Alan's report on the Sept 16 Healing Mass at St. Mary Magdalene
The Good News |
Monthly Healing Masses in Flint, Texas click here
St. Mary Magdalene Catholic Church
3rd Wednesday of the Month |
The rain fell all day. You had to want to be somewhere bad enough to face the slick roads and poor vision. I had seen 1000 God seeking Latinos brave the “Tormenta” six weeks earlier to know that rain couldn’t stop a move of God, so I was in anticipation.
We had adoration at 6:00 with wonderful praise music on piano, guitar and voice. People slowly came in. I recognized very few of them. Hardly any of the people who served last month were there, nor were the same people there to be ministered to. It seemed we shocked many with our first charismatic Healing Mass in August, ran some off and caused a lot of new, hurting, curious to come for a first time experience. Five priests were serving at this September 16 service. Three were from our Diocese of Tyler, TX: Father Kelly, Father Dunne, Father Snider. There were two from Houston: Father Phi and Father Greg, plus Lam Nguyen who also ministers. We had a small crew to work with. Many people went to confession. There was no visible anticipation in the air. The mass was fairly normal.
We had a little challenge with the sound and lights. Taking photos were difficult. We knew a lot of prayer had preceded this evening, but you couldn’t sense anything special other than there were five priests on the altar. I and another man from the Charismatic Prayer group served as greeters and ushers. It was like a small country church service. Nothing fancy. If this was to be a “Night of Miracles” as we had billed it, it would have to be all by God's doing.
Father Phi’s homily was sweet. I was able to record it. (See Audio Tab) He said no one was there by accident. God planned for each of us to be there. Father Phi read four testimonies from the last healing mass. Many this night had put prayer requests in a basket in the back. The basket was brought to the front at the end of the offering and placed below the altar. Father Kelly and Father Mark both assisted in the readings at communion.
After coming back from communion I knelt on the hard floor behind the last pew and prayed. I reminded God that we had been praying for weeks. I stretched my hands out over the sanctuary and invited God to come do His work among us.
The mass was ended. We could have all simply gone home “in peace,” but we transitioned into the healing time. 
The priests lined up across the front with their assistants holding bowls of oil. We read a special healing prayer. Father Phi introduced Lam Nguyen who had come with him last month from Houston too. Lam spoke words of knowledge about people in the room with specific ailments that God was going to heal right now. Each of the priests received a person to anoint, then they were passed on to a prayer team member for further ministry.  Right away people started going down on the floor, resting in the spirit. Every priest had it happen, a lot. The floor was running out of places to stand. I was glad I had decided not to take pictures. I was able to be in the middle of all the anointing and prayers and feel the sprit flowing. I helped many people to the floor and guided them around other bodies. I stood behind large men and frail women. Even Father Kelly was prayed for and fell to the floor.
Lam was calling specific people over to him to be prayed for and gave them individual words of knowledge. He seemed to sense who was going to rest in the spirit and needed special guidance and support in ministry. There was a very strong anointing at the altar and many on the support team were praying in tongues and raising hands over people.  It was assumed that people would go down. I never sensed that people were being pushed. When I was prayed for by Phi at the end I didn’t feel that way at all. People were just overcome in the spirit, went weak and melted to the ground.
There was no one being miked, except the two boys providing worship music. They were not directing folks to sing along. There were no words projected on a screen. We didn’t even have modesty cloths to cover the women. They were touched, many were crying and they just went down. It was good to be in the presence of the Lord. The Holy Spirit was everywhere.
I asked Lam if he prayed for many of the Spanish speaking folks who were there. He said although we didn’t have ministers who spoke Spanish, most of them received the gift of tongues when he prayed for them. Until the last person was prayed for, some of them back at their seats, they needed people to assist and minister support. 
I’ve been back in Texas for almost six years. I’ve not seen anything like this since we lived in Tulare County in 2003. We go to a Protestant Church full of ministry families and we’re not seeing a move of the spirit like this. Something is happening.
I learned in my RCIA class two years ago that a Sacrament is an outward sign of something that was happening on the inside. There was definitely something happening on the inside of people that night that was evident by what was happening on the outside. The Laying on of Hands is one of the seven Sacraments of the Catholic Church. The hands represent the Holy Spirit coming upon us as God and his angels lay their Holy Hands on us. The Holy Spirit was on all. God is moving. He’s stirring the waters of life. In a doom and gloom era in our world, this is truly Good News.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now and every shall be. World without end, Amen.
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