We, too, can heal

Healing priest Fr. Fernando Suarez was in Negros Occidental for three days this week to preach the Word of God, touch the sick, give hope to the hopeless, console the disconsolate and energize the faithful in rediscovering the power of Jesus in the Eucharist.

Fr. Suarez, 40, celebrated three healing Masses in all – two at the St. Michael the Archangel parish in Pontevedra and one at the Carmelite Convent in Bacolod City. Each service took about four hours as he attended to thousands of believers who patiently lined up to be touched by his healing hands.

In his homilies, Fr. Suarez repeatedly told the devotees he is only an instrument of healing, that he isn’t the healer. That’s why he makes it a point to celebrate Mass before every healing ritual. It’s to remind the people that the healer is Jesus, not him.

“The greatest gift we can share is Jesus,” said Fr. Suarez. “Those who live life to the fullest owe it to Jesus. The center, source and summit of our faith is the Eucharist. It’s time we rediscover the power of Jesus in the Eucharist as the Healer of all. Faith comes from healing. If we open up our hearts to the Lord and let Him come in, we will be healed, physically and spiritually. When we participate in the Eucharistic celebration, we show our love to the Lord and we know that love heals. With our love, we, too, can be God’s instruments for healing.”

Fr. Suarez, who was ordained only five years ago, delivers a message of faith everywhere he goes. He was permitted by his community, the Ottawa-based Companions of the Cross, to go out and preach beyond the confines of his congregation only in July last year. Since then, Fr. Suarez has touched the lives of millions all over the world, including remote northern Uganda where he broke bread with the poorest of the poor.

What makes Fr. Suarez such a credible instrument of God is he’s a real person. He has no illusions of grandeur. He does not claim supernatural powers. He wears Crocs and plays tennis nearly everyday to reinvigorate himself for the long hours of healing sessions. He enjoys eating, singing and horsing around. What you get is what you see.

As for his sporting life, Fr. Suarez’ tennis-mates are thinking of putting up a fund-raiser to benefit his advocacy, the Mary Mother of the Poor Foundation. Former national netters Raymond Suarez, Roland So, Ronald Kraut and Randy Villanueva are among his regular playmates.

In Negros Occidental, Fr. Suarez made time to play in La Carlota and Bacolod City with Recoletos priests. One of the sets he played went down to a tiebreak. He was invited to the province by San Miguel Corp. chairman Eduardo Cojuangco and wife Gretchen.

Fr. Suarez’s three missions are his healing ministry, the Mary Mother of the Poor Foundation and the Montemaria shrine that will rise overlooking Batangas Bay. Each is a full-time mission but somehow, Fr. Suarez is able to manage overseeing all three. His energy is boundless.

What drives Fr. Suarez is a passion to bring the Lord closer to everyone.

“I want people to get excited about their faith, about going to church, about