Being Healed 

This Friday (3/28) at 7pm we will be hosting what’s called a “Healing Mass” at St. Cecilia Church. While every Mass is a source of healing in a certain sense, this Mass will have a particular focus on the healing of the sick and the suffering. The main celebrant of the Mass will be Fr. Justin Cinnante, chaplain of Iona Prep and a member of the Carmelite order. You might be familiar with him from the occasions on which he has offered Mass here. In high school, Fr. Justin became involved in charismatic prayer groups where he learned that the Holy Spirit bestows on some people a special gift of healing (1 Cor 12:4-11). Years later, when he entered the Carmelites as a priest, he became acutely aware of the woundedness of people in the Church. He experienced this particularly among the high school students he worked with, many of whom had no faith. Knowing that miracles help people believe in God, Fr. Justin was convinced that the gift of healing would help him in his mission to evangelize his students and help them to know Christ.  With this desire in his heart, he decided to schedule monthly healing Masses. He quickly discovered that his prayer had been answered when people started experiencing miraculous healings at these Masses from things like cancer, joint pain, infertility, carpal tunnel syndrome, and emotional and spiritual afflictions such as sadness and anger. “If I don’t get in the way,” he jokes, “God can really do amazing things!” 

Fr. Justin explains his ministry, saying: “God wants to bring healing to all of us. We must trust in His will. We come to Jesus with confidence because He tells us in the gospel, ‘Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you’ (Mt 7:7-8). We should approach Him boldly, without fear, but always surrendering our will to God, that we will receive from Him the grace He wants to share with us. Everyone who comes to the Mass will leave healed in some way.” 

The Mass on 3/28 will be just like one of our regular Sunday Masses. But at the end of the Mass, Fr. Justin will invite those who would like him to pray over them to come forward. At that time, he will spend a few moments with each person who approaches the sanctuary. When it’s your turn, you can tell him what you’d like to be healed from, and he will say some simple prayers over you while holding a relic of St. Therese of the Child Jesus.  If you know someone who desires healing but is unable to be present, bring a photo of the person and Fr. Justin will use it to pray for them. We will also have a basket in the church in which you can place your prayer petitions that will be included in Fr. Justin’s intention for the Mass. After all, Fr. Justin says, “I don’t heal anyone, it’s God who heals them. But we must ask Him.” 

I have said on various occasions that one of the things I committed to when I became the pastor here in 2019 was: “no weird stuff.” Perhaps, if you’re unfamiliar with it, the idea of a Healing Mass sounds a little strange. But if you or someone you love is suffering in some way, I encourage you to come this Friday with an open heart, for the gift of healing is real. And when all is said and done, what do you have to lose? 

posted 3/22/25