No. 2119:
PERTH, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY
1,
1979
Thursday night's service in St Mary's Cathedral was both a new thing and on old thing, a return to an ancient tradition of the Church, the way things were in the full glory of Christianity. That is how visiting his friend, I was the one he that about one-third of the Dominican Father Francis knew and I was prevented Gospel sentences have to do MacNutt summed up from praying for the sick with Jesus' healing of the Perth's first public healing because I saw my unworthi- sick. service in which he was one ness as greater than God's Most of Jesus' sermons of the leading figures. goodness," he said. and discourses were on thtt He quoted the liturgical Father MacNutt observed (CONTINUED PS) texts for the day's feast, the Conversion of Saint Paul, which states that for those who believe, one of the five signs was that hands could be imposed and a person healed of their sickness.
NOT ONLY SAINTS . . .
"As a younger priest I believed that only saints could lay their hands on people and they would be cured. I did not believe that ordinary people like you and me could do that," he said.
0 Archbishop GOODY is pictured laying his hands on a sick person with Father John BERTOLUCCI, one of the two visiting United States charismatic specialists, during the healing service which followed a Mass concelebrated by the Archbishop and eighty priests in the presence of nearly 4,000 people packed inside and outside the cathedral (See also Pages 5, 6 and 9).
BRIAN GARDNER
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Electronics finally achieved the impossible in Perth's 115 year -old St Mary's Cathedral last Thursday night as nearly 4000 people inside and out took part in the first charismatic healing service. As Father MacNutt said, it was nearly a case of the last being first.
Father MacNutt told how a week after his ordination a Protestant friend asked him to pray over his partly blind friend. "1 -was afraid to go because although I believed in God's power, I did not believe I was worthy; if I laid my hands on this boy, I believed nothing was going to happen." Father MacNutt gave the friend the names and addresses of two holy priests. "But I am sure he never phoned them, because I was
the
grounds
outside
the
cathedral as inside and while many strained to see in the hot interior, the outsiders enjoyed the cool evening and incomparable close-up views of the proceedings on two large closed-circuit colour tele-
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gregation in a healing service that continued until 12.30am.
of people standing
at the rear stretched down to the fence of the cathedral grounds.
By 5.30pm those who thought they were early were surprised to find most
of the inside accommodation already taken.
Father MacNutt said that it would be impossible for people to come up to the sanctuary for healing ministry so, after a preliminary prayer, some 20 priests and accompanying laity fanned out through the congregation praying over people and laying on hands.
As the numbers built up, others who had healing experience were also asked to pray over their neighbours and every corner of the cathedral was occupied by pockets of people locked in prayer, arms on shoulders, Dominican Father Fran- reaching out to take part in cis MacNutt, whose partic- a healing prayer. vision screens. ular ministry is healing, Others ministered laying Nearly 1000 chairs were gave the homily and at the their subjects out full length provided outside and rows end of Mass led the con - on the floor.
Nearly as many packed
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Eighty priests concelebrated Mass with Archbishop Goody and during the two-hour ceremony prayers of praise were led by the visiting charismatic preacher, Father John Bertolucci.
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