As we entered the church for the Healing Celebration, it was silent and bathed in warm candlelight. We began by askingGod to heal our hearts and make us united in love. God spoke to us through His Word about how we while were still mired in sin, from His cross, Christ freed us from its chokehold. We looked within ourselves to see where we have hurt and failed to love others; we asked God to surprise us again – to show us beauty and the goodness of others, to lift us up when our hope fades, when we lose our zest for serving others and when the weight of the world feels like more than we can bear; we asked God to walk closely with us through the ups and downs of life. In the Gospel, our hope was lifted as we heard of Jesus’ promise to the repentant thief - that he would be with Jesus in Paradise on that very day. We sang the exquisitely sorrowful, yet hopeful hymn, “Were You There When They Crucified My Lord?” We were moved by Leighton Wilson’s honest and humble testimony of his encounter with Jesus. As he prayed the fifth sorrowful mystery of the Rosary, Jesus showed him that He loves each of us fiercely, and how His love has the power to change us more into His compassionate image. Tears were shed as we brought our emotional and spiritual wounds to Jesus in the Litany of Healing.Each of us placed a lit candle beside the Cross of the Crucified Jesus. As we touched His Holy Cross, we entrusted our sorrows and wounds to Him, and lifted our hopes for our families, parish, city, country, and ourselves. With new love and hope in our hearts, we shared our love and appreciation for and with each other. We renewed our baptismal promises and prayed the words of St. Francis, “Lord, make me an instrument of your peace . . .” As we left, there was a lightness to our steps because we had joy in our hearts. We pray that you all experience the same in yours. Piroska Cossette and Elaine Rangen