Learning
to be healed
By
Susan Brinkmann
CS&T Correspondent
One touch from Jesus Christ is enough to change a person forever.
That was the lesson learned by almost 200 people who gathered in Corpus
Christi Church in Upper Gwynedd on April 26 to receive His healing touch.
“By
your being here tonight, you’re not the same person,” they
were told by Auxiliary Bishop Michael F. Burbidge, the main celebrant
at the healing Mass. “You have been anointed by Jesus, strengthened
by His Spirit, nourished and nurtured by His Body and Blood.”
The
Bishop, with five priests, prayed and laid hands on those seeking healing,
and administered the sacrament of the anointing of the sick. With him
were Msgr. Thomas P. Flanigan and Fathers John Kilgallon, Andrew Brownholtz,
Mark Gaspar and Pio Mandato. Along with Rev. Mr. Frank Langdorf, they
were assisted by two seminarians from the parish, Anthony Rossi and
Keith Chylinksi.
The Mass provided encouragement and hope to the ill and wounded that
even a drop of faith is enough to work miracles.
“Whenever miracles are recorded in the Scriptures, it’s
not so much the miracles that are highlighted, but the faith of the
recipients,” Bishop Burbidge said.
While his parents, Francis and Shirley Burbidge looked on, the Bishop
showed the congregation a large metal cross he was wearing, which had
been given to him by Pope John Paul II shortly before the pope’s
death.
“The day we went in to see the Holy Father, he was actually holding
this cross,” the Bishop said. “He was in great deal of pain
— excruciating pain — and very frustrated that he could
not even speak to us. But I’ll never forget what I saw in his
face ... serenity, peace, and joy.”
That response to suffering is the result of believing in Jesus Christ,
the One who destroyed the power of darkness, sin, suffering, and even
death, the Bishop said, in one of many lessons in healing that were
offered to the congregation throughout the evening.
The homilist was Father Mandato, who had received his First Holy Communion
in Italy from the hands St. Pio of Pietrelcina.
Father Mandato gave a homily filled with examples of what authentic
Christian healing is all about.
Referring to a quote from the composer of the Ave Maria, Charles Gounod,
who said: “One drop of holiness is greater than a sea of genius,”
Father Mandato said: “He’s onto something. We’re all
here tonight because we long for that touch from the Lord.
“Whatever your weakness, your struggle, your agony — just
one drop can make all the difference,” Father Mandato continued.
“And it’s all dependent upon one essential factor —
your faith and my faith.”
He encouraged those who were suffering in mind, body, and spirit, not
to be afraid of being human and broken: “As Pope Benedict tells
us, it’s false to think that the closer we get to God, the more
we let go of being human. It’s the other way around. The closer
we get to God, the more human we become — the more transformed,
the more happy, the more joyful — and the greater our ability
to follow our Lord and King through Calvary into the resurrection.”
That is not the message our culture offers, Father Mandato said. As
an example, he told a story of a university biology professor who recently
received a prestigious award.
The professor believes humans are no better than bacteria and that the
only way to save the planet is by reducing the human population by 90
percent, Father Mandato said. In addition, the scientist-teacher advocates
allowing the spread of diseases such as AIDS, in order to speed up the
process of ridding people from the planet.
“If that’s not extreme enough, after the people listened
to him speak, they actually gave this doctor a sustained ovation,”
Father Mandato said. “They agreed with him. This is truly the
end of not only Christian humanism, but humanism, itself.”
Then, he told another true story — about a group of children in
a Special Olympics race. As the race began, one child suddenly stumbled
and fell, and he started to cry. All the rest stopped running. They
raced back to help him up, and one little girl kissed him on the head,
saying, “This will make you feel better.” Then they all
joined hands, and walked together to the finish line.
“These are the same kids our society wants to discard, and throw
by the wayside,” Father Mandato said. “But they’re
onto something. They’re onto the secret of holiness.”
The prevailing culture embraces a vision of man that denies his humanity,
Father Mandato said, but Christ did not do that: “He actually
died for our humanity, for our flesh, for our broken humanness. The
answer to our brokenness is not death, but rising to a new life.”
“We have to be divinized,” Father Mandato said. “Divinization
is the process where we don’t lose our humanity, but we become
more human, more sanctified, God-like. We become a Christ-man and a
Christ-woman, because we allow the Spirit to enter into us to transform
us from within.”
All
it takes is just one drop of holiness — of faith — to make
radical things happen, he said.
Especially poignant at the Liturgy was the moment when four people who
had been healed of cancer in the past year presented the Offertory gifts.
All four are regular attendees at the parish’s twice-monthly St.
Peregrine novena service.
“We actually had six healings this year,” said Barbara Thompson,
a nurse who is a cancer survivor, and who has been attending the novena
for several years. “Four were cancer healings — one lymphoma,
two rectal colon, and one cervical.”
Another healing was received by the parish’s sacristan, the man
who has been running the novena for years, Gino DiFederico. He was diagnosed
with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease several months ago, and believes
the power of prayer saved his life.
“It was a miracle that I made it, because I was on my deathbed,”
he said. “The doctor said he never saw anybody in my condition
who was still walking around.” DiFederico attributes his recovery
to the intercession of Our Lady and all those who prayed for him.
When the priest laid hands on him, and gave him the anointing of the
sick, he was so moved he cried, DiFederico said.
“It’s not over yet for me,” he added. “I have
more to do.”
His own feelings were confirmed the following day, when a woman called
to say how happy she was to be a Catholic after attending the Mass.
“Now I know why I'm a Catholic,” she told him. “I
have never been so moved as I was last night.”
Contact Susan Brinkmann at fiat723@aol.com or (215) 965-4615