MICAHEL Masteller, a seminarian who is doing an internship at Resurrection Church in East Los Angeles, wrote a reflection paper on his experience of visiting a parishioner, Maria, who had just arrived home from the hospital after surgery.
During this visit, Michael remembered that a few months back he also came to see Maria’s sick husband, Humberto, at the couple’s house.
Maria and Humberto received Michael warmly at their humble home. They chatted for a while until Humberto got up to get the prayer he had written out by hand, which he had kept from the last time that Michael had visited. It’s the prayer, Anima Christi, that he loves to recite after receiving communion. Humberto asked Michael if they could say this prayer together during the service.
In his reflection paper, Michael narrates the Communion scene and shares some profound thoughts:
“We began the Communion Service, and after we passed the part where Humberto and Maria received Holy Communion, we all entered into a moment of silent prayer. After about a minute or two, I gave the signal for Humberto to pray the Anima Christi. As he recited this prayer, we enter into its poetic cadence:”…ayuda me…salva me…oye me…defende me…” When we finished, I invited both of them to pray their own spontaneous prayer out loud if they would like. Humberto began to pray, and as his prayer drifted towards praising and thanking God, his voice began to falter and shake as the deep emotion and earnestness of his prayer welled up from his heart. Maria sitting beside him was silently united with his prayer, encouraging him with her own tears of praise and gratitude. When we finished praying, we enjoyed a couple of minutes of deep and simple union with each other. We had seen each other’s faith, and we were united in the Lord.
As I walked home, I kept pondering what I had experienced and seen. The deep and trusting faith of Humberto and his wife and the sincerity and emotion with which they love God moved me. It is true—the Lord is close to the poor and the broken-hearted; he hears their cry, and he lifts up their drooping spirit.”
Michael’s simple but beautiful story of faith shows our longing for peace in times of sickness, doubts, difficulties, and fears, which we can find in prayer and intimacy with our Lord, Jesus Christ. It is in prayer where we experience God’s assurances of love, mercy, healing, and forgiveness. It is in prayer where we can find hope, courage, and wisdom.
In the light of last Sunday’s Gospel (John 20: 19-31) and the celebration of the Feast of Divine Mercy, the Church invites us to come to sincere prayer and intimacy with our Risen Lord. She asks us to contemplate and meditate on the words and actions of Jesus in the Gospel: “Peace be with you”…he showed them his hands and his side…he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit…”Put your finger here and see my hands, and bring your hand and put it into my side…do not be unbelieving but believe.”
So, let’s unlock the doors of fears in our lives and allow the Risen Jesus to come in. Amidst pains and challenges in any relationship or work, let’s not allow fear to overtake us but only the peace of Christ. Let Jesus speak to us with solace and consolation.
Let our prayer be:
“Soul of Christ, sanctify me; Body of Christ, save me; Blood of Christ, inebriate me; Water from the side of Christ, wash me; Passion of Christ, strengthen me; O good Jesus hear me; within Your wounds hide me; separated from You, let me never be; From the evil one protect me; at the hour of my death, call me; and close to You bid me; that with Your saints, I may be praising You forever and ever. Amen.”*
*The Anima Christi is a poetic Communion prayer dating to the 14th century. It is commonly prayed before or after receiving the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ in the Blessed Sacrament.
(My student, Michael Masteller, gave me permission to cite his reflection and to acknowledge him, but for the sake of privacy I replaced the real names of the parishioners he visited with pseudonyms.)
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From a Filipino immigrant family, Reverend Rodel G. Balagtas was ordained to the priesthood from St. John’s Seminary in 1991. He served as Associate Pastor at St. Augustine, Culver City (1991-1993); St. Martha, Valinda (1993-1999); and St. Joseph the Worker, Canoga Park (1991-2001). In 2001, he served as Administrator Pro Tem of St. John Neumann in Santa Maria, CA, until his appointment as pastor of Immaculate Heart of Mary, Los Angeles, in 2002, which lasted 12 years. His term as Associate Director of Pastoral Field Education at St. John’s Seminary began in July 2014.
I always pray “The Anima Christi” after receiving the holy Communion since after my first communion. I love this prayer and will always recite it. Thank you Father Rodel for this article. My best to you, Reverend.