Ministry of compassion
Ministry of intercession and of healings, a ministry of compassion
Pray with us, good Father Émilien
Prayer of petition for healings
Gospel according to St Mark 16, vv. 15 to 18
Jesus said to them: “Go out into the whole world, proclaim the Gospel to all creatures. Whoever believes and is baptised will be saved; whoever does not believe will be condemned. And these are the signs that will accompany those who have believed: in my name they will drive out demons, they will speak new tongues, they will take serpents in their hands, and if they drink any deadly poison it will do them no harm; they will lay hands on the sick and these will be healed.”
I am going to tell you three experiences of the compassion of the Lord.
Abbé Yves Rancourt, from the same village as Father Émilien Tardif
Father Émilien Tardif in the presence of the Eucharist
Here is a first experience:
On 4 July 1993, knowing that there was a renewal gathering at the Sartigan hall in St-Georges de Beauce, organised by those responsible for the Charismatic Renewal of the region, I took part on Sunday afternoon in this meeting. The guest was Father Émilien Tardif, who had the habit of coming to Beauce every year. For some years I had been suffering from intense earaches, just like a toothache; this lasted over time, and I had difficulty doing winter sports and I avoided any draught.
I had myself followed by a specialist; at first he gave me drops and other medications. The aches had reached both ears. Searching for the origin, the specialist diagnosed that these earaches had been caused by a car accident that had taken place 20 years earlier. Yes, in this accident I had lost a few teeth and a displacement of the bones of the jaw had occurred. These displaced bones, being interconnected with those of the ears, created my earaches.
An attentive ear
I took part in this renewal gathering with cotton wool stuffed in my ears, for the slightest draught affected me. Father Émilien, in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament, was carrying out a ministry for the sick; there I was bothered by earaches that became more and more intense, especially in the left ear. I had made an effort to come and take part in this meeting and I even thought of leaving the room at one point. I moved away from where I was, believing that I had to do with draughts caused by the fan that was above me.
Father Émilien was announcing healings and even spoke of healings of the ears, but in relation to the description of the symptoms that he gave, it did not correspond to my earaches. I thought for a moment that it was for me. The next day, I went to St-Zacharie, my native parish and that of Father Émilien, to take part in a celebration for the missions, as he did every year. Before the celebration, I told him what had happened during the prayer for the sick yesterday before the Blessed Sacrament.
He said to me: that these intense words very much resemble a sign announcing a possible healing. You will see, even if your earaches did not correspond to the words that were spoken during that ministry yesterday, the Lord is beyond all that and He can do more, don’t you think!” Wanting to thank the Lord for this healing, I promoted the book you know, ‘Jesus made me a witness,’ by Father Émilien and José Flores. By that very fact, my perception of this ministry changed twice over. I am a witness more ready to listen. I believe...
A second experience:
This year in February, I was in El Salvador, precisely in the parish of Citalá, in Chalatenango, to help in the construction of a place of retreat in the mountains near Honduras, with Renald Roy, Gérard Dumas and Abbé Claude Sauvageau, who came to join us later.
We took part in the various celebrations that Father Réjean Lachance, originally from Beauce, held in the mountain chapels. We went early in the morning to celebrate Mass in these little chapels. One day we went to the little village of Zalgazapa.
To our great surprise, there arrives, coming down from the mountains, a family carrying a young girl. Father Réjean Lachance explains to us that this girl had been attacked by serpents in a field. And she had just spent a month in the hospital of San Salvador, the capital; there she had had several operations and a skin graft. The mother came forward insistently that we pray for her daughter. She had made so many efforts to transport her. We agreed to say prayers after communion.
After the Mass the mother
There were several young people at this celebration, for the school is next to the chapel. After communion, we invited the mother to come forward with her daughter on chairs placed before the little altar, and we prayed. I began the prayer. To my surprise, I quoted the text of the Word of God of Mark 16, vv. 15-18, adapting it as follows: “They will lay hands on the sick and these will recover, and the serpents will not get the upper hand with their venom...” Réjean did the translation of this prayer. And there, together with the little community of Zalgazapa, we prayed. Our two Canadians Renald and Gérard Dumas were present. Everyone had a compassionate heart with this mother who was asking compassion for her daughter.
After the Mass the mother showed us the left leg of the 9-year-old girl Jesnica. It was rather sad to see it. I admired the audacity of the mother. One month later, Father Réjean Lachance returned to this same village, and there the mother asked for a Mass of thanksgiving for her daughter. I received a photo taken by Denis, Réjean’s brother, who was present at this Mass, showing the young girl Jesnica walking. At the beginning of May, Father Réjean told me: now she comes to the chapel alone.
Let us give thanks!
A third experience:
Several years ago a small group of which I was part went to a family where the young father was stricken with cancer. This father refused to receive his children in his room where he was pinned to his bed. He was living a great revolt and this had led him to isolate himself. There we said prayers of intercession. What we wanted for him was physical healing. It is very human, and very human, to make such a request. He died. The wife afterwards gave news. She testified that after the prayers, in the following days, her husband had welcomed his children and had shared his suffering with them. The Lord had compassion with the family and opened the heart of the father to eternal life. Let us give thanks for what he will do for us. Let us give thanks!
Yves Rancourt, priest, 5 June 2010