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St. BlaiseSt. Blaise is given special recognition on February 3, not only with a feast day, but with a unique ceremony that parallels the practice of anointing the sick. In this case, it is blessing the throats of those with throat disorders and anyone who wishes to avoid getting such a malady (or something related to the throat, even the words one speaks; see Psalm 5:10). The blessing is usually done by priests (though deacons may also serve) and it is considered a sacramental of the Church. An excellent rendition of the story of St. Blaise was written by...

I've known Mike for over 40 years . He just sent me this email : " I've got some real health problems of my own that have shown up in the past three weeks. I may have Liver Cancer...and may need a Liver Transplant. I have Cirrhosis...a complication from Hepatitis C...and a lot of things just all showed up at once. I'll keep you posted. Say a prayer or two for me. "

WASHINGTON, Oct. 20, 2008 – While on patrol in northern Iraq last year, Army Spc. Kevin Hardin of Jupiter, Fla., was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade. He suffered injuries to his hands and arms. As a result, some of his fingers were amputated. Shrapnel penetrated his skull, leaving inoperable injuries. Army Spc. Kevin Hardin, far right, poses with his father, Charles, right, and brothers Kyle, left, and Keith, far left, in Washington, D.C. Courtesy photo   (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Twenty surgeries later, and while recovering at Walter Reed Army Medical Center here, Hardin wrote to Luke's...

There are people in our lives that we look at with such awe. Not an awe of the material nature but an awe of their strength in God, there example and just the amazing connection with the Father that they radiate whenever you are with or around them. Our assistant pastor is one of those people. Now, he has been diagnosed with a brain tumor and is in need of prayer. I don't know much more like what type it is or the stage since this is a very new development. I am asking for prayers for "Fred" and his...

CHICAGO - When it comes to saving lives, God trumps doctors for many Americans. An eye-opening survey reveals widespread belief that divine intervention can revive dying patients. And, researchers said, doctors "need to be prepared to deal with families who are waiting for a miracle."

I'd like everyone to know that Cajungirl is in a potentially life-threatening crisis/illness. She is a dear friend to me and others here know her by her humor and impressive writing. (We met during the hilarious Runaway Bride debacle, and C.G. gave us some hilarious instruction about Southern Culture and weddings and flatware!) Few here know, and she never tells about herself, but she is a very accomplished woman in the healing profession. She has spent her life doing good works. She loves life, her husband, daughters, and grandchildren. Recently she partially retired and she and her husband have had...

The History and Future of the Present Revival - Part 7  View Part 1 Last Sunday morning in one of our services, I polled those attending by asking the following questions: How many had come to the Lord through a revival?How many had come to the Lord through a crusade or evangelistic campaign?How many had come to the Lord through Christian television?How many had come to the Lord through the witness of a friend or relative? There were roughly a thousand people in that service. The following are the approximate results to these questions: 3 people7 – 8 people4...

Evangelical Christianity now offers heaven on the installment plan. Through a magical kind of faith we can take advantage of a spiritual lay-away plan. We can sell the gospel on a 90-day payment system. The future can be ours, now. How does this legerdemain work? With the proper formula, the new magic brings the rabbit out of the hat without the use of mirrors. It is the “name it and claim it” gambit, a ploy that even Houdini failed to grasp. If we name it and claim it we can have heaven and all its benefits now. Before we die....

Sydney's Polish-Catholic community World Youth Day coordinator, 24-year-old Basia Slusarczyk, explained to ZENIT that her non-Catholic boyfriend is participating in the Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults. His conversion was triggered by the experience of praying with her for the fruits of World Youth Day. "He is attending World Youth Day with me and I hope the week of events and the solidarity with so many Catholics from around the world will make him proud to be joining the Catholic family," Basia said. She was with a group of young Polish-Australians dressed in traditional Polish dancing uniforms at the veneration...

WASHINGTON, April 17, 2008 – The Defense Department today launched a five-year, Army-led cooperative effort to leverage cutting-edge medical technology to develop new ways to assist servicemembers who’ve suffered severe, disfiguring wounds during their wartime service. U.S. Army Surgeon General Lt. Gen. Eric Schoomaker explains, during an April 17, 2008 Pentagon press conference, how researchers are growing a new ear for a badly burned Marine using stem cells from his own body. This is one area of advanced treatment being explored by the new Armed Forces Institute of Regenerative Medicine. Defense Dept. photo by R. D. Ward   (Click photo...

Regenerative Powder Helped Re-Grow A Man's Fingertip, And Could Change Medicine (CBS) A new generation of researchers is changing the way we heal, one cell at a time. This is the second in a CBS News series on the innovative field of regenerative medicine. You might become a believer in the power of magic dust, when you see how a special powder re-grew the tip of Lee Spievack's finger. He sliced off a half inch of his finger in the propeller of a hobby shop airplane. His finger never even formed a scar. "Your finger grew back flesh, blood, vessels...

I humbly ask for everyone on FR to pray for my niece born on Wednesday. She is undergoing a heart operation @ CHOP in Phily to treat a heart defect called transposition of the great arteries. She was born to a loving family and they would like all the help they can get. Thanks, frogjerk

A quick request, as I trust and value the prayers of all the saints on here...the daughter of one of my best friends is home sick from college with something they can't pin down. She is studying to be youth minister and as vibrant and wonderful as anybody you've ever met. Three weeks ago, she began running a 103 degree tempterature, and went in the hospital near Cleveland I think. Temp finally dropped but all her immunities are low' they've shipped her home to Cincinnat, but have "white roomed" her room at home, and in recent days she's gone back...

A national weekly news magazine recently featured a debate between atheist/author Sam Harris and author/pastor Rick Warren ("The Purpose Driven Life"). As part of his debate, Mr. Harris threw down a challenge to prove God's existence by finding a deserving amputee and having 1 billion people pray for God to grow the leg back. In trying to disprove the existence of God, it's unclear why Mr. Harris chooses to focus on amputees growing limbs back rather than looking for a sea to split open or fish and loaves to multiply, and it's equally unclear why Harris specifically asked that it...

JOST VAN DYKE, British Virgin Islands, Oct. 30, 2007 – A group of injured war veterans on a 12-mile round-trip kayak adventure paused on the shores of this small British island earlier this month for a two-night stay at a campground locally known as “Ivan’s.” A sign at “Ivan’s Local Flavor Stress Free Bar,” part of White Bay Campground on Jost Van Dyke, British Virgin Islands, says it all for a group of injured war veterans and their spouses. For the veterans participating in a Team River Runner adaptive kayaking and camping adventure trip, Ivan’s did, indeed equal healing....

It has been nearly a month since members of the Jeppi family gathered in the living room of their Baldwin home to pray for 12-year-old Sal, who had been suffering from headaches so severe they left him unable to walk.Sal's father, for whom he is named, was in the living room, with its brick fireplace and high ceiling. So were his mother, Denise; his sister, Ashley, 10; and other relatives.An uncle, Darren Upham, led the prayer -- as young Sal recalled, "just that I would get healed."Sal felt what he called "a warm, tingly feeling" that didn't strike him...

FORT SAM HOUSTON, Texas, July 6, 2007 – Sweetheart, Jackson and Ellie Mae, three pooches, are helping to change the lives of wounded warriors at Brooke Army Medical Center here. Army Staff Sgt. Christopher Pettway snuggles up to Ellie Mae, a Lhasa Apso, held by dog trainer and owner Charlie Brugnola at the Center for the Intrepid, a physical rehabilitation center. Photo by Jen Rodriguez  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. The mixed beagle, German shepherd and Lhasa Apso are therapy dogs trained to console soldiers, family members and sometimes medical staff with reassuring hugs and occasionally dog kisses....

Surgeons are using stem cells to fix broken bones that won't mend on their own, Sky News has learned. Patients who faced a life of disability or even an amputation because of serious fractures have been able to walk once more. Fifteen patients have so-far been treated in a ground-breaking clinical trial at the Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt Orthopaedic Hospital in Oswestry. Assessments of the first 10 patients show that 8 have been successfully healed. They are able to drive and return to work. Previous attempts to rejoin the bones using metal pins and plates had all failed. Consultant...

Through this Operation Recruiter Appreciation I met a woman whose grandson is fighting cancer. He loves postcards, so I sent him one from D.C. She wrote me back saying he loved it and put it in his scrapbook. Unfortunately, of the family/ friends she asked, only one other person wrote him one. So I'm now respectfully requesting that you consider sending him one and mention Gathering of Eagles. Zach is 12, and he just had an operation to get a tumor from behind his ear. The good news is the doctor thought it went very well. The bad news is...

After a 17-year-old boy died, oil began seeping through his bedroom walls and ash appeared on the floor. Some now believe he was a messenger of God. There are crowds in a suburban Sydney street this evening, as there have been for weeks. They are hoping for a miracle, to be touched by the hand of God. All because of a young boy who died and occurrences inside the house that are so far unexplained by science. They line up for hours, hundreds at a time, to enter the small suburban home, a place thousands call "God on Earth". Inside...