Day of Healing, Day of Rest

AG and I spent Sunday at the Day of Healing With Jesus at Mary at the ULTRA - and a long day it was indeed: although we were seated, for the most part, just listening to the speakers and praying for the various levels of healing, it turned out to be an exhausting eight-hour experience. Communal outpourings of prayer can truly be taxing, but thank God that His fountain is ever-flowing and overflowing and His Spirit always brings refreshment. And receiving Him through the Most Holy Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist - Holy Mass capped the day-long activities - never fails to bring new strength to continue walking on towards Him and in His footsteps, healing others as we have been healed by the Healer Himself.

Of all the many goings-on and reflections and revelations of the day, three things struck me the most. First was Fr. Arnie Boehme's statement that true healing has indeed occurred when one who has been healed picks up his mat and follows Jesus: true healing results in discipleship. The Gospel testifies many, many times to this, and so does real life in countless cases I know of - including my own: the Lord brings healing that enables those who were once in the throes of suffering and infirmity to be whole again, and to follow Him. What a profound realization - what a glorious truth!

I envy the Tondo parishioners who are so blessed to have Fr. Erick Santos as their parish priest - what a riot, what a gift! He's probably the only priest who can pull off reflecting seriously on the painful topic of Healing Relationships while making people roll in the aisles with laughter at his Allan K-ish (oops, though I mean it in a good way, I hope he never gets to read this!) sense of humor. But most of what he talked about - on love and risk and forgiveness - was a reassuring affirmation of God's truths that He's been helping me figure out while on this journey back to Him. Live, love, forgive, and love even more when it gets hard. And remember Who loved you first, and most (who loves ya, baby?).

And finally, the video account of Julia Kim's (the Korean visionary of Our Lady of Naju) sufferings as a victim soul was almost too painful to watch. To actually see how the Lord and Our Lady hurt because of the world's transgressions - and how much they suffer, and continue to suffer, because of our refusal to turn from our sinfulness and selfishness - how could anyone not be moved by that? The most terrible vision was probably Julia's travailing of the experiences of an unborn child being aborted, the unspeakable suffering of the most innocent and defenseless of God's creations at the violent hands of people - of their own mothers - who actually call themselves human beings. Even animals do not kill their unborn young. Whew.

Anyway, it was a loooong, tiring, but blessing-filled week altogether, and today, Monday, is my day of rest. Time off to spend some quality time with God, and to catch up on some of the things He's allowed me to enjoy: a foreign film DVD festival, reading my new books (yahoo!), and in honor of the hundreds of Catholic Korean pilgrims of yesterday's activities, I will probably cook up some kalbichim. An nyong ha sae yo!