Prayers of Healing

My uncle has eye surgery scheduled for next week.  My folks tell me it's a tricky procedure, with limited testing, and there is a strong chance that he could come out of it completely blind.  However, as the alternative suggests that he could go blind if his condition is not treated, this doesn't leave him with a lot of options, and he's going to have both eyes operated on.

I'll be honest, my uncle and I are not close.  Maybe when I was a kid, we were.  I thought he was funny, but because he was a big, bald, bearded man, I also found him a little intimidating.  As I got older, we grew apart, and never being super-close to begin with, it would become easier and easier to resent him for hurts and frustrations that he had caused me over the years.

That being said, I love my uncle.  And I'm not just parroting back the Christian ideal of "love thy neighbor".  I really do care about him.  It doesn't matter what he's done or how strained our relationship is; he's still my uncle, my godfather, and a member of my family.  And that's important.  If you're looking for proof, the fact that there are tears pricking at the corners of my eyes while I write this should be proof enough.  While I would obviously  be concerned to learn that someone I knew could possibly go blind from a failed surgery, it's not something that would bring me to tears, unless I really cared about them.  And obviously, this emotional response tells me something very important about my feelings for my uncle.

In preparation for his upcoming procedure, I've been reading up on my saints.  I knew St. Lucy was the patron saint of eyes and blindness (the legend says that Emperor Diocletian had her eyes put out as a punishment for being a practicing Christian, and the Lord restored her sight).  However, I also learned about another saint, St. Odilia, who is also considered the patroness of eyes, blindness, and vision.  (Her legend says that she was a princess, who was born blind, abandoned by her father, and raised by peasants.  When she was older, she was sent to a convent, and when she was baptized, her vision was miraculously restored to her).

I'm praying daily to both of these saints (daily prayers of intercession to Lucy, and a novena to Odilia), and will continue in my prayers until I learn the outcome of my uncle's surgery.  This could take a while, since he has to wear the bandages over his eyes for at least a week after the surgery.  But, if it will grant him divine protection, intercession, and healing, then I will pray for as long as I need to.

I'm not sure if anyone actually reads this blog yet, but if you do, I ask that you pray for my uncle as well.  God bless you for your thoughtfulness and caring!