Mass of healing draws crowd for Jubilee Year event

IC photo/Marie Mischel

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Father Arokia Dass David, pastor, celebrates a Mass of healing at Notre Dame de Lourdes Catholic Church in Price on April 5.

PRICE — More than 200 people attended a Mass of healing at Notre Dame de Lourdes Catholic Church in Price on April 5.

The day opened with the recitation of the rosary, followed by Mass. Those attending also had the opportunity to venerate relics of several saints, including Pius X, Thérèse of the Child Jesus (The Little Flower), Elizabeth Ann Seton, Meinrad of Einsiedeln and St. John Henry Newman, as well as a piece of the True Cross. In addition, a certified copy of the Shroud of Turin was on display.

The Sacrament of Reconciliation was available throughout the day.

Before the rosary began, Father Arokia Dass David, pastor, urged those present to open their hearts to God. “Let him do to you whatever he wants to do to you,” he said. “Just let him come inside you, purify you.”

As Mass was about to begin, he asked those present to “give your heart, give your soul, give your mind to God today. Let him purify it, let him renew it. Don’t try to hold on to yourself; just give it to God, give your heart to God today.”  

Speaking on Isaiah 6, Fr. David said this passage of the Bible is important because it shows how God sanctifies people by separating them from the world, encouraging them to recognize their sinfulness, and then calls them for a mission.

“When we are willing to detach from the world, then God will purify us. … He will bring the fire of the Holy Spirit to purify us, purify us from all the passions that we have,” Fr. David said.

“Everyone who is called here today – you are being purified at this Mass and you are also called to [be] sent on a mission to defend our Lord Jesus Christ in this world.”

He emphasized that unless people detach themselves from the attractions of the world, “God cannot purify us.”

Fr. David also spoke about the need to forgive other people. “When a person forgives the offender, he acts like God himself,” he said, pointing out that on the cross, Jesus prayed, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.”

“When you forgive you are freeing yourself, you are setting yourself free,” Fr. David said.

Those attending the Mass filled the church so that it was standing-room only. Among those who attended was Nora Larsen, a Notre Dame parishioner who said she came “for healing and to see the Shroud of Turin.”

Also at the Mass was a family from Saint John the Baptist Parish in Draper. The father, who requested that his name not be published, said they attended the Mass because a close family member has been dealing with chronic health issues for 10 years, “so we really wanted to come here. We’re asking for God’s mercy.”

Another reason for him was the chance to venerate the Relic of the Cross, he said. “That felt worth coming just for that.”

The Mass was “amazing,” he added. “It was hard to keep my emotions in check.”

“It’s great that so many people are interested in the healing Mass and seeing these relics and seeing the shroud,” said Catherine Kane, the parish’s director of religious education and bookkeeper.

The parish also is attracting visitors because Bishop Oscar A. Solis designated the church as one of five throughout the diocese as a pilgrimage site for the Jubilee Year of Hope, which is being celebrated through Dec. 23. The other designated pilgrimage sites are the Cathedral of the Madeleine in Salt Lake City, Saint George Catholic Church in St. George, St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church in Orem and St. Joseph Catholic Church in Ogden.

Kane said they have had visitors from outside the parish boundaries at the Stations of the Cross on the last two Fridays, and also at Sunday Mass.

For pilgrims, the parish has printed a card with information about a plenary indulgence available to those who fulfill certain conditions, and also a prayer card. Both cards are printed with English on one side and Spanish on the other.