In Sickness and in Health
Today, December 8, we celebrate the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception.
During the mass I celebrated for our high school students I shared with them, as I’ve done many times, my devotion to the Blessed Mother. I shared with them how in times of great frustration, anger, and fear I turn to her. In fact, I run to her. I expressed to them how important it is to pray to her in those difficult times and also in times of joy. Like she did with her Son, Mary is always with us.
For just over a week, our school community has been praying daily for the five seniors who were involved in a car accident. As sons of Our Lady of Belen, we have especially placed them in her hands. We pray that she wraps them in her mantle of love and heal their injuries. Two students remain hospitalized, Ignacio Cardenal and Ignacio Villasmil. Cardenal is showing improvement and has had a number of successful surgeries. Villasmil’s situation is a little more critical. He has been in a coma since the accident.
Let there be no doubt that the power of prayer is real. Every day, I visit these young men and their families at the hospital. I stand by their bed and pray with them. Yesterday, December 7, I experienced a profound moment of faith while visiting Villasmil. A few days ago I presented his mother with an image of Our Lady of Belen and asked that it be placed by his bed. As I entered his room yesterday, she leaned close to her son’s ear and asked him to open his eyes and announced that I was there. I must admit, what happened next was amazing – he opened his eyes. I approached him and asked him if he wanted to pray with me and he said yes. I began the “Hail Mary” and he mouthed the words and held my hand throughout the prayer. I’m not going to lie, it was an emotional moment. At the end of the prayer, I said “Our Lady of Belen” and he mustered the strength to reply “Pray for us”.
I can’t think of a greater day to share that amazing testimonial of faith. I have no doubt that with the intercession of the Blessed Mother, both Ignacios will continue to heal. They have a long road ahead of them so WE must pray along with them. I ask that you keep in your hearts and prayers all the boys affected by this unfortunate accident and that Cardenal and Villasmil improve every day. I ask that you also pray for their families so that the Holy Spirit continue to give them strength during this trying time.
Auspice Maria.
BELEN JESUIT PREPARATORY SCHOOL
500 SW 127th Avenue, Miami, FL 33184
phone: 305.223.8600 | fax: 305.227.2565 | email: webmaster@belenjesuit.org
500 SW 127th Avenue, Miami, FL 33184
phone: 305.223.8600 | fax: 305.227.2565 | email: webmaster@belenjesuit.org
Belen Jesuit Preparatory School was founded in 1854 in Havana, Cuba by Queen Isabel II of Spain. The task of educating students was assigned to the priests and brothers of the Society of Jesus (the Jesuits), whose teaching tradition is synonymous with academic excellence and spiritual discipline. In 1961, the new political regime of Cuba confiscated the School property and expelled the Jesuit faculty. The School was re-established in Miami the same year, and over the next decade, continued to grow. Today, Belen Jesuit sits on a 30-acre site in western Dade County, only minutes away from downtown Miami.