In the parable about the Pharisee and the publican (Luke 18:9-14), I’m the latter. Seriously, by the grace of God, I’ve never really doubted my unworthiness and my lack of holiness.
As regular readers know very well, I can be overly aggressive, impetuous, all-too-often irreverent and all-too-infrequently prayerful. In short, there are a whole host of faults that must be overcome if I ever hope to grow in sanctity.
With this in mind, for more than a year now I have been begging the Lord at every Mass:
Please, cleanse me from the inside out.
Often it seems that our sinfulness creates the very circumstances that, God willing, ultimately serve as purgation; breaking us of our willfulness and humbling us so as to make room for His will to be done.
Please, cleanse me from the inside out.
This is my way of asking the Lord to purify me from within as opposed to allowing my sinfulness to in any way scandalize others, or to give anyone a reason to doubt the truth of our Catholic faith; most especially my family members and close friends.
Given that the Lord has granted me (for what reason only He knows) a public voice, this has long been a concern for me. And so it is that I have been praying:
Please, cleanse me from the inside out.
What’s that old saying, be careful what you ask for?
Without boring you with too many details: I experienced an unusual event that sent me to the ER several weeks ago – sudden severe neck pain, disturbances in my eyesight and dizziness followed by an intense migraine – the latter on its own not being very unusual for me at all.
After a CT scan, an MRI and an MRA (just this past Tuesday), it was discovered that I have a brain aneurysm.
I’ve been referred to a neurosurgeon at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore. (I’m fortunate to have this world renowned institution in my “backyard.”) I’ll see him Monday after next, Oct. 24th, and won’t know much more until then.
Call me crazy (and no doubt some will), but it occurs to me that the Lord has perhaps answered my prayer – that is, if I allow it to be as much.
Look, we all know that we’re not promised tomorrow; we realize that the Lord can call us to our particular judgment at any given moment. Even unbelievers have been known to say, “Treat every day like it’s your last!”
But a brain aneurysm? A time bomb in your head? And not just any head, but the hot head of a guy like me? Seriously? Talk about heightening your awareness!
Those who know me well know that I am one to keep things to myself; especially anything that might be considered a personal hardship.
In this case, however, the readers of this space have been rather good to me for some time now. We’re brothers and sisters in arms. You’ve earned the right to be informed about this, and selfishly, I could use your prayerful support as much now as ever.
So, long story short, my friends…
Pray for me. Not just for physical healing, but for the grace to allow this trial, whatever it may entail moving forward, to be an occasion of spiritual healing for me and for others.
Pray for me that I might allow God’s grace to manifest itself in this situation; in some way allowing the truth and the beauty of our Catholic faith to show forth through me in spite of my weaknesses; maybe even to the point of drawing souls to, or closer to, Christ.
And please, pray for my family and other loved ones who carry the burden of worrying about me. Honestly, this more than anything else weighs on me now.
Thank you for all that you’ve done for me already, and thanks in advance for keeping me and my family in your prayers.
May Our Lord Jesus Christ be gloried in this and in all things!
May the Divine Physician keep you safe.
Oil of St. Philomena is highly recommended. Can be procured via donation at http://www.philomena.org/
I read your post, and immediately on my reading your last word, my noon Angelus alarm on my phone rang. I at once offered the Angelus for you.
With the alarm, Our Lady seemed to say to me, “You want to pray for Louie Verrecchio? BEGIN NOW.”
I offered those prayers for you and will continue to offer, together with my family, our every prayer for your complete spiritual and physical healing and for your family’s consolation and strengthening.
God bless you, Mr. Verrecchio, and see you through this next trial that He is asking of you, my friend.
And may we all (together with our family members) be together one day in heaven with Our Beautiful Queen whom we serve (although ever so inadequately).
“For whom the Lord loves, He chastens”. You have received your wake up call, Mr V. The U.S. is close to an all out war with Russia. May the rest of us prepare ourselves for a premature demise along with you!
Louie, the most dangerous aspect of an aneurysm is not knowing you have one until it is too late. I pray that this knowledge is a blessing which will lead to a very happy solution. Keeping you and your family in my prayers.
Louie, I offer a daily Rosary for you and for your family. You are a blessing to all of us who read this column and a faithful servant of our Lord.I pray that God will give you peace and strength while you carry this cross.
Louie, my heartfelt prayers are with you, a great warrior of the faith! My prayers are also with your family. May God heal you physically so that you may continue to instruct us in His name. I will offer all my Rosaries for you. I know Our Lady is right by your side. Thanks be to God for allowing you this time, both physically and spiritually.
Please know, dear Mr. V., that you and your loved ones are in my daily prayers. May God bless you with a genuine, bona fide miracle.
May God bless you and your loved ones. Prayers ascending…
Our Lord works in His mysterious ways my brother:+) He will use this as a tool to have you surrender more and more of yourself to Him (I thought I had surrendered myself totally to Him at one point, but He keeps showing me things I’ve held back without realizing it:+) and to grow you in holiness. A big “thank you Jesus” is in order here…although to the world it looks like a bad thing…to us who see the spiritual picture, it is a great blessing and opportunity in disguise. Just said a prayer for you and yours Louie. Thank you for taking up the gauntlet for Our Lord and being a light for truth in this dark world. God bless you for it:+)
Let nothing disturb you,
Let nothing frighten you,
All things are passing;
God only is changeless.
Patience gains all things.
Who has God wants nothing.
God alone suffices.
St Teresa of Avila
Dear Mr V,
I shall remember you in my daily prayers from St Teresa’s feast day 2016 to 2017 for an abundance of grace and healing
Be assured, Louie I’m praying for you and yours.
Prayer for a Sick Brother
O Lord, holy Father, creator of the universe, author of its laws, you can bring the dead back to life, and heal those who are sick. We pray for our sick brother that he may feel your hand upon him, renewing his body and refreshing his soul. Show to him the affection in which you hold all your creatures.
– Dimma, 7th century Irish monk
Michael F Poulin
Dear Louie,
God is relying on your writing talents and love of His Church and I’m sure you have no doubt that He will be by your side every step of the way in your trial. Of course, Our Lady will also be there. We , your loyal followers will be praying our rosaries for you and that God is glorified in your life, whatever the outcome of your situation. Be strong, my friend, and may God continue to show his predilection for you by cleansing you from the inside out.
Be assured, Louie, that I will add you to the friends I pray for in my daily rosary. I enjoy and benefit from your writings immensely. I have always relished my coffee hot, black, strong, and with no sugar. You are a Catholic cuppa Joe.
No one knows how much time we each have left. So therefore its time to get to work now, spreading the gospel to the ignorant. Our souls and those of the heathens depend on the great commission.
Dear Louie,
You are in my prayers daily, (well, almost daily). It’s always good for us to strive to be as the publican, especially when it’s so easy to behave as the pharisee. Purgatory, by Fr. Schouppe, (found at http://www.saintsbooks.net/books/Rev.%20F.X.%20Schouppe,%20S.J.%20-%20Purgatory.pdf ), chapter XXXI, has an intriguing tale of an artist who, though he had done many wonderful religious works, found himself in Purgatory due to the sins others committed caused by an impure work he had done in his youth. While not condemned to Hell, he would remain in Purgatory until that work was destroyed so none others would be so tempted to sin. (Cliff notes condensed version – the book is much better.) I bring this up now so you might take some of this time to reflect on the “Proud and puffed up” post recently. Was it the cause of Italian DNA, extra pressure on a critical synapse, diabolical disorientation to which we’re all subject? Using any of those excuses as license to write under the guise of being bluntly honest blinds us to our baser self and gives bad example (scandal?) to those who see, hear or read us. I hope you reconsider that posting and try to see Steve as a brother who loves the Church and Our Lady as you do. (And probably occasionally sees himself as a publican too.)
May you live long and be well, (or is that now a curse?– We’ll see come November.) May God bless you and yours and may Our Lady of Fatima give you comfort. — Save Souls.
Nice to hear from Job’s friends. Mike.
Louie you would be in my Rosary. Let’s all be faithful to Christ no matter what the price is.
Louie, will keep you and your dear ones in our rosaries, you truly hold a special place in our hearts. Its seems that Our Lord has chosen to send you this trial and infirmity and knowing the man of God that you are you will gladly offer them all to Our Lady in memory of Her Sorrows, so that every thought of your mind, and every beat of your heart may be an act of compassion and love for Her, and in doing so Our Lady will keep you in His grace and assist you always.
Jesus, please be with him and if it be your holy will, heal him. Our Lady of Good Success, please pray for him and comfort him. St. Padre Pio, pray for him, St. Anthony, pray for him, St. Maria Goretti, pray for him, St. Jude, pray for him, St. Michael the Archangel, defend him, all the angels and saints, pray for him.
I have a sibling who has two aneurysms and has known about them for 40 years. I guess it depends on where they are. I also have a beloved child who died this past summer. He went into cardiac arrest at the ER. Young, fit, it was a shock to see this happen. None of us know the hour, but we all know, at some point, we go, please God, off to paradise. Our child was brought back, thanks and all praise be to God, and is now healthy and strong. His cardiologist says, “to your heart it is as if nothing happened”. Life has a funny way of turning around. Go to confession, receive the Sacraments, and just trust that all will be well. It will. I will remember you in my prayers. Thank you for all you do here. As was said, you are a soldier in God’s Church Militant. It seems likely He needs soldiers more here than in paradise right now, but leave it up to Him and try to be at peace. God bless.
Dear Louie,
We will keep you regularly in our family Rosaries. My heart goes out to you and I am suffering with you right now. Be strong Louie and keep up the fight.
Dear Mister Verrecchio,
We will start a novena this very evening for your well-being (for now) in this life.
You have been a source of inspiration and knowledge for us from the moment we saw you on CM.com some years ago.
A conversation with… Louie Verrecchio. We still use the DVD’s as a start-up for our catechesis study group.
And this blog helps us to understand the crisis in the Church.
Thank you for that.
And stay well!!
God bless.
Mike–Have you sent the same message to Steve? After all, the clock is ticking for all of us.
I will certainly pray for you, Mr. V!
Here’s a thought in case you wish to look into it: some doctors report a link between aneurisms and copper deficiency (excess of copper is harmful too, as you and most readers know, of course). I am not a doctor and this is not medical advice, but it is something I thought you might be interested in researching and discussing with your physicians as you deal with this challenge.
God bless!
Prayer for the Intercession of His Grace Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre
O Lord Jesus Christ, King of Kings, we implore Thee in Thy Divine Kindness to finally bring to light the holiness and justice of Thy humble servant, Marcel Lefebvre. His earthly life was met with ignominy and scorn, in pattern to Thee, and all for Thee, O Christ, for Whom he so valiantly fought, and Whose rights and Kingship he defended. We beg Thee to manifest his holy intercession for us by granting us the petition we ask in his name, (that of…) O Mary, Immaculate Queen and Mediatrix of all graces, please obtain for us from thy Divine Son that special grace by which thy servant Marcel may be honored and glorified with the title of Saint.
Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be
Oh, maryiloveher! This is perfect!
I have been trying to think of the “right” saint (besides Our Lady) to ask for intercession for Louie’s healing, and this is the one, for sure.
His Grace Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre is a perfect intercessor for Louie, who is an intrepid defender of the Holy Catholic Church, as Archbishop Lefebvre himself once was, and against the same enemies.
Today I will begin this prayer you have written here as a novena for Louie’s healing.
Thank you, maryiloveher.
Dear Mr Verrechio, brother in Christ, I’ll be keeping you in my prayers. Thank you for your efforts for the Church and soyls in this time of great tribulation and general apostasy as the Church goes through its Passion. God bless you and may this help your soul to gain merit. Our Lady of Fatima, pray for us.
This post of yours is probably the most uncharitable, ill-timed exercise in sanctimony that I have had the misfortune to observe. How typical of that proud spirit that upholds other proud spirits. May Our Lady pray for you to learn gentleness of spirit and Christian forbearance.
My comment above is addressed to “Mike”.
Love your biting wit!
Count on our daily prayers (Rosary) heading your way. It is a blessing and a privilege to pray for a friend.
@Pearl87, What time would be better? How long should one wait when the urgency is uncertain and the consequence preventable? And regarding the charity:
St. Aquinas: On the contrary, … fraternal correction is an act of charity.
I (St. Thomas) answer that, The correction of the wrongdoer is a remedy which should be employed… …fraternal correction is an act of charity rather than the healing of a bodily infirmity, or the relieving of an external bodily need. There is another correction which applies a remedy to the sin of the wrongdoer, considered as hurtful to others, and especially to the common good. This correction is an act of justice, whose concern it is to safeguard the rectitude of justice between one man and another. http://www.newadvent.org/summa/3033.htm
—–
And from a contemporary: But if we are to have any shame about fraternal correction it should be that we have so severely failed to correct. Because of our failure in this regard the world is a much more sinful, coarse and undisciplined place. Too many people today are out of control, undisciplined, and incorrigible. Too many are locked in sin and have never been properly corrected. The world is less pleasant and charitable, less teachable. It is also more sinful and in greater bondage. To fail to correct is to fail in charity and mercy, it is to fail to be virtuous and to fail in calling others to virtue. We are all impoverished by our failure to correct the sinner. Proverbs 10:10, 17 says He who winks at a fault causes trouble; but he who frankly reproves promotes peace….A path to life is his who heeds admonition; but he who disregards reproof goes go astray.
http://blog.adw.org/2009/11/fraternal-correction-the-forgotten-virtue/
Good meditation. All things work for the good of those who love God. I’ll say a Mass (TLM) for you.
I will remember you Mass, Mr. V.
I found your prayer very interesting in that it i every close to my habitual practice post communionem.
I pray an old school prayer that I have typed out and then I think Jesus for having humbled Himself to come into my heart and my soul and I ask Him, as the Light of the world, to burn away all darkness and shadows of sin in my heart and my soul and I ask Him to complete His work and me and make me the ABS He has always intended me to be rather than the ABS I have always chosen to be.
Jesus established His Church for two reasons;
Salvation
Sanctification
By all means accept my “correction” of your utterly uncalled-for hypocrisy, which is offered in the same spirit. You are in dire peril, friend, if you truly believe you are qualified to judge the soul or intentions of LV. Indeed, his assessment of Skojec was itself a necessary effort for that gentleman’s own good, and not at all a sinful act. But, it seems the beam in your eye prevents you from seeing this.
Dear Louie,
I’ll keep you in my prayers next Monday and beyond. If you’d like to post a prayer request on my prayer site, please feel free to do so. I can keep your name confidential if you’d like.
God Bless,
Chris Castagnoli
for http://www.ourcatholicprayers.com