T o celebrate Corpus Christi, Father Jesús Domínguez pastor of St. Joseph Parish, decided to invite Father Fernando
Echeverri to lead a healing weekend in the Elgin parish.
On June 6, about 400 people gathered for a healing retreat in the school gym.
Most sought a cure for their bodies or their souls.
When Father Echeverri asked people to raise a hand if they felt sick, most did.
“This is a beautiful experience, we have cried and by crying we have taken out our pain and now we have a feeling of relief and joy,” said María Mendez, after the retreat on Saturday.
“It is always important to invite people to share with the parish community,” said Father Domínguez.
“They need to be fed in the spiritual as well as in the pastoral part. This ... makes us grow as a family under one roof. We had this healing retreat because everybody needs it in one form or another,” he said.
After full Masses with Father Echeverri June 7, another healing Mass was scheduled at 6:30 p.m. June 8.
But people began to arrive as soon as 5 p.m. to pray the Crown of the Divine Mercy with Father Felipe
Forero before the Mass. The Monday prayer is a usual practice at the parish.
That day, the group included more people coming to St. Joseph from Chicago and different cities and suburbs around Elgin, until the gym of the school was packed.
In the parking lot people sat waiting for Communion and blessings because they couldn’t get in to the gym.
“We came to pray for a relative suffering from cancer” said Cielo Ortiz, who came from Chicago to the healing Mass.
Alma Serna participated in the weekend from Saturday to Monday. She is mother of three girls, one of them with several health problems and an extra chromosome. “We have felt very relieved,” she said, “with a sensation that we can’t explain, but happy, full of joy. She (the sick girl) has been happy, very happy since Saturday.”
Father Echeverri told the audience of his experiences of miraculous moments, such as people who have been cured after the retreats and Masses.
“It is Jesus who heals,” he said. “All Masses are healing Masses, because of the presence of God in the Eucharist and consecration. When the bread and wine become His body and blood, that is when the miracle starts and when Christ is present, anything can happen,” he said.
“Healing Masses are a little bit longer, we have adoration,” he continued. “It is a new experience that we are making in different places. We ask God to have mercy on all the sick people. We have interior healing prayer, which means freedom and healing of the wounds and hate.
“After we are willing to forgive, to reconcile with God and with our brothers and sisters, then that is when the healing process begins. Forgiveness is essential because if a person doesn’t forgive, he can’t be healed,” said Father Echeverri.
Father Echeverri also offered blessings for those who read The Observer, saying “May God have mercy on all of you. May He allow you to overcome any conflict or crisis in your personal and family life, and may God cure all your discomfort and illnesses, from a stomach ache to an aggressive cancer.”