On faith, healing and other Recoletos tradition

Do you know that roman catholics celebrate a saint, now invoked by cancer patients, who started his ministry in the Philippines?

Ezekiel Moreno, a Spaniard, spent 14 months at sea with 17 co-members of the Order of Augustinian Recollects (OAR) to reach Manila in 1870. He was ordained to the priesthood the following year and spent the next 15 years evangelizing Filipinos with zeal and fervor.

The Augustinian Recollects, more popularly known as Recoletos, had been in the country since 1606, doing mission work, establishing towns, building churches, schools, forts, irrigation systems, roads and bridges. They brought to our shores the image of the Black Nazarene, first promoted the scapular of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, and constructed the world-famous bamboo organ of Las Piñas.

While in the Philippines, Fr. Ezekiel would be assigned to work in Calapan and Bulalacao in Mindoro, Puerto Princesa, Inagawan and Aborlan in Palawan, Las Piñas, Sto. Tomas in Batangas, Intramuros and Sta. Cruz in Manila, and Imus and Bacoor in Cavite.

His time in these islands prepared him well for even more difficult missionary work in South America, specifically in Colombia where he became bishop. During his pastorate at the Diocese of Pasto, war tore the place from 1899 to 1902. During this difficult period, Bishop Moreno proved himself to be a great defender of the Church and a voice of strength and clarity for his people.

In August 1905, he was found to be suffering from cancer of the palate and was advised by physicians to return to Europe to receive proper treatment. Contrary to his own desire, but upon the insistence of the religious and clergy of the diocese, he departed Pasto just before Christmas and was operated on in Madrid the following February, and again in March.

Recognizing that the end was drawing near, he asked to spend his final days in Monteagudo, Spain, in the monastery where he entered the Augustinian Order and beside the image of the Virgen del Camino, Our Lady of the Way. There he died on August 19, 1906, now remembered as his feast day.

He was beatified by Pope Paul VI on November 1, 1975 and was canonized by Pope John Paul II in Santo Domingo, the Dominican Republic, on October 11, 1992, on the occasion of the fifth centenary of the evangelization of the Americas.

Miracles leading to his beatification and canonization were cases of immediate and total cures of cancer, for which he is invoked by the OAR and by the Catholic Church as special advocate or patron of cancer patients. Today, innumerable cures, especially of cancer, are attributed to his powerful intercession.

2006 is indeed cause for a double celebration to the OAR. It is the 400th year of Recoletos missionary work in the Philippines, and the 100th death anniversary of St. Ezekiel Moreno, perhaps only one among many holy Augustinian Recollect saints, but most special to Filipinos because he was ordained priest in Manila and began his missionary life among our people.

In line with this double celebration, the OAR has organized Biyaheng Recoletos 400, a nationwide caravan-pilgrimage in honor of St. Ezekiel Moreno.

The St. Ezekiel Moreno Healing Ministry will bring the image of St. Ezekiel to 40 towns and cities across the archipelago in 40 days beginning May 1. Based at the St. Ezekiel Moreno Novitiate-Reco-letos in Antipolo City, a rolling band of priests and seminarians will travel with St. Ezekiel’s image as far north as Aparri and as far south as Bukidnon to reach out to the sick, especially cancer patients.

They will visit schools, parishes and hospitals to hold healing masses and propagate the devotion to St. Ezekiel Moreno, as well as to celebrate the contribution to Philippine culture and society of the 400-year life, mission and history of Recoletos in the country.

Fr. Ferdinand "Soy" Hernando, the healing priest leading the caravan, had himself been twice healed through other healing priests. But his journey toward healing, and the healing ministry, was not easy. He had long suffered from constant pain in his knees, lower back and left forearm for which he reluctantly sought the help of his fellow priests.

"There was still some pride in me that prevented me from asking to be prayed over. I was thinking, ‘they’re also human beings like me’. Or that ‘all priests are healers’. But time came when I swallowed my pride and I just asked to be healed," he recalls.

His early successes came as a surprise to him. He was skeptical of himself, doubting all the time and asking if indeed he had such a gift...that is, until the first major "cure". One woman had been bleeding profusely and was extremely depressed. Four doctors could not find what was wrong with her and she had been scheduled for an operation for diagnostic purposes. She was completely healed after being prayed over by Fr. Soy. The bleeding stopped, the woman was taken off medication and given a clean bill of health.

With a strong devotion to the Blessed Sacrament, Fr. Soy prefers to hold Mass before praying for healing. "Jesus is my healer. It is Jesus who heals us."

And what of patients who die? Fr. Soy says he received a different view of death from Fr. Ronnie Cao of Pampanga, the healing priest who helped rid him of his assorted, long-term aches and pains. "Fr. Ronnie said that if we really think about it, death is perfect healing. At death, we enter the fullness of life in heaven where there is no pain, no disease, no suffering. That really opened my eyes. Before hearing that, I thought of death as nothing but bad luck," he says.

The sleep-deprived life of a healing priest is done on a sprint, like a doctor on call 24/7. But Fr. Soy is good for the job, offering his gift for the glory of the Lord: "It was freely given to me, and I freely share it with all."

For details of the healing caravan, contact the St. Ezekiel Moreno Novitiate-Recoletos in Antipolo City, tel. 697.6305.