The WORD in other words (2009) by Fr Flaviano Villanueva SVD – East Timor
Friday 1st Week of Advent
Last May 2008, I requested for a compassionate leave from my mission work in East Timor to come home to care and nurse my mother who went thru two major surgeries. The last surgery was to remove the gallstones from her gallbladder. In many occasions she strongly protested against the operation because she insists that God has already taken care of the stones through a “miracle” and she’s already “okey.”
In my obstinate medical belief, I insisted that she goes through the operation, which she later obliged. The doctors removed her gallbladder, numerous gallstones, and later informed me that her liver is cerotic. Despite this serious case, I’ve come to realize that a miracle has already taken place, and that is the miracle of love and kindness.
Being the only son and having a sister struggling with her own life abroad, taking care of a widowed mother can be a challenge both physically and financially. The seminary might have prepared us to be sent to far-flung missionary places. But there were little instructions with regards nursing old and ailing parents (especially how to sustain one’s day-to-day living and medications). That is where the miracle took place, through our meager resources, we were made rich through the generosity of God through others. In our poorness and sickness, through FAITH and PRAYER, we were blessed and healed.
The two blind men in today’s Gospel prayed for healing. After requesting to heal them, Jesus touched their eyes and uttered, “Because of your faith, you will be healed!” and they were healed. They who once were blind can now see, they who were once poor are now enriched (first reading). More than the cure (physical relief from sickness) they were craving, they were granted healing (a sense of wholeness and peace in oneself). A beautiful miracle of trust, faith, and new life took place.
My mother is still struggling from a cerotic liver and I’ve gone back to East Timor to continue my mission. However, the experience of God manifesting His healing presence in times of sickness and crisis reminds you and me that He is truly our Emmanuel, the God-with-us. Thus, as we are enlivened by this life-giving reality, let us also enliven others by mirroring the love we receive wherever we may be today and every day. Smile, God loves you!
