Pre-Lenten Mass – God’s Healing Love
February 8, 2024, Church of the Holy Spirit, Memphis, TN
I am here to talk to you about Faith and Hope, about remembering to turn to God with all your heart, with all your mind, and with your spirit.
Remember when you were a small child and you went outside and fell down and immediately was scooped up by your mother and comforted? Well, Our Lord is always present, but He needs you to cry out for Him, to invite Him in for assurance or comfort. That sounds nice and easy, but what if the doctor says there’s no cure? Or the recovery will be long and arduous, or your tired of the pain, tired of trying? What if emotionally you are continually tormented; you’re despairing and you know it. Where is God then? I am here to tell you, He is still here and Miracles ARE Real!
I have many stories to share with you, but this one shakes me to the core. My eldest son Jay, 9 years old, asked to go out and play with his friends. His friend an 11 yr old lived six houses down the street. It had snowed the night before. I said yes and bundled him up. Off he went. Thirty minutes later, his friend knocked on the door and told me to come quickly, that Jay had been hit by a car. I told his friend to stay with my other 2 children
I remember running down the street, my sock feet were sticking to the ice. I ran back and got my car and literally slid down the street. I asked a bystander where he was. They had dragged him into a ladies house I did not know. They had placed him in a chair. When he heard my voice, he began to moan my name. He said arduously, trying to find his words: “I can’t see”. He was barely breathing. I helped slide him to the floor and began CPR. The lady called 911. Since there was snow on the ground, the ambulance would be slow in coming. I thought instinctively: I’ll continue CPR, treat for shock and somehow talk to the doctor on the phone from Le Bonheur.
I began to cry out in my spirit for the Blessed Mother, begging her for help. I even bargained with her: “Take me, please, but don’t take my son!” I began to scream again in my spirit, asking the Holy Mother to come! I was a CPR instructor so the rhythm of the actions helped me to pray, I suppose. How did I do two things at once? I really don’t know. As a nurse, in my mind, I was used to asking the Holy Mother and Jesus for help; especially when my patients were critical. Not long after asking the Blessed Virgin to come, the house was filled with the smell of roses. The lady in the house kept saying, “Do you smell those roses. Where are the roses coming from?”
I knew! The Holy Mother was there, even though I could not see her. Then several minutes later, I started smelling incense; the finest smell ever. The lady in the house said, ”Do you smell that perfume?” I simply gave her a node. The Holy Mother had come and Jesus too! Is this for Real?
We were transported to Le Bonheur and Jay was admitted to ICU. The driver had run over Jay and then pulled back over him, as his friend banged on the window. His head was swollen 3 times its size, his eyes full of blood, ribs broken , wrist broken and hanging, heart crushed. The doctor told me he was badly hurt and might not survive. But if he did, he would be badly brain damaged.
I called a priest for anointing and finally the worst words. Near midnight, the doc said,: “He is hanging on by a thread”. I kept vigil in the waiting room and visited when allowed. He survived without any brain damage, although it took 2 weeks for blood to recede. Other injuries were fixable. I remember going from begging to praising God ( back and forth). We had a six week stay in the hospital, but he would survive, with no brain damage. This was “music to my ears”!
There are many aspects to this story and sub-stories, if you will, but the message is clear. Jesus and Mary are real; just like the Eucharist is Real. The heart surgeon told me he had prepared to do heart surgery and that Jay should not have survived. “Lady, you just received a miracle!” Indeed, we did! Clearly, God is as close to us as we allow Him to be. My friend, call it “Heart on Heart”. Ok, nice story!
But what about those who suffer and don’t receive a healing? No matter what, don’t lose Hope. If you are suffering, ask God to use that suffering for another’s soul. Make suffering useful, rather than just painful, despairing and hopeless. Don’t “walk” yourself from God, but toward Him. Hope is always there, if you seek it.
Even if things are so bad you don’t believe in the Lord anymore, ask God to help you to believe! Ask for hope, to
trust God. Ask for faith when you are at your lowest moments. Ask directly for Jesus and Mary in your heart, your mind, and yes, your soul! Thank you for this opportunity to speak! I will close with these words!
As Bishop Steib would say: “God is Good, all the time” and, “All the Time, God is Good”! Expect a Miracle