Dear friends of Fr. Benedict,

From Trinity Retreat

Tuesday August 10, 2004

As I was recovering from my accident and became aware that I was not able to move very much and that my arm and shoulder were badly damaged, I began to pray through the intercession of Saint Bernadette and Our Lady of Lourdes. The reason I chose this humble saint was that I had been to Lourdes several times and had been deeply moved by everything I saw. I did not see a miracle when I was at Lourdes, but I saw plenty of evidence, and it brought back the thrill of seeing the film the Song of Bernadette, based on Franz Werfel’s novel, which had come out when I was still a small boy.
I decided to pray to Saint Bernadette because she is one of my favorite people. Although a visionary, she was a levelheaded, down-to-earth individual. In some respects she was a street child. She lived with her family in an abandoned prison, and although her parents were good and responsible people, they were desperately poor, far poorer than Franz Werfel represented them in his book.
During my recovery I have had posted in my room a photograph of Saint Bernadette in death as she is seen in her glass casket at Nevers. She looks like a young woman asleep, a marvel in itself, since only a very thin layer of wax covers her face, which is not distorted despite the fact that she was buried in the earth for a number of years.
I wasn’t praying for a miracle I have prayed for God’s help to use whatever resources He gave me to recover enough to do His work. As time unfolded, Saint Bernadette and Our Lady of Lourdes kept coming into my range of vision. In the next few messages I will tell you about this because among the many testimonies to Bernadette are the writings of Franz Werfel, a Jew, and Ruth Cranston, a Protestant, who with considerable authority wrote about Lourdes and its effect on the sick.

Let us continue to pray for each other!

Father Benedict
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Dear Father Benedict: My friends in Christ and I are continuously praying for your health. Please received our regards of peace. Note: Excuse my language. I speak spanish as my first language and I don't know to express very well in English. - Nicolas, Mahopac, New York

Dear Father Benedict, I continue to pray for your quick and full recovery. After listening to one of your latest tapes, I was eager to follow your wonderful suggestion to read the entire Gospel of Mark without interruption. Today, after Mass, I remained in a deserted church quite alone with Jesus, listening to the beautiful Gregorian chant playing over the sound system and reading my Bible. I offered my time with the Lord for your healing. Thank you so much Father for showing us how to be disciples. May God return you soon to the work you love so much. - Marcia, Rockville, Maryland

Dear Father Benedict, Wanted you to know that I am still praying for you, as well as my children. We offer up our Masses, Rosaries, Divine Mercy Chaplets and Holy Hours. My youngest is nine, but to me, to see a sixteen year old pray and go to daily Mass or holy hour without force is a miracle, because of all the distractions, temptations, and persecutions a teen suffers for their faith today! They both love you, as do I, and are anxious for your recovery. Thank you for your part in developing and encouraging our faith. Love in Christ, - Jeannine , Winthrop, Iowa

Send your greetings to Fr. Benedict

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