DMC Celebrates God’s Gift of Love and Healing

Davao Medical Center was highly privileged with the visit of Rev. Fr. Ferdinand “Soy” T.  Hernando, M.B., S.T.L., founder-steward of the Missionaries of the Beatitudes (Ezekielians).  He is a healing priest from a congregation of priests and brothers dedicated to healing and renewal and service to the poor and the sick.  Fr. Tex V. Buntol, MI, invited him to celebrate Healing Masses at the Chapel of the Divine Healer.

Fr. Soy presided over three healing masses. The first took place on October 25, 2009 at the chapel.  It began at 9:30 am, with Fr. Tex concelebrating. After the final blessing, Fr. Soy prayed over the congregation.  Able-patients from the different wards were present. People from different communities also flocked and filled the chapel.  The situation was reminiscent of Jesus’ times when people gathered around him and begged for his healing touch.

The special celebration took place with the assistance of the Camillian college seminarians on home vacation in Mindanao, the DMC chapel choir, Eucharistic Lay Ministers, the Miraculous Medal Community, the Camillian Family of Davao, Inc. and the chapel volunteers. The event turned out to be a very great healing experience for everyone.

The following day, two other healing masses were presided over by Fr. Soy.  One was celebrated at 8:00am at the Mahogany Room of the hospital. Fr. Tex was concelebrant and hospital personnel made up the congregation. Indeed, it was a wonderful experience for us who deal with the sick everyday to experience the healing touch of God through His servant Fr. Soy.

The healing mass in the afternoon was celebrated in the chapel, with Fr. Nato Maliwat, M.I. and Fr. Tex as concelebrants. Many shared their different testimonies of being healed.  They talked about their unexplained feeling of being spiritually and physically healed. Fr. Tex reminded those present not only to appreciate and be overwhelmed by the healing experiences but to also try their best to live them out and be faithful in becoming instruments of God’s healing presence for others.

Fr. Tex and Fr. Soy gave similar messages.  In his Oct. 25 homily, Fr. Soy shared:

Jesus healed the sick not because He wanted to show He was better than the doctors, but to show that the kingdom of God is here and now.  Let us not be self-centered in our prayer. Let us not ask for a long life. Let us not ask for good health all the time. Rather, let us ask for a HOLY, MEANINGFUL and FRUITFUL LIFE.  Being healed today doesn’t mean we will not get sick anymore or die. The point is not being afflicted with illness, but from a wider perspective, the Lord is asking us to live a very important message in our life; something that you can leave behind to your children and the next generations.

 Jesus was moved by the prayer of the blind Bartimaeus, LORD, I WANT TO SEE. The tragedy is not the act of losing one’s sight but losing one’s vision. Losing sight involves just the physical eye but we are not to lose our vision, our goals and the sense of direction. There will come a point in our life when our body will no longer react or respond to the best doctors, the best medicines and the best equipment. We will no longer ask for doctors or nurses but for our family.  In the final analysis, it is the relationship that really binds us; relationships between the patient and his family…between the patient and his God.