Category Archives: General

PRIEST IN THE TREATMENT ROOM
~Suzanne Underwood Rhodes
We were all of us drowsed with potions
in the dying room, the shrill signals
waning as we slipped deeper into our plush
recliners, glad to be sleeping
with disease at bay, to have thoughts
teased from us drip by drip, the faces
of most precious boy or sister dimming
despite the huge, over-bright room
that out of nowhere welcomed
a priest riding on a mobility scooter,
a black-clad Jesus, but one laboring
to breathe as he landed at someone’s chair
and blessed her medication bags hung from hooks,
three bags of poison, blessed
a head bent and scared against his hand,
but oh, you knew he knew what it’s like
to be pitted against those stakes
with all of us, weighted with hope.

I want to share with you the shortest homily I’ve ever given in my life. It was only 34 words. I gave it in an elevator in Washington DC at a New Cannan Socity conference with 800 men.
I had my collar on as I got into the elevator. There was of course no eye contact, no conversation, don’t talk to me, don’t touch me, don’t look at me. Everyone was looking at the numbers above the door, which were not even moving yet.
As I got in the door started to close I said, “I have a question for you. When it comes to the end of your life do you know if you are going up or going down?” I really don’t know what came over me! Everyone laughed, the doors closed and guess what, the elevator went up… we all got our answer, it was a miracle we had a standing O for Jesus.
Of course, there was not where to sit down but it was just one of those moments.
I have to say it was not only the shortest church service I’ve ever been too, it was the shortest homily I’ve ever given, it was the least attended service I’ve ever been to, it was the smallest church I’ve ever been in, and sadly there was no time for an offertory collection.
But it was fun and it was uplifting… It was actually brilliant.
I got out on the second floor… turned and watched the door close…
They were all staring above the door again… there was yet again no eye contact…

Ok, so I’m I at the airfield gate awaiting my flight to Ct. To lead a WHI retreat for war zone veterans. I get taking to the Sgt. Maj. Next to me after I thanked him for his service.
He starts telling me many stories. That’s a very good thing. He lives in a single wide in NH and his wife has been in a home with Alzheimer’s for 2 years. Please pray for Pat his wife.
So Joe tells me he is on a foot patrol in Vietnam and was taking a nap at the base of a very large tree with two body guards protecting him.
He woke up hearing a voice “get up and move” he asked his guards why they woke him up. They said they didn’t. He went back to sleep. AGAIN he was awoken with the same voice, the same tone. He told his guards to stop messing with him. He went back to sleep. He AGAIN was awoken with a much louder and urgent voice, with the same message. He got up and went to the other side of the tree. No sooner as he had taken cover an incoming mortar shell landed on the other side of the tree. He came around the tree to see a crater and the tree very badly cut up from the shrapnel.
He is, of course, an absolute believer in Jesus. He knew that three times the Lord woke him up and saved his life.
Listen my friends, to the still small voice of the Lord that sometimes is a bit louder on occasion.
Joe was a shot in my arm this morning. You never know who you are sitting next too. Entertaining angels unaware. ”
Be well, do good works and for the sake of Jesus Christ, love one another.
Fr. Nigel+

SMITH WIGGLESWORTH – THE MIRACLE OF THE GROWING LEG
Smith Wigglesworth was a remarkably unimpressive man by the worlds standards. He was born to a lowly family in Menston England in 1859, unable to read until his twenties and a plumber by trade, yet when he gave his life to the Lord Jesus at the tender age of eight, no one could possibly have imagined what an impact he would have on the world.
Called the ‘Apostle of Faith’, Smith was married in 1882 to Mary Jane Featherstone, affectionately called Polly. She was the love of his life and when she died in 1913, Smith was devastated. This was one of the most trying moments in his life. He prayed for to come back to life and she did, yet she explained that it was the Lords will for her to go. He agreed and she lay down once again and went to be with the Lord.
Smith’s ministry was characterized by his unwavering faith in God. He was able to believe for the impossible, and yet his one main concern was that God should always get the glory and not himself. His humility was a genuine concern for not stealing that which belonged to his heavenly father. Among the many stories that are recounted about his life, including people being raised from the dead, deaf ears being opened and captives being set free, there is one story that has captivated the heart and mind of many a Christian. This story is recounted below.
Surely one of the most remarkable cases of a miracle was when Smith was staying at the home of a curate of the Church of England. The man with whom he was staying had no legs. Smith suddenly said to the man, ” Go and buy a new pair of shoes in the morning.” a most astounding thing to say to someone with no legs. No doubt thinking Smith was totally insane the curate retired to bed, and then the Lord spoke to him saying “Do as my servant hath said.”
The curate rose early the next morning and was waiting at the shoe store when the manage arrived to open up. Upon entering the store he was approached by the assistant who asked if he could help him. The curate replied he would like a pair of shoes. The assistant realizing the condition of the man hesitated, before replying that they could not help him, obviously referring to his condition.. The curate seeing his dilemma said: ” I would like a pair of black shoes, size eight please.” The assistant returned with the shoes and as he put his one stump into the shoe a foot and leg instantly formed. The same thing happened with his other leg.
Smith was not surprised and his comment was that with God there is no difference between healing a broken limb and forming a new limb.
After many years of faithful service, and a ministry that saw the sick healed, the dead raised and the captives set free, Smith himself passed on in 1949 . Appropriately he died in a church.
Wiki

THE APPLE
By Nigel Mumford+
For Christmas, my bride an I were given a triple layer polystyrene container of apples from Upstate New York from close friends. One of the apples had a distinctive green heart on it. I carried it with me, wondering when I was going to eat it. I had occasion to go the mall to get new lenses for my eye glasses. They told me it would take an hour. So, I walked to the main area of the Mall where lots of people were milling around, sitting or enjoying a coffee. I looked around and found a place to sit.
I sat praying for all the people I could see. A young woman next to me said, “It’s fun to people watch isn’t it?” I said, “Yes but I’m praying your them too.”
We had a great chat. She told me she wanted to be a nurse. Loverly person.
I had my collar on as she asked me what do I do as a priest? I told her and mentioned that I’ve written a few books. “I’ve never met an author before.”
She said.
Then I remembered the red apple with a green heart in my pocket.
I took it out of my pocket and gave it to her saying that I had had this in my pocket for while and God just told me to give it to you!
Her jaw dropped. It was like time stood still…
She told me that her Grandmother had died 6 months ago and that since then, all the family have either found hearts or have been given hearts…
She sat there looking at me…
It was a true God moment, amongst hundreds of people…
Again God got my attention. I would add it got hers too!
The Red Apple
With a green heart…

+ Praying the Cross +
This is one method I use to pray, especially when I’m tired.
Pray using the “ACTIP” acronym.
Spend time on each “letter”
Fr. Nigel+
Adoration: pray looking at the face of Jesus or the top of the cross
Spend some time adoring, praising and worshipping God by declaring things about who He is. (ie- Altogether good, loving, just, faithful, truth, etc.) Psalm 145:3 “Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise; his greatness no one can fathom.”
Confession: pray looking at the right hand of God, or the right side of the Cross.
Spend time confessing your own sins to God. 1 John 1:9, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”
Thanksgiving: pray looking at His left hand, or the left side of the Cross.
Spend time listing out things you are thankful for—finding things to be thankful for will help you understand God’s purposes in hardship.
Ephesians 5:20, “And give thanks for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Psalm 50:23, “But giving thanks is a sacrifice that truly honors me. If you keep to my path, I will reveal to you the salvation of God.”
Intercession: pray casting your eyes on the heart of the Lord or the center of the Cross.
Here we pray for the poor, the weak, the sick and the lonely. We pray for Christians, for people who don’t know Jesus, for our country, for different situations around you and around the world, etc. 1 Timothy 2:1 “I urge you, first of all, to pray for all people. Ask God to help them; intercede on their behalf, and give thanks for them.”
Petition: pray looking at the feet of Christ or the Base of the Cross.
This is the part where you bring your personal requests to God— Seeking first the Kingdom of God. Praying at the base of the Cross keeps all your prayers in place. A firm foundation.

A HEALING PRAYER
Here follows a prayer which you might personalize for a friend in need of healing.
Please use it, filling in the blanks.
Forward this to those in need; take on to believe for them.
Fr.NM+
Dear ________ ,
I pray not only for your physical endurance, but also for the emotional toil that you might be
suffering right now.
I pray that Hope abounds again, and some Good News from God will fill your soul.
Jesus, please come alongside ________ in his/her suffering.
God, please present the very Balm of Gilead to sooth the issue and bring all the cells of this concern
into the perfection of The Lord.
Thank You, Jesus, for healing my dear friend/sister/brother, ________.
Thank You, God, for Your healing presence in their lives.
Please, Jesus, put an end to this suffering, take away the pain and the root cause of the pain, and
present Your wonderful healing presence.
Jesus, please heal and cure ________.
We earnestly pray for the supernatural healing presence of Christ upon your very being.
Come on, God, You do it again!
Thank You, God. Thank You, Jesus. Thank You, Holy Spirit. Thank You, Holy Trinity.
Amen.

HIT… BY THE SHADOW OF THE CROSS… (Inspired by the Lazarus story below). Fr. Nigel W.D. Mumford+
I seem to have a close fascination with Lazarus. I so wish he had
written a book, I’d love to know what he went through. The line in the
reflection below writes, “Many people who have had a near-death experience report losing all fear of death.” That is very true for me. I’ve had some amazing experiences and visions, one when I literally crawled through the valley of the shadow of death, it was no shadow, it was very real. The Rev. Donald Barnhouse said, on the way to his wife’s funeral, “Would you rather be hit by a truck, or by the shadow a truck?” While he explained grief at the loss of his wife to his daughters. I now realize that as I did, in fact crawl through the valley, Jesus was with me all the way. Jesus, from the Cross watched me. I now know that I was in the “shadow of the Cross” while being hit by the truck of H1N1 swine flu and that we will be raised again, just like Lazarus. I know that my Redemer lives.
~Fr. Nigel W.D. Mumford+
Read more in book, “Dying to Live, how near death experiences increase our faith.”
Lazarus’ Story. ~Franciscan Media
Lazarus, the friend of Jesus, the brother of Martha and Mary, was the one of whom the Jews said, “See how much he loved him.” In their sight, Jesus raised his friend Lazarus from the dead.
Legends abound about the life of Lazarus after the death and resurrection of Jesus. He is supposed to have left a written account of what he saw in the next world before he was called back to life. Some say he followed Peter into Syria. Another story is that despite being put into a leaking boat by the Jews at Jaffa, he, his sisters, and others landed safely in Cyprus. There he died peacefully after serving as bishop for 30 years.
A church was built in his honor in Constantinople and some of his reputed relics were transferred there in 890. A Western legend has the oarless boat arriving in Gaul. There he was bishop of Marseilles, was martyred after making a number of converts, and was buried in a cave. His relics were transferred to the new cathedral in Autun in 1146.
It is certain there was early devotion to the saint. Around the year 390, the pilgrim lady Etheria talks of the procession that took place on the Saturday before Palm Sunday at the tomb where Lazarus had been raised from the dead. In the West, Passion Sunday was called Dominica de Lazaro, and Augustine tells us that in Africa the Gospel of the raising of Lazarus was read at the office of Palm Sunday.
Reflection
Many people who have had a near-death experience report losing all fear of death. When Lazarus died a second time, perhaps he was without fear. He must have been sure that Jesus, the friend with whom he had shared many meals and conversations, would be waiting to raise him again. We don’t share Lazarus’ firsthand knowledge of returning from the grave. Nevertheless, we too have shared meals and conversations with Jesus, who waits to raise us, too.
~Franciscan Media

Last month I came to Galilee to say “Thank you Nigel”.  
You see 5 years ago my life bumped up against a very rocky shore.  I had a persistent pain in my back and I wondered “What’s wrong?”  In August of 2012 I received the dreaded CANCER phone call and I was diagnosed with Stage 4 inoperable pancreatic and liver cancer.  This is a terrible diagnosis – only 1% of people with pancreatic cancer will live for 5 years. To make matters worse, the cancer had escaped my pancreas and spread to my liver.  It could not be surgically removed.  At that time the doctors told me I had 6-9 months to live.  I was in my mid-fifties with a healthy lifestyle, rarely sick, no family history, a great marriage, three children and a rewarding career.  How could such a beautiful August day hold such bad news?  I had a death sentence over my head.  And yet I had everything to live for.  
My husband, my friends and my church decided that we were going to work this illness hard.  Medically and spiritually we would bring every weapon to bear against this.  I began 12 rounds of chemo at the University of Chicago.  By Christmas 2012 I had only made it through 5 of the 12 prescribed rounds of chemo.  I was desperately sick.  I could barely stand, eat or think in a complete sentence.  I looked like a concentration camp victim.   But God knew my need.  And God began to orchestrate gifted healers to enter my life.  Nigel is foremost among those healers.  
In February 2013 Nigel came to a nearby church, St Marks Episcopal in Geneva IL, to teach a weekend seminar on healing prayer.  My friends carried me to see him.  In our appointment with Nigel he took a careful spiritual inventory of my soul, our marriage and talked to us about healing.  The elders of St Marks, my husband and friends sat in a circle around us and Nigel began to pray over me.  I felt heat and electric current run through his hands.  The Holy Spirit descended powerfully.  In the following weeks and months my friends and church family came every Friday to anoint me with oil, lay hands on me and pray for healing.  I was soaked in prayer.  I learned to be open to many types of prayer: with words and silence, friends singing over me, friends reading Scripture over me, long and short, soft and loud, usually with touch, speaking in tongues, wise words and simple prayers.  I am convinced that God hears all prayers and that the Holy Spirit intercedes for us as only He can.
I believe that Nigel “jumpstarted” my healing on that cold February day.   My healing did not happen instantly.  Most of my healing came in the year after meeting with Nigel.  Healing is rarely instanteous and always mysterious.  I completed the 12 rounds of chemo.  I did not see myself as helpless but I got up and got moving and God blessed.  Doctors expect that pancreatic cancer will come back within a few months of finishing chemo.  By now, you’ve guessed that 5 years later I am doing really well.  My blood counts have been normal for several  years and the CT scans show scar tissue but no active tumor in my pancreas.
Healing is a gift God gives His Church.  As a church, Galilee you have believed in this gift.  WIthout razzle-dazzle or flashy words you have supported and nurtured Nigel’s ministry and the ministry of your prayer team.  Healing is a gift that God has given to Nigel.    Thank you for loaning him out to other churches for healing seminars, for supporting The Welcome Home Initiative, for loving and praying for him.  Gratitude is foremost in my thoughts.  Keep going, keep asking.  I want you to know what a difference God and Nigel have made in my life and to a watching world. 
Lee P
Illinois USA