Declare The Works of God And Give Thanks
Raphael called the two of them aside privately and said to them: “Bless God and give him thanks before all the living for the good things he has done for you, by blessing and extolling his name in song. Proclaim before all with due honor the deeds of God, and do not be slack in thanking him. A king’s secret should be kept secret, but one must declare the works of God and give thanks with due honor. (Tb 12:6-7) I recently returned from a trip and shied away from writing about my experiences because this isn’t a travel website nor is it about my personal life. But after hearing the words of St. Raphael, the Archangel known for healing, it became clear that it’s not about me, but about the fingerprints of God and recognizing Divine intervention in even the most ordinary of circumstances because He loves us so much. After years of talking about a visit to Ireland, I finally sat down and planned it. I had heard about Knock, a place of apparition of the Blessed Virgin Mary. I didn’t really know much about Knock, but felt a burning desire to go and knew I was being called there. As with all pilgrimages, traveling there had its own ordeals, but our arrival was met with a sense of peace. On our first morning, we headed for the Reconciliation Chapel. I knew the Holy Spirit was present because the priest understood things about me that we hadn’t even discussed. He recommended that we attend the 3:00 Healing Mass at the Basilica and that we visit the museum. “Do it today,” he said. At the healing Mass the priest called each of us by name and did the anointing and all the prayers of the Sacrament of the Sick. Having three sacraments in one day was so amazing we didn’t even notice our jet lag. I had a whole list of things to do at the Shrine, but the priest told us to go to the museum so we went. It was like viewing a time capsule from 1879, and at the very back of the museum was a large binder full of hand-written letters in beautiful European script. For some reason I sat down to read the letters. Some kind soul had transcribed in type-written form all 600 of them. People were pouring out their hearts about illnesses, accidents, and deformities. In every letter the person described either rubbing a piece of mortar from the gable wall, or touching the wall, or putting the mortar in a glass of water and drinking the water. All of them were miraculously healed. 600 verified miraculous healings between 1881-1884. I had no idea this apparition site was a place of healing –it’s the Lourdes of Ireland. We saw photographs of many crutches left at the gable wall because people had been healed. I inquired about the mortar and was told that the portion of the gable wall where Blessed Mother, St.…
