Christ's Healing Is the Real Thing

By Father Raniero Cantalamessa, OFM CapROME, JAN. 25, 2008 (Zenit.org).- The Gospel passage for the 3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time closes with these words: "Jesus went about all of Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and preaching the good news of the kingdom and curing every disease and infirmity of the people." About one-third of the Gospel is concerned with the healings performed by Jesus during the brief time of his public life. It is impossible to eliminate these miracles or try to give a natural explanation to them without pulling apart the whole Gospel and making it incomprehensible.
The miracles of the Gospel have unmistakable characteristics. They are never done to stupefy or promote the one who does them. Some today allow themselves to be enchanted by certain people who possess powers of levitation, or who can make objects appear and disappear, or who can do other things of this sort. Who gains anything from these types of miracles, supposing that they are miracles? Only those who perform them; they recruit disciples or make money.
Jesus works miracles out of compassion, because he loves people. He also works miracles to help them believe. He heals, ultimately, to proclaim that God is the God of life and that, in the end, together with death, sickness too will be defeated and "there will be no more mourning nor weeping."
It is not only Jesus who heals, but he also orders his disciples to do the same after him: "He sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal the infirm" (Luke 9:2). "Preach that the kingdom of heaven is at hand. Heal the sick" (Matthew 10:7ff.). We always find the two things linked: preaching the Gospel and healing the sick. Man has two ways to try to overcome his infirmities: nature and grace. Nature indicates intelligence, science, medicine, technology; grace indicates direct recourse to God, through faith and prayer and the sacraments. The latter are the means that the Church has at its disposal to "heal the sick."
Evil begins when we try to take a third route: the way of magic, that which appeals to a person's supposed hidden powers, which are not based on science nor on faith. In such a case, either we are dealing with a total charlatan and illusion or, what is worse, with the enemy of God.It is not hard to determine when we are dealing with a true gift of healing and when it is a magical counterfeit. In the first case the person never attributes the results that are obtained to his own powers, but to God; in the second case people are doing nothing other than showing off their own pretended "extraordinary powers."When you read advertisements that claim so-and-so the magician "succeeds where others fail," "solves all problems," "is recognized to have extraordinary powers," "expels demons, rids you of the evil eye," you need not have a moment's doubt: You are dealing with a fraud. Jesus said that demons are chased out by "fasting and prayer," not by giving people money!
But we must ask ourselves another question: What about those people who, despite everything, are not healed? What do you think? Do they not have faith? Does God not love them?If the persistence of a disease were a sign that a person did not have faith, or that God does not love him, we would have to say that the saints had the least amount of faith and that they were the least loved by God, because some of them spent their whole lives in bed. No, the answer is different. God's power is not manifested in just one way, say, in eliminating evil or in physical healings. God's power also manifests itself in giving the ability, and sometimes the joy, of carrying our own cross with Christ and in making up what is lacking in his sufferings.Christ also redeemed suffering and death. It is no longer the sign of sin, participation in Adam's fault, but rather it is the instrument of redemption.

Happy Birthday Mother Elvira

Happy Birthday Mother Elvira

Mother Elvira is the founder of the Cenacolo Community. I personally lived in this Community for 2 years (most of the time in Medjugorje and for about 4 months i lived with Mother Elvira in Italy.), what a beautiful experience. Happy Birthday Elvira !!

Vicka's Return ----- Our daily Cross

"Around the 1st of January, large crowds of pilgrims once again gathered on the main street in Bijakovici. Vicka, after an absence of nine months for health reasons, returned to the stairs of her blue house to give witness! This year however, we will have to wait until March for her to resume her normal rhythm of speaking three days per week. By then the treatment of her shoulder should be finished. In these last nine months, Vicka has suffered more than usual, but she knows how to remain happy in all situations, even those that are apparently negative. Recently I had the opportunity to meet her and discuss the latest events with her, as well as her suffering. I was wondering why God would allow nine months to go by without Vicka speaking. How many thousands of people would have been able to be touched by her beautiful testimony and have returned to God? Why did God allow the long silence of this excellent witness? What advantage was there in keeping her away, trapping her inside her house, neither able to move, nor able to meet the crowds from all over the world who called for her? Of course it has to do with the incredible fruit of suffering, when it is offered to Jesus. There is no better example than Vicka. She does it with such ease. When I asked her about how she manages to stay positive she had many good points to share!She said: “You see, if God allowed that absence, He knows why, therefore I’m happy. He knows how much I love to bear witness to the pilgrims, He knows that the pilgrims need to hear the messages; then if He still chooses for me to make a sacrifice and bear this suffering instead, I don’t doubt, this plan is the best one for us all. That’s why I’m happy. I know that everything He does is a blessing. I am in His hands in order to serve Him. He can do as He wishes and, whatever He does, it’s His choice and I always thank Him. He sees so differently from us! We judge too easily on the outside. We have our own thoughts about things and we want God to act according to our wishes. But no! You see, we should always be happy with what God does, even if we have wanted something different. This brings heart-felt peace. I’m happy to be with my family, with the pilgrims or my friends, but I’m also happy when I’m sick. The important thing is to say YES to His ways and to have total confidence in Him. When you have confidence, you have peace! But this doesn’t happen overnight. We learn it day by day and we have to work in our hearts. We have to pray! God always wants to give us that peace, but we have to pray and to open our heart in prayer.”

"I asked Vicka how was Baby Jesus when she saw Him in the arms of His mother on Christmas day. Was He asleep? “No!” She said. “He was completely awake. His eyes completely open!” Then I asked, “And His Mother, I suppose that she was radiant with joy?” To my question, Vicka lowered her head for a second and responded, “Yes, she was joyful; it was Christmas! But, she’s a mother, so even if her heart aches with pain, she hides it in order to show happiness to her children. But for me, since I’ve been seeing her for a while, it shows.” (I asked this question because of Mirjana’s surprising reaction to the apparition of Our Lady on December 2nd.) I continued to ask Vicka, “I understand that the Mother of God suffers enormously, seeing the large number of families breaking apart today.” “Sister Emmanuel,” Vicka responded. “Today there are not only families that are breaking apart! It is EVERYTHING that is breaking!”
~ From Sister Emmanuel Newsletter

WHO WAS YOUR SAINT FOR THE YEAR ??

The saint that picked me for this year was St.Margaret Mary Alacoque.

There is a nice tradition in some convents and monasteries, that of picking a Saint at the beginning of the year. In fact, St. Faustina speaks of this practice in her community in Divine Mercy in My Soul Diary (#360). This Saint will be your companion for the whole year, your friend, and your confidant. He/She will give you protection, will help you in your daily life and will guide you to find your own personal path to sanctity. He/She will grant you his virtues and will talk to your heart according to the level of intimacy you wish to have with him. Read his/her life, even his writings maybe! (Newsletter from Sr.Emmanuel)

Father Cantalamessa on the Epiphany of the Lord

(www.deplicque.net/image/pagan2.jpg)

We will closely follow the Gospel's account of the coming of the three magi to Bethlehem to find in it some practical instruction for our life. In this account the historical element mixes with the theological and symbolic element. In other words, the Evangelist did not intend only to report the facts, but to inculcate the things to be done, indicate models for the readers to follow, or avoid. As the rest of the Bible, this page too was written "for our instruction."
There are three different reactions to announcement of Jesus' birth that clearly emerge in this account: that of the magi, that of Herod and that of the priests. Let us start with the negative models, the ones to avoid.
First of all, Herod. He, just having heard the news, "was greatly troubled." He convokes a meeting of the chief priests and scribes, not to know the truth but to plot deception. Herod represents the person who has already made his choice. Between God's will and his will, he has clearly chosen his own will. He sees nothing but his own interests and he is determined to cut down any threat to the current state of things. He probably even thinks that he is doing his duty, defending his royalty, has caste, the good of the nation. Even ordering the killing of the innocents must have seemed to him, as with many dictators in history, a measure demanded by the public good, morally justified. From this point of view the world is full of many "Herods" even today.
Let us turn now to the attitude of the priests and scribes. Asked by Herod and the Magi where the Messiah is to be born, they do not hesitate to give the right answer. They know where the Messiah is born; they are even able to tell others; but they are not moved. They do not run to Bethlehem, as would be expected of people who await the coming of the Messiah, but remain comfortably in Jerusalem. They act like road signs: They indicate the way to follow but they remain immobile on the side of the road.
We see an attitude symbolized in them that is also found among us. We know well what is necessary to follow Jesus and, if the need arises, we know how to explain it to others, but we lack the courage and radicality to seriously put it into practice. If every baptized person is for this reason "a witness to Christ," then the attitude of the chief priests and the scribes must bring us all to reflect. They knew that Jesus was in Bethlehem, "the least" of the cities of Judea; we know that Jesus is found today among the poor, the humble, the suffering.
We finally come to the protagonists of this feast, the Magi. They teach not with words but with deeds, not by what they say but by what they do. They have not tarried, they have set on the way; they have left the security of the environment familiar to them, where they are known and revered. They have acted decisively, they have not hesitated. If they had begun calculating, one by one, the dangers, the unknowns of the journey, they would have lost the original determination and would have been lost in vain and sterile considerations.
One last precious indication comes to us from the magi. "Having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed for their country by another way." Changing one's life changes the way one takes. The encounter with Christ must bring about a turn, a change of habits.
~ Father Cantalamessa

Fr.Danko's Reflection ~ December 25,2007

“Dear children! With great joy I bring you the King of Peace for Him to bless you with His blessing. Adore Him and give time to the Creator for whom your heart yearns. Do not forget that you are passers-by on this earth and that things can give you small joys, while through my Son, eternal life is given to you. That is why I am with you, to lead you towards what your heart yearns for. Thank you for having responded to my call.”
~ Message of December 25, 2007

Reflection can be found HERE

Message to Mirjana ~ Jan 02, 2008

"Dear children! With all the strength of my heart, I love you and give myself to you. As a mother fights for her children, I pray for you and fight for you. I ask you not to be afraid to open yourselves, so as to be able to love with the heart and give yourselves to others. The more that you do this with the heart, the more you will receive and the better you will understand my Son and His gift to you. May everyone recognize you through the love of my Son and through me. Thank you."

Our Lady blessed all those present and religious articles brought for blessing. She asked for prayer and fasting for our shepards.