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I wanted to share with you folks my observations of Father Maniyangat’s healing service I attended tonight. Actually the order of service is a 5PM vigil Mass, followed by an hour of Eucharistic Adoration, and then the Healing Service.

I arrived about 4:45 for Mass. I would estimate the Church seats about 250 people and by the time Mass started my guess would be about 225 people were in attendance. The ages ranged from young families with infants through grandparents. Ethnically it was very diverse as I saw Blacks, Whites, Asians, Hispanics and Indians (not the native American kind). The choir, if you could call it that, consisted of an older gentleman with an acoustic guitar accompanied by three women. They were actually quite good as they accompanied the Mass rather than tried to overpower it. (Pet peeve of mine of choir at my Parish.)

Since Father Maniyangat is from India and today is the Feast day of St. Thomas, his homily focused on St. Thomas bringing the good news to his native India. He said he is here today because of him. He also urged us to pray for vocations and for Priests.

At the end of his homily he mentioned his story was on the Spirit Daily website and he has been getting calls all week long. The most frequent question he was asked was does he have a book out or a website where they could learn more about his story. His answer was this is the first time his story has been told anywhere besides the Parish website and it was only a small part of his story. So what that means I’m not exactly sure.

After Mass I would estimate about 50 folks cut out so there were about 175-200 people there for Adoration. We ended Adoration by reciting the Chaplet of Divine Mercy which led into the Healing Service.

By now it was about 7PM and it was pretty much the same crowd that was there for Adoration. Father began the service by asking us to extend a hand toward the altar while he offered a prayer to God that his healing power would be present at the service. He said nothing could be accomplished without prayer. After the prayer he asked us to offer our healing intentions and then if we wished, to approach the altar to receive the healing blessing. The best way I can describe this part of the service is it reminded me of getting ashes during Ash Wednesday. But rather than getting ashes, Father Maniyangat offered a prayer of healing as he was making the sign of the cross on our foreheads with the anointing oil.

Since I was seated toward the back of the Church it was about 45 minutes before I made it to the front. During this time I witnessed about half the folks receiving the blessing passing out. As for bizarre behavior, (I realize many of you consider passing out bizarre) I saw two women shaking their hands frantically up and down. One of them, as the Priest approached her to give the blessing, did let out a wail. Both of them passed out as they received their blessing. After I received my blessing ( I didn’t pass out) I made the sign of the cross and left.

One other note. There was no collection during the service nor was there a request for donations. And I do admit, this surprised me.

So what to make of this? IMVHO I don’t believe this Priest is a charlatan. As to whether he has a gift of healing, I would suspect he does.