Why people get sick, according to Fr. Corsie

It was probably 20 years ago when I became exposed to the healing ministry of Fr. Corsie Legaspi. Through the years, I have attended several, last week being the most recent. It is very difficult not be captivated by Fr. Corsie’s charm. He is intelligent and charismatic. He doesn’t fail to enlighten and inspire those who listen to him and keep them awake for hours with his animated stories. And of course, he never fails to leave his audience awestruck by the healing miracles that take place during the services.

A lot of people put him in a pedestal, some revering him like a saint. Maybe that is why he keeps on reminding people that he is a mere instrument of God’s healing grace. Maybe that is why he fills his homilies with humor and real-life stories (including his own).

"When I retire, I would like to be a stand-up comedian," Fr. Corsie says with sparkling eyes. For a while, his audience, mostly made up of people who are helplessly sick and in pain, forget they are terribly ill.

Despite the humor, he doesn’t mince words. He delivers his message clearly. And though his message remains constant through the years that I have had the chance to attend his services, each time still provides a refreshing jolt to life’s realities.

Since 1989, Fr. Corsie has been conducting healing services not only all over the Philippines but also in Thailand, the United States, and for people of all faiths worldwide. Not only people who are present in the healing services get healed, sometimes proxy healing (or distant healing) also happens.

"There are no requirements for healing," he tells us. "People are healed by God’s grace; by God’s mercy." But he quickly warns, "Not everyone will be healed." He adds that the healing is not up to him but up to God. "God does the healing, not me," he stresses. "I’m only God’s vessel; the instrument."

Five General Causes Of Illness

"Life is precious," the priest notes. "Perhaps some very ill people don’t want to die not for themselves, but for their loved ones. I always tell them in the homily that sickness is not the will of God; that people get sick because of factors around us."

He finds it absurd that people question God why they get sick and yet also turn to Him for miraculous healing. "God did not make you sick. You get sick because of your lifestyle, what you do and the factors around you," Fr. Corsie points out.

He explains that sickness and death are two givens in life. In a further attempt to prove that sickness is not God-sent, he enumerates five factors why people get ill: genetics, negligence, what we put in our mouths, contamination, and old age.

Fr. Corsie says that if both your parents have diabetes or cancer, then in all probability the children would contract the same illness because of genetics. He teases that parents who know that their children would eventually contract the same illnesses should provide enough savings for the medical expenses. Nonetheless, cancer, for example, is a great leveler. Wealth or the lack of it will do little to prolong one’s life, he says. His humble opinion is that rich people should not even go elsewhere to be treated of a fatal disease.

Neglecting one’s health can come in many forms. Some people, he says, practically work themselves to death. They toil in an attempt to build a secure future, yet whatever they have saved will never be enough when they get terminally ill. Even in seemingly simple things like not getting enough sleep, Fr. Corsie says that one should not feel immortal and invincible. One day, not getting enough sleep and rest will collect its toll in sickness.

Negligence can also be from not having the necessary medical check-ups. It can also be in the form of self-diagnosis and self-medication. A lot of people do not listen to their bodies. They easily ignore stomach pains, headaches, or a prolonged cough never in their minds understanding that these are outward signs of internal things going awry.

When you put garbage in, you turn your organs into garbage. Things we put in our mouth that spell disease include cigarette smoking, too much alcohol, too much fat, too much sugar, among many others.

Fr. Corsie said that he finds the 360-degree turn of people amusing when they get sick and are faced with the clear and present danger of death. A smoker can go cold turkey and quit immediately but what can it do to reverse the ravaging damage of a lung cancer? An alcoholic can do the same but again, a reversal is impossible.

He blurted out putting the audience in stitches "Kung mamamatay ka na rin lang, kainin mo na ang gusto mong kainin. Gawin mo na ang gusto mong gawin. Mabuti nang mamatay kang masaya. Huli na, eh. (If you are certainly dying, eat what you wish to eat and do what you want to do. At least you will die happy. It’s already too late!)"

Although chronic lifestyle diseases have outpaced infectious diseases as a top killer, focus on the latter has been heightened because of SARS. Despite SARS being in the news, hepatitis should be of more concern Fr. Corsie said.

The germs that cause contagious diseases (bacteria, viruses, fungi, parasites, and protozoan) are present in skin surfaces, in the mouth, nose, eyes, on the scalp and body fluids. Body fluids are particularly effective in carrying germs and blood is the greatest concern in non-sexual transmission of disease.

Proper hygiene is thus very important and proper cleaning of any contaminated objects. For example, the hepatitis virus can survive for at least a week in dried blood.

The last factor is something there is little we can do about – age. Despite the argument that a proper lifestyle can help slow down the ageing process, the fact remains that the body just like any machine should slow down and accept its limitations.

That is the reason why you retire at 60, Fr. Corsie said (and that he plans to do).

Accepting Death

Fr. Corsie feels that his real ministry is to provide spiritual healing and prepare people to meet their Creator. Though gifted also with the gift to discern who will be healed, his objective is to let the sick and their loved ones prepare for one‚s parting.

He said he would prefer getting ill and dying slowly, possibly having six months or more to prepare, than to die suddenly as in a car or plane crash. During that period, he would spend two hours a day engaging in spiritual matters and another two hours to write and record his memoirs. Two hours he would like to spend entertaining selected friends, five a day at one time.

Once when asked to explain his main goal in life, he answered with his voice cracking a little: "I have one prayer left up to God. That is to see Him face to face. As sinful as I am, I would like to see God; I would like to see the blessed Mother."

Fr. Corsie’s greatest effect on me is how I look at disease and death. Now, I am not afraid to die. I am sure the pain of parting from a loved one will always be there but Fr. Corsie had a way of making what was morbid appeal as something natural and necessary.

I remember that my initial encounters with Fr. Corsie gave me the chills because it made me feel I am being forced to confront something as unreal as sickness and death. Now, I am glad I went through many more encounters with him to change my perceptions.

Death is a reality nobody can escape. It is better to deal with it now that we still have time to plan than to deal with the reality when time is running out. Live each day as if it was your last. Do not forget to tell people you love them. Make sure you do not end the day without patching things up with people you have argued with during the day.

We rush through each day as if there is no tomorrow. We do not even have time to be still and allow ourselves to commune with our Heavenly Father with whom we will be reunited. God has always been faithful to us. He is always by our side. We are the ones who run away from him. We make ourselves distant by wrapping ourselves in a cocoon of worldly comfort and concerns.

There is still time to reflect. There is time to reorient our lives.

* * *

E-mail mylene@goldsgymmanila.com for questions and comments.