Healing in their own words...

November 20, 2013

God had a plan on this retreat, calling the retreat team to go beyond what we knew as we prepared for His work. We experienced abundant blessings on this retreat, starting with a priest willing to drive 10 hours so he could stay the entire retreat with us, joined by a deacon who worked faithfully at his side. And for the first time ever, a parish pro-life group helped us set up, tear down, and most importantly, offered up prayers for the retreatants a whole month before they arrived.

These sacrifices, prayers and devotion laid the foundation for our retreatants to begin their journey. In their own words, these women described healing that only the Lord can bring:

“Look at the sunrise! That is for me! This is the beginning of life for me.”

“I don’t know how to express my joy! This is new for me! My heart hurts with joy and I don’t know what to do with it!”

“When I opened my eyes after the meditation, and saw Father’s face and heard him say… Welcome Home… I knew I really was. I had come back to the Church.”

“My children thank me that I don’t yell at them anymore. They say that I can go on more retreats like that anytime!”

“I am pregnant! I found out just after retreat. God is trusting me once again and I was so excited to have the healing He gave me on retreat, and now to see that He is actually showing me how much He trusts me to be a mom again, [it] frightens me. But I know He will be with me and so will my new Rachel family”

“I have to say that since [the] retreat I am like I was when I was young, but this is so much better, because now I know God!”

“My child finally has a name. He is part of my family! I sat down with my other children and introduced their brother to them.”

“Remember me? I am the one that never has been hugged by her mother, and we live together, so it is hard. I came home from retreat and went straight over to her and hugged her! I didn’t even know I knew how to do that! What did she do? She hugged me back and we both cried.”

“When I left the confessional, I was floating. I was freed. I felt like I was glowing! I reconciled with my babies too! Really! I couldn’t feel the ground! I was so happy!”

“What used to be my embarrassment of saying I had been six abortions, now I can say that I have six angels that are with God and that are protecting me. I am free.”

“In the confessional, Jesus hugged me. I was so unworthy but He hugged me anyway.”

“I never went to confession before because I didn’t know where to start and I knew I had too much to say. Here I could say it all and get it all out. It took a long time. I am 50 years old and I finally got it all out. And now I know He never left me alone during all these years. He let me know it hurt Him more than it did me, to see me suffer this way”

Our Lord made His loving acceptance and forgiveness known in countless ways on this retreat. This weekend was the beginning of these women opening themselves up for God and His love. Through the presence of a devoted priest and deacon, the Church came to them to bring them home! No longer outside the doors of the Church where they thought they belonged, it was time to go inside. And so they did.

These are things we cannot plan. This is God at work in every little detail. The work in the vineyard was beautifully intense and the harvest abundant.

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