Flora Cantábrica

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Miracle

Ron, who interceded for you?

The testimony of Father Ronald Pytel

On November 16, 1999, the doctors invited by the Congregation for the Cause of Saints approved by majority vote that the immediate healing of my very deteriorated left ventricle was inexplicable to medicine. On December 9, a Vatican commission of theologians confirmed that it was a miracle attributed to the intercession of Blessed Sister Faustina Kowalska. Later a commission of cardinals met and on December 20, in the presence of the Holy Father John Paul II, the decree on the miracle was promulgated.

My name is Ronald Pytel, I am of Polish origin, my grandparents were born in Poland. I am the pastor of Our Lady of the Rosary Church in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Our parish is the diocesan sanctuary of Divine Mercy. I had my first contact with Divine Mercy when I was young, in elementary school where the image of Christ was with the inscription: Jesus, I trust you. 26 years ago I ordained myself a priest and over time I joined the work of worship of Divine Mercy. Since the beatification of Sister Faustina, every second Sunday of the month in our church solemn services in honor of Divine Mercy are celebrated in English and every third Sunday of the month in the Polish language. In addition, every Thursday the incessant novena to Divine Mercy is prayed. Our parish spreads the cult of Divine Mercy through spiritual exercises, conferences and pilgrimages. Hence, when I became ill, my prayers and those of the parishioners were addressed to Divine Mercy through the intercession of Blessed Sister Faustina.

I got sick in 1995. I felt bad during the winter and spring. The symptoms of the disease were similar to those of a cold and allergy and later, of bronchitis. Going up to the first floor, he couldn’t catch his breath and was coughing continuously. I went to the doctor who confirmed the diagnosis: allergic bronchitis. During the same visit, the doctor noted that the heart murmurs that I had since childhood had become louder and sent me to do a Doppler test, an echocardiogram that showed a narrowing of the aortic valve caused by calcium deposits and only 20% blood could flow through it. He suffered from heart failure.

After the operation, the surgeon Dr. Peter Green told Father Larry Gesy that my heart was damaged due to the narrow valve that did not allow the free flow of blood. If I hadn’t had the operation, my life would have been threatened. After the next examination, Dr. N. Fortuin told him that he could not foresee what my life would be like from now on, but he was sure that I would not be able to live normally. He noted with serious concern that no one was giving me a guarantee of life, of a long life. His diagnosis was not very optimistic. The left ventricle looked badly damaged. My Friend made it known to me little by little.

On October 5, 1995, throughout the day we celebrated the office in front of the exposed Blessed Sacrament. We pray the Chaplet of Divine Mercy, the rosary and other prayers. The day ended with Holy Mass. This is how we prepared for the Holy Father’s visit to Baltimore on October 8, 1995. I presided at Holy Mass. During the homily I spoke about trusting in God and how God touched me with his mercy. That afternoon a group of people prayed for my healing. They implored the intercession of Blessed Sister Faustina and I will venerate her relics. During prayer I rested in the Holy Spirit. I was lying on the floor for about 15 minutes. I was fully conscious but couldn’t move. I felt like a paralyzed person when my parishioners prayed above and around me.

In the late afternoon I realized that I had forgotten to take the medicine. I took it around midnight and was getting ready for bed. At that moment, taking a deep breath, I felt a pain close to my heart. Until that moment I had never had such pain, only the scar from after the operation hurt. It was something new, something unknown. I thought it was the effect of excessive activity during the day. After some time I noticed that the pain increased after taking the medicine. The next day I did not take the medicine and the pain did not appear

I called Dr. Fortuin to tell him about the problem. I felt that the heart medicine was causing the pain. Dr. Fortuin said that it was the best medicine for my disease and that for two months my body had tolerated it without side effects. However, given the reaction of my body, he recommended that I take half the dose one day and the next day the entire dose, alternately, and call him a week later. When I took half the dose I felt better. The headache was less severe and passed faster. I called Dr. Fortuin to inform him of my observation. He told me to keep taking half the dose of the medicine until the visit that was to be 9 days later

On November 9, I went to Dr. Fortuin. After the initial exam, I had an echocardiogram. The doctor looked at the test results and invited me to his office. He stared at me in silence for what seemed like an eternity and finally he said, Ron, someone interceded for you. I asked: What does this mean? He replied: Your heart is healthy. I asked in amazement: What? And he repeated: Your heart is healthy. I said, Dr. Green suggested repeating the echocardiogram to see if the left ventricle has strengthened. And Dr. Fortuin replied: No, no … we are talking about a totally normal heart. I was not very optimistic about your health. I don’t know how to explain what happened. And he continued: You have no limitations, you should not take any medication. We will see each other again in a year, during the next control visit. I asked him in amazement: In a year? He replied: Yes, within a year, your heart is completely healthy. As I left the doctor, I called Father Larry Gesy and told him what I had heard from Dr. Fortuin. He replied: It is the miracle we asked for.

In November 1996, an official commission was convened in the Archdiocese of Baltimore to examine the sworn opinions of doctors and statements of witnesses who spoke of the changes in my state of health. Once the diocesan process was finished, Father Serafín Michalenko, vice postulator of the cause of Sister Faustina in the United States, came and the Baltimore Tribunal collected the sealed documents that we took to Rome in December 1996. The documents comprised more than 800 pages of medical records and nearly 500 pages of sworn material.

I know that Blessed Sister Faustina interceded for me before Jesus and that His love touched me and healed me. That easy.

Reprinted from: «The Message of Mercy