Reiki and the Liberal Catholic Church: Healing Hands, Sacramental Grace

By Fr. Mark Colville

Some people ask me if Reiki fits within the Church. They’ve been told energy healing is unchristian, or that it’s something to avoid. But the truth is, Reiki doesn’t take us away from the faith—it brings us deeper into it. As a priest in the Liberal Catholic Church and a Reiki Master, I’ve seen firsthand how healing touch, quiet prayer, and God’s grace can work together to restore peace in someone’s life.

The Liberal Catholic Church honors the ancient apostolic lineage of Christianity while opening its arms to spiritual growth and freedom. It holds the sacraments with deep reverence, but it doesn’t put limits on how God can move. That’s what drew me in. It’s a Church that believes in the real presence of Christ—and also in the freedom of the soul. It sees truth in many paths, and it trusts that God’s light can shine through more than one window.

Reiki is one of those windows.

Reiki means “universal life energy.” It’s not tied to a religion or a dogma. It’s a simple practice of stillness, presence, and touch. The practitioner places their hands gently over the body to support healing—not by controlling it, but by holding space for it. Reiki doesn’t replace sacraments. But it does remind us that the Holy Spirit moves through more than words and rituals. Sometimes, it moves through silence.

In the Liberal Catholic tradition, we already believe that the sacraments are channels of grace. We lay hands during Confirmation. We anoint the sick. We bless the dying. We believe that divine energy, divine love, flows into the soul in a real and living way. Reiki simply offers another tool to support that same healing work, especially when someone is carrying invisible wounds—grief, anxiety, trauma, or deep spiritual sorrow.

I’ve offered Reiki to veterans, to grieving families, to those preparing for death, and to those just trying to find peace. There is no pressure. No preaching. Just presence. Sometimes we talk, sometimes we pray, sometimes we sit in silence. But in every case, the goal is the same: to bring the person closer to their center, to God, to wholeness.

There are some who fear Reiki because they don’t understand it. That’s okay. I was once unsure, too. But what I’ve learned is that healing is never against God. Fear, judgment, and separation are. Reiki isn’t about power or control—it’s about service. It’s about making room for the sacred to rise within someone’s spirit, in whatever form it needs to take.

In the Liberal Catholic Church, we don’t believe in building walls around grace. We believe in opening doors.

If you’re curious about Reiki, or if you’ve been looking for a way to reconnect with your spirit—gently, without judgment—I invite you to reach out. Whether you come for the sacraments, for healing, or just to sit quietly, there’s a place for you here.