Your Healing Stories

IT has been a real privilege to have journeyed with you these past two weeks of the Healing Retreat. There are many beautiful testimonies I want to share with you below. At the very end is a song in thanksgiving to Our Blessed Mother for her intercession and love for each of you during this retreat.

For the accuser of our brothers is cast out,
who accuses them before our God day and night.
They conquered him by the blood of the Lamb
and by the word of their testimony…
(Rev 12:10-11)

Your Healing Stories

Mark, I want to thank you for the most amazing retreat I have ever taken. I discovered so much unforgiveness that was hidden deep, deep in my soul… Thank you, thank you, this is a pearl of great price. May God bless you. Your ministry has been a true blessing in this chaotic world we live in.
Nicole P., Zenon Park, Saskatchewan

The retreat was incredible for me… Almost constant attacks of guilt for my failures and stubbornness and pride. Listening to the devil as you say. Your retreat set me free from this guilt and the scales fell off my eyes reading your messages. I can see clearly now my own pride and ignorance. On this journey the greatest gift has been TRUTH… This retreat has been a huge step for me on my journey home, I want nothing more than to be properly dressed for that homecoming and I am very grateful for your help.
Kathy

Thank you for this retreat, it has been a timely blessing for me, bringing me through anguish, fear, sorrow, and pain, to healing and renewed assurance.
Judy Bouffard, Spruce Grove, AB

For those that have young families and can’t get away on a weekend retreat, this is an excellent on-line option since most of us can usually find an hour a day to spend with Christ in quite prayer and reflection… I’m so glad that I took the time to pray, reflect, cry and sing along with Mark over the past couple of weeks. What an inspiration he continues to be, on my faith journey.
Rick B.

Such gratitude for your retreat! This is growing daily. Mark you have set a captive free. You should know that your words are clearly from the Holy Spirit… I can’t express how grateful I am.
Kathy A.

I have experienced many in person retreats, spiritual conferences, bible studies, and pilgrimages to Holy Sights. This retreat puts all these past spiritual experiences into order and a perspective I needed at this time. Thank you for being Faithful to your calling from the Lord.
Donna W.

This was everything a healing retreat is supposed to be. I’ve come across or experienced and even practiced many of the healing angles and tools that you shared with us before, and yet, this retreat was SO COMPLETE, and so powerful, almost every day brought something deeply profound for me. God is healing my deepest wounds, giving me back my childhood, renewing my understanding of sin and who I am and am not (perfect), and how that’s all okay, and finally healing my image of the Father, broken both by death of a parent when I was still a kid, and childhood wounds. God used to seem absent, like I could never find Him — and unsafe, like I couldn’t find safety, or comfort when I needed. God had brought me to an amazing church where a core value is the heart of the Father and how, when we struggle, we only need to go back into His arms, sit on His lap etc., And even though I could see exactly how my woundedness was distorting God for me, I couldn’t get past that block, and Day 12 was only the second time I ever was able to find that place in His arms, and the FIRST time I was ever able to STAY there, with no pain and no fear!

What you explained about the source of our pain, how it comes from us and not God, while God in love does everything He can to save us from those wounds and deception, was a PROFOUND SHIFT. Like the scales fell and I could finally see everything in light of Truth. It changed everything for me. I feel like I can finally find that safety in God again, that closeness, because the barriers are gone. Thank You Holy Spirit, and thank you Mark!
Anonymous

Mark, this has been the most uplifting retreat I have ever gone through and I have attended quite a few. Your music really added so much to the retreat. I appreciated you sharing about your own adversities in life as it helped me to relate better to your writings. You truly have a beautiful heart and I have been very blessed by your gift to write and share with each of us. I see a big change in my heart when it comes to suffering. I quote: You can either suffer with God OR suffer without Him. JESUS, I TRUST IN YOU!
Pam W.

I am grateful to be part of this online retreat, even though I started it late. The Lord is indeed speaking, and to be specific He is using dreams for me. I have had some unique dreams which am noting down in my journal for further discernment as I continue with prayer. I have also been able to reflect on certain situations in my life which I had earlier on ignored. Thank you so much , my God continue blessing your ministry.
Rose

Thank you for offering this retreat. It has been very inspiring. I have always felt I had a good relationship with my Heavenly Father due to a beautiful relationship with my earthly father. But through this retreat I learned of a greater love the Father has for me. Your music added so much to this retreat. It was very healing and nurturing.

The Spirit usually moves me to tears and I cry easily… sometimes from pain/healing but often times tears of joy. Several times through this retreat I felt tears welling up in me but none came forward until the last day of the retreat. And they came through the very last song, See,See…. the verse, “I’ve called you by name, You are Mine, I’ll tell you again and again, time after time.” That verse penetrated into my Spirit because I have experienced Him calling me by name so often, again and again, time after time. I never tire of it. I wait for it. I hunger for it. He calls me the apple of His eye again and again, time after time. It is so beautiful to know of His love. Thank you again Mark. I have loved every minute of this retreat and I will sing of God’s Glory
Sherry

This morning — Pentecost — I suddenly came to a powerful realization… Sitting there this morning suddenly my life pieces fell together and I realized that the Holy Spirit has indeed always been powerfully with me, I just didn’t know who it was… Thank you for being one of the tools He used to help me discover my real identity with
E.

Praise God and pass the ammunition!!! Thank you again Mark for leading us, this has just been so, so, very good, uplifting and healing.
M.W.

Having long struggled with issues from the past and in special way, unforgiveness for myself, I found the retreat to be deeply cathartic and emotionally stirring. It was as an unburdening really, and still remains as a process to fully heal the past, but it has begun in a way I couldn’t seem to manage beforehand. I went to our adoration chapel daily and now want to maintain the habit, as it has rekindled the personal relationship I once had with the Lord and Mother Mary that got lost along the way, and that is the greatest grace I could have received, it means everything.

Thank you Mark for putting this together as you did, it will surely continue to work in each of us who participated in untold ways by the grace of our Lord and Savior and His Mother.
C.L.

Your retreat was powerful. It gave us a good background for a solid and true examination of conscious. You focused on the great love and mercy of God. It made me realize how cunning Satan is to keep us focused on ourselves so that we’re discouraged with our failings instead of our blessings. Having a grateful heart keeps us mindful of God’s love. Your last song, See See, brought tears to my eyes.
Judy. F.

This retreat was Glorious. Our Blessed Mother has drawn me closer into the HEART OF OUR LORD. I must say the first week my feet did not touch the ground. Healing, yes, healing in my heart and soul. I learned to be merciful to myself; I desire for my life, my marriage, to be all for OUR GLORIOUS FATHER to be HIS witness of HIS DIVINE MERCY to REFLECT HIS DIVINE LOVE.
Kevin C.

I was an unwanted child. The retreat helped me to enter my trauma. Thanks to our God!
Jeanny S., Netherlands

Thank you, thank you, thank you so much for this life changing retreat. I pray I can live in its truth, light, love, peace for a good while. It has truly blessed me… So my spirit is lifted.
Willa PL

I’am an Associate Professor in Mechanical Engineering teaching In Goa, India… I grew up with wounded feelings that my mother favoured my siblings ( we are four of us) and so anxiety, fear and scrupulosity have dominated my personality ever since my childhood. God blessed me with a great marriage in the year 2007 and I have improved my personality, but at 51 years I get a feeling of underachievement and my finances are always a concern throughout my career of thirty odd years… I have been wounded by my siblings, my close friends and the healing of the wounds sessions was really meaningful. In Christ, I have surrendered all who have wounded me. THANK YOU FOR THAT SESSION. When I read Day 13, tears streamed down my eyes…
Dr. Joe K.

This healing retreat has been so beneficial to my spiritual growth and healing. I so looked forward every day to spend an hour with the Lord. I wrote in my journal and it was amazing how I felt guided by the Holy Spirit. Thank you for your beautiful words and songs. It brought me so much peace . It took a lot of self searching in places where I felt very weak and brought tears to my eyes. But it gave God the space He needed to fill me with His love, which I realized that I could not love on my own. But opening myself up to His love, all things are possible.
Judy

This retreat has been such a blessing! I have had so much healing in my life, healing from childhood abandonment, childhood mental, physical and sexual abuse, and many of the horrors that accompany those traumas. But every time I decide to participate in another healing retreat, I discover even deeper and more healing to be done. This retreat is no exception. Thank you for including your beautiful music. I especially appreciated “Only in You” from today. God truly is my rock and my stronghold. Without him my life would be trash. But because He is in my life, it is a diamond in the process of being chipped into a precious jewel. Thanks for a retreat which has helped once again to do some of that chipping away!
Darlene D.

I really did not what to expect from this retreat, but what healing I received.

When I received First Holy Communion, I received “the Little White Guest” prayer card. I love that prayer. I prayed that during my life. Jesus used that prayer for this retreat… For Jesus to use that prayer that I love to say, touched me to my soul. Jesus used this prayer throughout the retreat. This is the prayer that He used to lead me to the Father. On day 12, I imagine that I came to the Father three times. First time was very slow, could not look at his face, when I reached the Father, he embraced and held me. Second time, I came walking very fast. I actually could look at him. He arms was outstretched and smiling. The third time, I actually ran to him. I was no longer afraid of him. I looked at him and fell into his embrace. Oh, he held me so tight. Then, I felt that Jesus and the Holy Spirit joined in his embrace. The Little White Guest prayer will never be the same for me. It’ll be reminder of the love Jesus and the Father has for me. Oh, thank you so much for this retreat! May God bless you.
Pam W.

I don’t think I can write just a few sentences about how this retreat has impacted me. I realized that my spiritual life had been stunted because of past wounds. Even though I attend daily Mass, have a prayerful rhythm to my day, frequent confession, and a deep devotion to Our Blessed Mother, I was struggling. I was critical of myself constantly, and had a false understanding of God’s love and how He sees me. When I was 19, I made the horrible decision to take my child’s life. It has haunted me ever since, yet it was only upon returning to the Church in 2005 and confessing my sin that I realized the sin of abortion had led me to some dark places… The Holy Spirit during Covid led me to confess the sin of abortion again, this time pouring my heart out to God in the confessional. It wasn’t as if my sin wasn’t forgiven — I hadn’t forgiven myself and really felt proper remorse. I sobbed so hard I couldn’t contain myself. The priest said some beautiful things to comfort me; it was God speaking. My daughter was praying for me (I really sensed that it was a girl). Yet in the year and a half since, I still felt an unworthiness of God’s love or a proper love for myself. This retreat has changed that. I can’t even put it into words; it’s a feeling of peace, unconditional love, and, as you talked about earlier in the retreat, being comfortable in my own skin. I am forgiven and The Father loves me; I am lovable and I want all He has for me… The image I had of Jesus in prayer early in the retreat of waving me on to come, while smiling, ended today with another image of him pulling me to his chest and hugging me, a look on his face of pure love and acceptance. I burst into tears. I feel renewed and closer to “wholeness” than I’ve ever been.
C. B.

I have been set free and I have received spiritual healing; healing tears through the healing music, healing scriptures and all that you shared. I feel such much more confident in being that light in the darkness.
Mary W.

I thank Jesus for nudging me to take part in your Healing Retreat. I needed this. The relief and assurance I feel makes me joyful!
Connie

Not only has much healing occurred, but I learned that the walls (really fortresses) that I had placed around my heart were preventing God from activating a gift that would help heal the emotions of others… Due to events in my early life and again in my teenage years, I unconsciously stuffed my feelings, which ran deep, so much so, that for several years, I could not cry. My defense was to substitute feelings with logic and analyzing everything! In this current retreat, I was healed of a few fears but especially the fear of drowning in my emotions
B. K.

I loved listening to your words in your music. They touched me very much to hear how much God loves me. I am having a hard time physically and getting really tired but your words gave me peace.
Karen G.

I can’t thank you enough for this much needed retreat… Day 1 though 4 of this retreat brought many tears, but on the 5th day, I cried a river over my life of 75 years. Only God knows the healing I need. I believe He sent me these words through another soul to meditate on “Crosses are beautiful”… I pray all who participated in your retreat are blessed with the abundance of God’s love and mercy.
M. R.

Thank you Mark for this retreat! I have cried on several days and let God know how I feel about my past sins and regrets. Today was beautiful because I know for a fact how the sacraments can heal us. They have healed me since I started regular confession and daily Mass 21 years ago. My burdens fell off of me and I felt a peace that has stayed with me.
Ruth M.

The first 5 days of this healing retreat, I went along with everything you said and asked us to write down. There was nothing unusual. Day 6 for me changed everything. As I prayed to the Holy Spirit to show to me all the people in my life that I hadn’t forgiven, I took my journal and started writing down names… I continued writing down more names and ended up with two full pages. I was so surprised about it, that, when I prayed to the Lord for each of those people, forgiving them and asking the Lord to bless them, tears ran down my face. I knew I had to go to confession about it. I know God is merciful and everything happens, when it’s time for it to happen, cause God knows best. I am so thankful for this experience and I feel a lot of joy ever since my confession. May God be praised for being so patient with me.
Rita K., Germany

Mark, what a powerful retreat this is! I have read, journaled, prayed, reflected and listened to the Holy Spirit speaking through your words! I have received clarity and healing! Thank you for your fiat to our Lord by answering His call to do this retreat. You are such an inspiration!
Lee A.

I have to thank you for helping me in this retreat to realise how unforgiving and have been to myself and everyone I come across. When I have been hurt by someone, I immediately put walls up to prevent getting hurt again. I discovered how forgiving myself is necessary to bring the walls down. God spoke to me throughout the retreat reassuring me how much He loves me and forgives me. I needed this retreat so much. I was in tears daily, overwhelmed with God love and mercy for me.
Judy

Thank you for providing this retreat! I didn’t realize how much anger I had been carrying around for the last 3 years of this world. I found each day I let go more and more. Today I feel completely at peace. I looked forward daily to the beautiful music and message, and this is just what I needed to feel better and closer to God!
Lisa B.

Thank you. I never felt the Father within me as I did today (Day 12).
Cecile

God wanted to heal my mother and father wounds further. He reached beyond this to let me know how He feels about me and more about my mission in the days to come. In that regard… He needs me to be a credible witness and one that is free of guilt and fear. This was such a beautiful retreat and full of surprises.
Susan M.

Words cannot describe my gratitude for the Healing Retreat you put together. If I could meet you in person, I would shake your hand and give you a hug. But as I cannot, I can only say: Thank you from my heart for answering the Lord’s call to do this retreat. It was a very moving experience for me, with many tears as I realized how broken I am, and how much I have yet to learn. This retreat has taught me to listen for the Lord’s voice in a deeper way, and how to journal with Him in prayer. It also showed me that I had not fully accepted God as my Father. I have always known that He is Father, but never truly understood what it means for Him to be ” Abba.” I still have much to learn, but you have guided me on the first steps of this journey, and I trust our dear Mamma will lead me the rest of the way.
Linnae

It was a beautiful and powerful experience for me. The retreat was priceless.
Terrence G.

J’ai commencé cette retraite une semaine avant de démissioner de mon travail. Cette rétraite m’a aider à tenir durant cette période de chômage mais le plus important a été la guerison des mes blessures d’enfance et d’adulte. La vidéo d’encouragement à mi-parcours m’as miraculeusement redonner l’envie de continuer. Les chants de Mark m’ont inspirés à mieux me comporter dans ma vie social et personnelle.

(I started this retreat a week before I quit my job. This retirement helped me hold on during this period of unemployment, but the most important thing was the healing of my childhood and adult wounds. The mid-term encouragement video miraculously gave me the desire to continue. Mark’s songs have inspired me to behave better in my social and personal life.)
I.V.

The retreat was Amazing as God is Amazing. I received many blessings and healings. The Spirit is alive in the Holy Catholic Church. I am profoundly touched by your music and I want to thank you for your Ministry.
Pauline C.

…I knew the Holy Spirit had sent me here to this healing retreat. Everything stirred in me, my past so painful that I couldn’t let go of one thing, love. Love hurt me from birth with the loss of my parents. At 3 and a half with the loss of those who took care of me at the orphanage. So when I was 4, I closed my heart to everyone who loved me. Love meant pain. So there was a void in me and I looked for love in everything, food, alcohol, the flesh and always disappointment after disappointment, pain after pain. And Jesus came to get me, 6 years ago. And it was love at first sight. I know it is Love but I don’t feel it because I have closed my heart. I screamed to God my pain for not feeling his love. I couldn’t because I had closed my heart. I was afraid of suffering again. But Jesus wanted total surrender… At the end of this retreat, I asked Padre Pio to find me a good confessor, who would listen. And yes I found it, the Holy Spirit and Padre Pio took care of it. They have always been there… I was invaded by the fire of the Holy Spirit that I cannot, do not know how to explain. It’s not the first time, but today, this fire has burned my whole being again almost all day and my lips have not stopped making rounds, constantly praising the Holy Trinity… Thank you very much for this retreat, for each day (each night) which was a gift to meditate. Thanks for the songs. Thank you for the time spent preparing and posting everything. Thank you to your family for allowing you to prepare this retreat for us.

Myriam

Thank you for this beautiful retreat. It has been hard and fulfilling. I am attending a Theology of Body class called Fulfilled while working through this retreat. I have prayed for the gift of tears to return. When I was in my 30s, my father disowned me for three years. This retreat has finally brought me healing and true forgiveness and my gift of tears are being used. It has shown me how my relationship with my dad affected my relationship with my daughters. I sent the beautiful song you sang to your daughter to my daughters, praying it will be the seed that God will use to bring them home. I can’t thank you enough. My plan is to wait a month and do it again.
Tami B.

Thank you for the wonderful Holy Spirit retreat. It was deeper for me because of the music. You’re words are inspired and touch the heart in beautiful ways. I am very grateful.
Arlene M.

Thank you for the beautiful retreat. The music was so beautiful. My hour commitment usually went 1 1/2 hours. I have had the Holy Spirit heal my body in many places and I thank Him every day. The Lord sent me to your site for the retreat because He is preparing me for a new ministry. Thank you.
Beverly C.

Fantastic retreat!! Cried a lot, amazing and inspiring music!! Blessings and Blessings! Thanks to God and to you Mark, who took the time to help us increase our faith and be back on God’s hands.
Maria C.

I have loved your healing retreat! I have been on my own healing journey over the last 2 years, and everything you wrote was a confirmation to what I have heard in prayer and experienced!
Kate A.

This retreat was informative, inspirational and infective! I thank Mark for sharing and our God and Father for all the ‘gifts’ that come with it… This retreat reminds us that conversion is a life-long process and we must learn to forgive and love ourselves as God does in order to love and forgive others. I saw where I still needed healing through this beautiful retreat and by the end I felt God’s love, mercy & forgiveness.
Dawn

Deo Gratias/ Thanks be to God for this powerful retreat. Been following you for a very long time. This retreat is a God-send in theses very difficult times we live in.
Charlene

At 82 I am recovering from a dangerous and devastating divorce in April. Please know your beautiful retreat has been a great gift of healing, hope and peace for which I thank God and you!
N. P.

Hi Mark, I’m just emailing (from Australia) to let you know that I’ve been doing the retreat each day. It has been wonderful, each day bringing me something more to think about, pray about, and take to heart.
Anne O.

I am on day 13 and have received several graces. The day when I listed all the people who hurt me and forgave them was particularly powerful. I have been trying for years to get these memories and images to ‘go away’ but I hadn’t been successful in most previous attempts. Now, I certainly feel like I have put those past injuries behind me and know where to return to remember, once more, how to free myself from those shackles.

The other one that was very powerful was the healing of memories that needed healing. I have a lot of those and I remembered as many as I could (I am 68 years old) but I feel like I am freed from those bad memories. For a long time, I have wanted to stop referring to them as points in my life because I always felt wrong about them, like I was exposing the faults of others (which in many of them I was), which is wrong. I now feel like they will not pop to my head when in conversation, and may actually help me to attain the ‘silence’ that I want to practice in the presence of others.
M. L.

I was involved with a man who was not Catholic and was deserted by his wife of 20 yrs. My husband died a year before I started a friendship with him and, of course, we were both lonely and I felt sorry for him as well… I talked to several priests in confession about our friendship but had a hard time breaking it off with him. After just 2 days of you retreat, I got the courage to tell him there was no future in our relationship and it’s ended now. Through your help and letting me know how much Jesus loves me, I was able to understand what to do.
J. H.

This beautiful retreat has been a salve for my soul. The Holy Spirit revealed the judgment and unforgiveness in my soul, which has led to bitterness. This retreat brought healing through your inspired words and music. Thank you.
M. B.

I am very grateful to God for putting it in your heart to host this retreat. The Lord has been showing me the grudges I have been carrying although I had thought I had forgiven. He is showing me the ways I have offended Him. But mostly He is showing me His immense love for me.
A. H.

Thank you so much for this retreat, it’s been a while to have something great like this. God is good all the time. I reflected on all unresolved hurts and triumphantly came out of them. I was suffering from dryness of spirit, a place I don’t ever want to be. This retreat helped me a lot. I went to confession on the last day and told the priest about this retreat you gave, and he was very thankful that I finished it. I’m grateful to God for allowing us to experience this through your generous heart.
E. V.

As I have traveled along this healing journey, I have found peace, I have found the courage to look at my faults, and release them all to the Trinity. I have learned to live again and to not judge; to forgive, and to purify myself and others if I can. Thank you for the opportunity and thank you for being you. I have gained peace. And most of all Love.
J.

I really enjoyed this retreat, it brought me closer to Jesus. Everyday the theme was so deep that brought me knowledge, faith, hope and love. On the theme of forgiveness, Jesus healed me as I was crying. On the theme of “judgment”, He talked to me directly on that day before reading it (I was feeling sorry for judging during the night, and so when I read the theme I was surprised that it was not a coincidence that the meditation was about what was I going through). God is alive, He heals, teaches us; He gave me words of encouragement, love, hope and showed me what I do wrong to fix it.
M.G.

You were on fire with the Holy Spirit for this retreat. Every single person that did this retreat [here] felt it in their soul that God was speaking directly to them. I hope your message goes around the world. It is certainly needed to prepare us for whatever comes down the road. Thank you so much. Your are the Watchman for our times.
M.H.

Thank you for offering the Online Healing Retreat. It helped me to heal a situation with my youngest son and years of distance with my sister. Greater awareness of God’s unconditional love for me has opened my heart to pray and ask for Holy Spirit’s guidance in all areas of my life. Thank you, Mark, for sharing your gift of music.
M.K.

I wanted to write and let you know how your retreat helped me. Having been a Catholic for over 76 years I was finally able to address the hurt and pains in my life and how I contributed to that and how I really wasn’t truly connected with God as I have been trying to be. I had no visions or feelings God was speaking to me during this retreat, which I have yearned for, yet I did feel the power of love and peace from the Holy Spirit. There are five girls in my family and we are all close, but I am fourth of the five and my youngest sister always got the attention as a little girl, and the two of us have always fought and there’s still tension. I finally understood I was jealous and hurt from my lack of attention. I finally understood, after all these years, why there was tension between us, and I let it go and saw her a few days after this retreat was completed. For the first time I was relaxed and able to listen and have feelings of peace with her. There are other times during this retreat that I’ve also had other healings. Thank you so much for speaking to us and thank you for the beautiful music and helping me in a deeper connection to God. Bless you for all that you do for all of us.
D.G.

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