prayer67 – A CHURCH FOR HEALING RISES

prayer67 – A CHURCH FOR HEALING RISES

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foodforthesoul

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when you see

a tycoon with terminal cancer

and a beggar in perfect health

then you begin to realize

how death is the total equalizer

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that what matters most in life

is life itself and what you make of it

more than fortune or fame

more than beauty or intelligence

more than empires you build

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empires that gave you sleepless nights

and some enemies perhaps

empires that eventually induced cancer

how sad that we die

for such mundane matters

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This story is an old story rewritten recently. In the early days of the Mother Ignacia Healing Center in Novaliches in the mid-nineties, there were no chapel or auditorium. The barren place was simply cleared quickly from tall weeks and big rocks. Sister Raquel Reodica, RVM, the so-called ‘cancer-healer for Jesus’ conducted the healing sessions in the open air, subject to rain and hot sun.

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Under the sweltering heat, people sought the shade of the few trees. In the sudden rains, the sessions were disrupted. People scattered towards outlying shelters if they did not have an umbrella. Once, Sister dared the crowd to have the session in the rain, and they gladly agreed. She told them that instead of having the regular healing bath of one pail of water each, the rain would be their healing water. Everyone was soaking wet but they did not mind. Many were healed in the rain.

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But this could not go on forever. The ground became thick mud in the rain, so the sisters were forced to put gravel. Still, the wheelchairs could not move around. The improvements came slow and little by little. First gravel, then later cemented walkways for the wheelchairs, then huge canvas sheets tied to the trees. Still, everything was temporary and makeshift.

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One day, an architect who was healed approached Sister Raquel, pointing to the nearby ruins of a former outdoor stage. Envisioning a church on that spot, he asked Sister if it would be alright for him to mount a four-square meter painting of his vision right on the spot. Sister smiled, seeing right away the purpose of the architect. The vision of one who was healed by the Lord attracted a lot of attention. Many asked Sister when it would be built. Sister would simply shrug her shoulders and say she had no idea. In the Lord’s time, she added.

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Then came an engineer who was healed. He looked at the painting and the next day gave Sister a blueprint, and a list of what was needed in detail, how many hollow blocks, steel bars, sacks of cement, volume of sand, and so on, complete with prices. From then on, when people asked, Sister would show them the blueprint and list of materials needed.

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One by one, people who were healed would volunteer to take care of some of the materials. One who had a hardware store offered to donate the hollow blocks and nails. Another offered sand and cement, another, lumber and steel bars. On their own, with no one asking, they offered to give an item or two. Without any effort, without any plan or announcements, the materials poured in. Finally, a contractor who was healed offered to supply the laborers and pay for their wages. The people the Lord healed, strangers to each other, never meeting one another, became a powerful force in the building of the church of healing.

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In no time, the superstructure rose from the ground. People were impatient seeing the unfinished work. More offered help, the paint, the roof, the finishing materials, the tiles for the floor, more labor. A businessman offered to pay for the expensive circular image of Mother Ignacia in mosaic glass.

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It was taking shape and acquiring color on its own with no one in charge. Or it was the Lord who was in charge. The Lord healed all those who helped built the church. Fine arts students from the University of Sto. Tomas painted the murals. The statues of Mama Mary, St. Joseph and the Christ Child, and the Sacred Heart all came from donors.

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It is reported that Our Lady of Medjugorje gave a message saying that the Philippines will one day be a global spiritual center. It is hard to imagine how a poor Third World nation, 70 percent of whose populace is below the poverty line, would be a spiritual Mecca for an ailing world full of wars and chaos. But if you consider that the Lord chose sinners to be His messengers, if you consider how His lineage is from King David, a murderer and adulterer turned prophet, then you can begin to see perhaps how His ways are not our ways, His wisdom not our wisdom.

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Is the healing ministry of Sister Raquel and the RVM sisters the first step towards fulfilling the Medjugorge message? Nobody knows. There are also other healers. But it is good to be aware of things that may come.

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Many people claiming to be visionaries have approached Sister Raquel. A French woman who sought her years ago said that Marian groups nationwide will converge and work for her healing ministry, and that this ministry will spread across the globe. Sister Raquel laughed, a skeptic about purported visionaries. She said if it will happen, it will happen. She had no expectations. She said she was simply an instrument of the Lord, nothing more.

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Sister Raquel says the Lord is the Healer, not her. She was just a bridge. She says she has to surrender everything to the Healer who decides whom to heal based on their faith. She says, “We do not explain. We only experience God, and His power over us and our illnesses.”

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Thinking of the Medjugorje message, I thought how much we Filipinos can really be the center of spirituality. We are the only Christian country in Asia. The churches in Spain and even Italy have become more of tourist spots than churches. Ours are still prayer centers. We may be poor, but our wisdom and wealth are of the heart. If the Lord wants a Christian Mecca in a world of wars, He must have found a perfect place.

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It is just logical that a church of healing is built by people who are healed. No one asked them to help. There was no campaign for funds. They offered on their own initiative. As one devotee put it, the center rose from the ground with no one lifting a finger by sheer will of the Lord, Creator of the Universe, Creator of all that is.

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For those who need healing, go to the Mother Ignacia Healing Center on Wednesdays or Saturdays, 857 Bagumbong Road, Novaliches. You do not need an appointment. Just ask around. Everyone knows where it is, along Quirino Highway to Susano Road to Deparo Road to Bagumbong Road. Request for more details at eastwind.a0@gmail.com

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you have the power to move others

without uttering a single word

with messages fraught with love or hate

with your subtle smile or frown

with your embrace or shove

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you create the world around you

it can be a garden or a boxing ring

you alone make your destiny

from the relationships you make or break

your peace or turmoil is all up to you