(407) 494-9823
"Harvesting, educating, and healing souls through the inexhaustible love of Christ"
Outreach Philippines
Anacleto Millendez, M.D., Founder
This comprehensive ministry to the Philippines and beyond was founded by Dr. Anacleto Millendez, a deeply spiritual Catholic physician.
In addition to free health care for the poor, Dr. Millendez acts as both an educator and a defender of the poor in many ways. He is an advocate of holistic health, defined in the best possible way.
He believes in helping the poor help themselves by opening doors to professional education, such as nursing, but also to the practical learning required for living a healthy life. Life, he believes, must include the practice of one's faith plus good health habits, and hard work.
Work, he believes, gives mankind a dignity. So when the doctor delivers medical care, he requires that the patient also do something for himself; that is, take action toward a healthier life-style. "I teach people to fish," the doctor says.
He holds to the old cliche that the best things in life are free, but he qualifies that statement by urging all to care for those elements in the world that are free but are endangered. Air and water are available to all but they are treated with recklessness.
Dr. Millendez is always in need of donations; not only financial but also medicinal. He believes the supply of pharmaceutical medicines could be far more generously shared.
Be sure to see the fascinating videos of the doctor in action at the foundation's website: www.bhfi.webs.com
Come, I will refresh you
During his lifetime, Jesus cured bodily ills like blindness, deafness, fevers of all kinds, and people were amazed by what he did. More important than his cure of body, however, was his healing of the human spirit. To a paralyzed man brought to him on a pallet he said " Son, your sins are forgiven," and lifted a burden from his spirit. Mary Magdalen, whom he cured, was possessed "by seven devils," according to scripture. Probably everything was wrong with her : a physical, mental and spiritual wreck. Jesus touched her whole person: her body, her mind, her memory, her feelings, her imagination. Essentially, he touched her heart.
To strengthen our weakened spirits is, in fact, Jesus' greatest and most important healing gift. The gospels make it clear that Jesus' physical cures were limited; he did not cure everyone. But he wishes to heal every human heart.
"Come to me, all you who are weary and find life burdensome, and I will refresh you,"Jesus says.
It is a promise he makes to all. Some he will cure, but he will refresh everyone. The most important grace given by Jesus, the healer, is to believe, to hope, to go on, in spite of everything.
And so we come to him, seeking healing for our bodies, yes, but above all seeking the inner strength that Jesus promises to give.
This collection of brief essays and prayers is meant to assist those who suffer with sickness themselves and those who live with others who are sick -- in other words, all of us at some point in our lives.
Sufferings from illness, disease, accidents, or age are certainly among the most difficult burdens we face in life. They cause anxious questions: Why am I sick? What should I do about it? Can I handle it? Medical science can help of course - and we should seek help from doctors and medical resources- but in sickness we should look for spiritual support as well.
Jesus Christ, a Companion in Illness
Christians turn to Jesus Christ who, the gospels report, healed sufferings of every kind. "And wherever he went- into villages, towns or countryside - they placed the sick in the marketplaces. They begged him to let them touch even the edge of his cloak, and all who touched him were healed." ( Mk 6, 56 )
How Jesus cured
Go in peace
Why did Jesus heal? Because he wanted to take away the powerlessness brought by sickness. He saw the fear, the self-absorption, the loss of hope, the questioning of God that were its consequences. They brought a touch of death to people's lives. And he came to bring life. He healed for the advantage of others, for their peace, not for his own. And so, as the accounts of his cures make clear, Jesus never saw healing complete until those suffering were restored to the homes and families they knew before.
A cause for rejoicing
People of Jesus' day saw his healing power as a sign that God was visiting his people, and they rejoiced. Christians today believe the Risen Christ still heals and blesses our world. Once he instructed his own disciples to heal the sick in his name, "So they went out...and anointed with oil many that were sick and healed them." (Mk 6,12-13) Now the ministry of healing is given to every Christian and is a mark of the church. How is it accomplished today? In many different ways.
· By prayer and the celebration of sacraments.
· By caring for the sick as Jesus taught: "I was sick and you visited me."
· By supporting all human efforts of medical and social research to conquer disease of every kind.
· By working for a society where health care is available for everyone who needs it.
http://www.bhfi.webs.com
http://www.anacletobellezamillendez.webs.com/
