May 8, 2012
Dear Family of Mary!
"My children, you cannot be without the shepherds. May they be in your prayers every day. Thank you." (May 2, 2012)
.
This
is the tail end of Our Lady's message of May 2. But it is a very
important part of her message. Our Lady shares with us a very stark and
startling reality. We really cannot be without our shepherds. Without
our Pope, the bishops, and our priests, we would cease to function as
the Body of Christ. Our shepherds are like the vital organs of the
body, pumping oxygen and food through our veins like the heart and
lungs, teaching us and guiding us like the brain and the senses, and
cleaning us of all impurities, like the kidneys and intestines. They
keep us alive in the grace of God through their administration of the
Sacraments. We need them!!!
.
I
have several examples of the life-saving role of the priesthood in my
life. Here is one. About 15 years ago I became very ill with an
intestinal infection. At first it looked like the flu, but as time went
by it intensified instead of abating, and so I was sent to the
emergency room. As the doctors worked to try to diagnose the cause of my
illness, I became weaker and weaker. It was looking pretty grim. No
one seemed able to identify the source of my problem.
.
I
was in and out of reality, sedated because of pain. But I remember
very clearly the night when Denis brought Fr. Ed O'Connor to my
hospital room to give me the Anointing of the Sick. Fr. Ed's voice
penetrated the fog in my mind, and I heard him praying the beautiful
prayers of the Anointing. I felt the oil on my forehead, hands and
feet. I knew I was being blessed through the power of the Church, and a
peace came over me that I could not explain.
.
That
same night, a new doctor came on the scene, and his voice also pierced
through the fog, and I knew he would be able to diagnose my situation.
I just knew it. He asked me several questions, and then made some
changes to my medications. For the next week, he attended me very
faithfully, and though it was touch and go, I pulled through with no
lasting consequences. (I also had many friends and family praying for
me. In fact that night I was anointed two friends were in adoration for
me, and they both felt it was a turning point.)
.
Anyway,
I experienced firsthand that power of the Sacrament of the Anointing
of the Sick. It was as if Jesus came right to my bedside and turned the
situation around, beginning my healing through Fr. Ed. We cannot "be"
without our priests, bishops and the Pope. They are our life support
system in the Body of Christ, and we need them at every turning point
in our life.
.
I
want to pray for them with intense gratitude and love. I think we
should cherish them because they bring us the life sustaining graces
that Jesus has provided for us by His sacrifice, death and
resurrection. Thank you, dear Jesus, for giving us your Representatives
on earth. Thank you for their constant care. Strengthen them for the
days ahead. Teach them how to become more and more perfect as your
representatives, and comfort them in their trials and failures. We ask
you to hear our prayers for them, and to always sustain them in love.
In Jesus, Mary and Joseph,
Cathy Nolan
©Mary TV 2012
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