Mk 9:2-13 Good To Be Here
Peter Hill has grown a lot closer to the Lord since he suggested to his future wife in the car that God created all things and therefore must be responsible for evil. He looks back on it and recalls how all four tires blew out one right after the other after he made his little comment.
Peter Hill did not grow up with a lot of faith. His future wife, Sue, did. What prompted her to marry him? Love. And so began a journey of a life time. They have eleven children, all of them precious in their eyes. Peter has grown in his faith over the years. But what prompted Peter and Sue Hill to seek a Papal Blessing for their baby girl Claire? Only God knows.
The Pope was in Sydney and was traveling in the Pope Mobile. A photograph captures the moment when a security guard lifts a baby girl up to the Pope so that he can bless her. Little did anyone suspect that years later Claire would be on the front page of a major newspaper. Not so much because of the blessing but because of a horrific accident. On Tuesday afternoon, February 15th, 2011, Peter rolled the family’s 22-seater bus on top of her while waiting in line for an open pump at a gas station. An hour before the accident, Sue had placed a miraculous medal of Mary on her baby girl. What happened is unclear, except for the miracle part. Peter Hill states that he jumped in the driver’s seat and just rolled forward. Unknown to him, Claire (3 years old) opened the door and hopped out of the car, and the next thing he knew, someone’s banging on the bus. I went to look and saw Claire lying underneath the two back wheels pinned to the ground. At that moment I thought: God, I’ve killed her.
The tire marks of the four ton bus were still visible yesterday on her tiny abdomen, but she astounded her parents and medical specialists by surviving the ordeal without internal injuries, broken bones or lasting physical damage of any kind. As Claire lay in bed at Sydney Children’s Hospital, prayer book in hand, she states that it was her dad and God that saved her.
Her father struggles to find an explanation for his youngest child’s remarkable escape from death. I’d like to suggest a couple of possibilities: miraculous medal, Holy Father’s blessing and mom’s prayers.
Peter Hill is on the road to recovery too. With the latest miracle in his life, his faith in God seems to have rebounded. He’s a good man that has seen the Risen Lord shine on his little baby. The same was necessary for another Peter, the Apostle and the Rock of the Church. His faith needed a bit of a jump start and the Lord provided by bringing him up the mountain for a closer encounter. There are few distractions when you are at the top of a mountain. You get a clearer look, a bigger picture of the important things in life. Jesus is the biggest picture - An eye opening experience. For this reason, it is good to be here. Better than looking under the tires of a four ton truck!
It is good to go on a retreat, to climb to the mountain top, to be in the presence of the Lord.
Lord, increase my faith so that I may see the hour of your glory shine. May I praise your name for ever, Lord!
Fr. Alfonse,
ReplyDeleteThis is a beautiful reminder of our relationship with the Lord. I feel miracles remind and enable our faith with the Lord. Your meditation today made my day! Thank you and have a blessed day.
This is a beautiful reminder of how God uses all things to bring His children to Himself.
ReplyDeleteI have recently been diagnosed with something that I am not very happy about. As I was driving this afternoon thinking why Lord, why this? It hit me that this very thing is something that exacerbates a sin or a personal 'defect' that I have been trying to get rid of for years, that has recently become worse.
With this illness that I have, I have an opportunity to overcome this old sin. It is like God is saying, "You've been asking for healing, this is how you are going to get it".
I do consider this a miracle because God is working on bringing good out of something painful and even embarrassing. All I have to do is pray and cooperate.
Thank you Father for showing us how a horrible freak accident that could have been disastrous, could bring about such a miraculous healing and quite possibly salvation to this man. I believe the biggest miracle is the conversion in the father. And it's no telling how many others will find Christ through this event.