God in prayer will be answered. This hope and God's response are the foundation and strength of our faith. The resurrected Lord promises that we will share in the victory of Christ over sin and death.

The Easter season and the great feast of the Resurrection are powerful pillars that support our hope for healing. Let us pray that our brothers and sisters throughout the world may experience this hope.

Best wishes for a holy and happy Easter!

Edward M. Dougherty, M.M.