I’m told that my cancer-stricken sister Ruthie is making a pilgrimage today to the New Orleans shrine of the Blessed F.X. Seelos, a 19th-century priest whose prayers are believed to have been instrumental in miraculous cures. There is a healing mass for the sick there today at 1 pm Central time; today is the 10th anniversary of Blessed Seelos’s beatification. Ruthie’s friend Abby is taking her down for it. I would ask everyone who has been praying for Ruthie’s recovery to join her today in prayer for her healing. Catholics and others who are able to pray to Father Seelos for his intercession, please do. If your theological convictions will not permit you to ask for intercession in this way, please instead simply pray to God for Ruthie, and be her intercessor. I’m going to spend that hour myself in prayer for her healing from this stage IV cancer. I’ll let you know later tonight how it went, once I hear a report.

UPDATE: I haven’t spoken to Ruthie about her experience, but Abby told me they’d had a wonderful time. The church was packed, and Ruthie felt comforted by the prayers. When they got there, a short, older woman walked up to Ruthie in the crowd, looked at her squarely and said, “Expect a miracle” — then walked away. Ruthie liked that.
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