Consider the Lilies. . .and the Thumbs and TheToes. . .

 

            This past Wednesday I went to a healing Mass with 2 very good friends.  It was a great experience.  I haven’t been to a Mass such as this for quite a while ~ refreshing. Simply refreshing. . .

            Years ago I was involved in the Charismatic Prayer Movement and enjoyed all the people who were involved.  I loved the things I learned, but most of all I loved the way God touched our lives in many and various ways.  Healings occurred, prayer became deeper, and the Holy Spirit moved in and around our lives and in the people we knew.

            As the years passed and people moved to other places, we as a group kind of faded out, but the memories and practices are still there within us.  Since that time I have had a yearning to gather to pray in that way once again.  I think we have found it.

            Now I must say that the Charismatic Movement may not be your cup of tea so to speak.  It may be you feel more comfortable within a more traditional type of Mass setting; that is fine, no problem here; but  for me, I really do enjoy being able to stand up and clap my hands and sing out loud to praise God.  We all feel better worshipping God in a setting that is most conducive for us to worship.

            Before the Mass ends, the main celebrant will stand and deliver to the people a “Word of Knowledge”.   A “word of knowledge” is a special message to a person or persons after much prayer by the team saying the Mass or in the case of lay prayer groups, anyone in that group may receive that word of knowledge.

            At this Mass, the priest asked that if the word of knowledge applied to you or a family member for whom you are praying, to raise your hand so the priests will know that the messages are from God and for those around that person can continue to pray with that person.

            A couple of the words of knowledge actually named (first name) the person the message was meant for.  Many of the words dealt with healings of one kind or another (one person prayed for a bone marrow donor and God acknowledged that one would become available), another for someone with Sleep Apnea that it would be healed (I claimed that one because I have sleep apnea and it is bad).  Many marriages would be healed and so forth.  Then it came, God was telling someone that their swollen and painful right toe would be healed and someone else’s thumb would be healed.

            I began to think about this Mass and the words of knowledge. . .what an amazing thing!!!  Sometimes I think that God is just too busy to worry about my little things, he has bigger fish to fry!!!  I mean, why would God care about my  thumb or my toe?  He has so many other things to be concerned with. . .like world disasters, people suffering with so many diseases and illnesses, marriages in trouble and teens on drugs.  Not to mention those who just don’t believe He exists! 

            Oh how little I knew about the greatness of God’s concern.  He has told us these things over and over again in Scripture, such as Psalm 139:1-2 “Oh God, You have searched me and known me.  You know when I sit down and when I rise up; You understand my thought from afar.”

            Or, Luke 12:27-28  “Consider the lilies, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin; but I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory did not clothe himself like one of these.  But if God so  arrays the grass in the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, how much more will He clothe you, O men of little faith!”

            However, I have not forgotten what God has done for me in my life.  If you have been reading my blog you know that nearly 7 years ago I had a double lung transplant.  I know without a doubt that is was the hand of God who saved my life.  I know this because he sent me a priest the night I was called to the hospital.  This priest is someone that I worked for many years ago.  He had several years before my transplant moved to California.  I hadn’t seen him in years.  Then on September 30, 2005 who showed up in the hospital lobby at 1:30 in the morning was Fr. Eugene Bonacci, CP.  He didn’t recognize me at first because of the weight gain from steroids and my oxygen equipment.

            I sent my husband out to get him because Fr. Eugene walked past us and to the door.  When he came back inside I said, “Eugene?”  He said, “yessss”.  I could tell he didn’t recognize me at the time.  I said, “You don’t know who I am, do you?”  He said, “Honey, I don’t know anybody at 1:30 in the morning.”  After a short time of telling him who I was his eyes got big and he said, “Sandy?”  “What are you doing here?”  I told him I was there to have a double lung transplant.

            The look on his face was priceless!  It was a combination of shock and sadness.  He took my hands in his and prayed for me.  As he left he told me he wished me all the best.  He went back to California.

            After he left I felt such peace that I just knew I would be ok.  It’s a knowing that God has just touched me with life ~ and he sent Fr. Eugene to touch me.

            I didn’t see Fr. Eugene for another 3 years.  He asked me how I was doing and I told him I was doing very well.  I also told him I believed that God sent him to help me.      Then he said,  “I never told you why I was in the hospital that night.”  He told me he had just left the bedside of a friend who had died.

            I looked at him and said, “Do you realize that you walked from death to life that night?”

            Yes, God does care about the Lilies of the field, your thumb, your toe.  If God can  care about the least of these things, how much more will He care for YOU!

 

Sandy Ozanich © 2012