London: 'Miraculous recovery' at St Dominic's Rosary Shrine

Our Lady of the Rosary

Very Rev Fr Lawrence Lew, OP Prior, Parish Priest and Rector of the Rosary Shrine writes:

The Dominican community at St Dominic's were struck by Covid in the new year which necessitated the immediate closure of the church for two weeks. Three brothers in the community were eventually diagnosed with Covid, and all three were taken to hospital, recovered, and have returned to community life in the Priory.

We are grateful to our parishioners and friends for their prayers during this difficult time, and we know that thanks to these prayers and Our Lady's protection, the community is now in good health.

However, we would like to highlight Fr Michael Dunn's case because we would like to give glory to God for what seemed to us like a miraculous situation, or at least, a sign of God's grace and the powerful effect of the Sacrament of the Sick.

Fr Michael Dunn at 89 is the oldest member of our community, and we first noticed something was amiss when he lost his appetite and began to stay in his room and sleep a lot. Usually, Fr Michael would spend the day walking about the house, inquiring after the brethren to ensure we were well and were doing our jobs, and inspecting the church to see if anybody was around.

The night before we called the emergency nurses, he had fallen asleep at recreation, which is usually the highlight of his week, and he couldn't stay up for dinner which he usually loves. Fr Michael received excellent attention from the NHS and his carers, and he was eventually diagnosed with Covid. Fr Michael was still unable to eat and drink much, so he was looking very weak and emaciated, but because his blood oxygen levels had become dangerously low (under 90), the GPs and nurses fought hard for the very-stretched London Ambulance Service to come and pick him up, and he was taken to a hospice nearby where, unexpectedly, a room had become available at just the right time.

Fr Michael was given the Sacrament of the Sick, and he was anointed by Fr Peter, who is an NHS hospital chaplain, and then we waited for the ambulance to come. During this time, Fr Michael's disposition changed. He became eager to go on a journey, and he became more alert; we had feared it would have been hard to convince him to go in the ambulance. The brethren were each able to come and spend some time with him, talking to him, and engaging him in conversation and, to our surprise, his hearing was almost normal, even without his hearing aids!

This preparation for Fr Michael's departure from the Priory to go to the hospice was, it seemed to us all, a very graced and serene and calm time; it was beautiful. When the ambulance arrived, the paramedics led Fr Michael to the ambulance and then they checked his blood oxygen levels again. The paramedic commented that these were quite normal (97%), and in fact this suggested to us that while he was sitting in his room after the anointing with the oil of the sick, Fr Michael's blood oxygen level had surged back to normal! Nevertheless, the paramedic did his duty, and he took Fr Michael to the hospice where he was settled in by the Dominican community's Infirmarian.

The community had accepted that Fr Michael was now in the best possible place for him, to be cared for by expert nurses who would manage his declining health and keep him comfortable. Two days later, Fr Michael was discharged as he had tested negative for Covid, and he was anxious to return to his room in the Priory!

Fr Michael has now returned to St Dominic's, happily back in his own room, and he is back to his old self: enjoying the community recreations and meals, attending daily Mass with the parish, and eager to go out for a haircut once the shops reopen!

We give thanks to God and to Our Lady of the Rosary for this wonderful recovery, and for this reminder of the potency of the Sacrament of the Sick, and the power of prayer.

LINK

Shrine of Our Lady of the Rosary and St Dominic's Parish - https://rosaryshrine.co.uk/
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Note: This article was published in the Rosary Shrine newsletter this morning, which is offered to all who have requested news about the Shrine.