Fr. Claudio-The Healing Priest

Last Thursday evening I attended a healing Mass, with my cousins at The Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary Church in Ozone Park, Queens. My cousin, who lives in Brooklyn, asked me to meet her there. She recently received an alarming medical report. What does a Christian do (or any believer for that matter) when they receive a bad medical report? They seek expert medical help (in New York we are fortunate to have excellent doctors) and they also rely on family and faith. Non-believers don't get it but there is nothing more comforting or soothing in times of stress and crisis than the ability to turn to God and the comfort of prayer. Having the gift of faith enables one to draw upon it in a moment's notice. Such a blessing and grace!

Anyhow, I was going to meet my cousin at the Church but when I arrived the Church was locked. The priest was locked out too, though I didn't know he was the priest at the time. When my cousin arrived she recognized him since she had been at a previous healing Mass. Other people arrived and as we all waited on the steps for the Church to be opened, in the cold, I realized that having an obstacle so early in the experience was a good sign. Only a spiritual person would understand that paradox!

As we entered the beautifully decorated Church during the Christmas Octave, on that evening, the comfort of being in that sacred space, surrounded by objects that I find very pleasing, immediately relaxed me and gave me reason to hope. My two cousins that I was with, found peace in that experience too.

Fr. Claudio Antecini, the celebrant, is the newly installed pastor of Visitation Parish in Red Hook, Brooklyn. However, he celebrates a healing Mass at Nativity of the BVM once a month.

During the Mass, he tells his story. He's from Italy originally. God called him as a teenager to give his life to Him. He tells about how he cried upon realizing his call to be a priest and serve God. Fr. Claudio is down-to-earth, unassuming, and gifted. He greeted a family during the Mass that had come from New Jersey to have him pray over their child. He knows how to connect with the people in the pews.

After Mass, he prayed over the people who came forward for prayers. Some people were "slain in the spirit." I felt alittle unsteady after he prayed over me, but I walked back to the pew only to realize my cousin was lying on the floor of the Church, peacefully overwhelmed by the Spirit. It was a night of blessing.

Fr. Claudio explained during the Mass how he was able to raise enough money in one year to take the parish of Visitation out of debt. One year to do that. I can see why. He's a likeable priest and I'm sure people are willing to help his ministry. He asked us to write down prayer petitions which he took with him.

Fr. Claudio has a winning formula. He relies on the Holy Spirit, he gives himself to God completely, he's down-to-earth and he connects with people and gives them hope. After celebrating Mass, he prays individually with each person present, making that personal connection, which is affirming. Perhaps some people experience a healing, in one way or another. Yet everyone leaves the Church feeling better, more hopeful, more confident in a loving, merciful God who wants us to be healed, whole and happy.

Jesus was a healer, a compassionate healer. In my opinion, priests should spend more time cultivating the healer within them and sharing that with God's people. It would definitely help our Church.

NJA

Creative Thinkers Needed

I read part of a fascinating article which I will go back to finish, because it's definitely worth reading in its entirety. According to a recent article in Newsweek (7/19/10), titled Creativity in America, psychologists who specialize in studying creativity and collect data about it, state that since 1990, "American creativity scores have been falling." Very interesting.  Apparently, enriched learning environments are making children smarter, yet young children especially those in grades kindergarten through 6th grade have shown a decline in creativity. According to the article, "To be creative requires divergent thinking (generating many unique ideas) and then convergent thinking (combining those ideas into the best result)." 

How sad that creativity is declining in America.  Both America and the global community need creative, innovative thinkers to solve major problems. Those problems include the clean-up of the Gulf of Mexico, (which is mentioned in the article),  finding creative resolutions to conflicts and war and helping to find solutions to other problems that burden humankind.  

When I started thinking about it, I realized it's a problem in the Church as well. Don't we need creative thinkers to help with evangelization, to improve the Church's image in the world, to promote vocations?........The list goes on. 

Greater creativity is definitely needed in the Church, in its leadership, both lay and ordained. The Church has the added advantage (the divine advantage I call it) of using human ingenuity and creativity and combining that with the power of the Holy Spirit. Prayer makes things happen. Developing and promoting creativity and innovative thinking and combining that with the power of prayer, would be dynamic.  The possibilities are endless. That's something to think about while on vacation. 

By the way, listening to classical music stimulates creativity. I've learned to appreciate classical music and to listen to it, in the hope it stimulates my creativity. That's an easy enough way to get started.

NJA