It is now two weeks since Bridget Martin, a young Christchurch wife and mother, suddenly suffered a cardiac arrest while on holiday.  Within hours she was undergoing major surgery and the prognosis carried little hope. Immediately Bridget’s friends and family began to pray, at first a general prayer for healing, and then very specifically for a miracle through the intercession of (among others) Venerable Suzanne Aubert. Last Friday night the parish church of Bridget, Dan (her husband) and their three young children, was filled with friends and family to pray for Bridget and to begin a novena praying for her healing.

This morning’s update from Dan reports that Bridget’s “heart and body is doing really well but due to loss of oxygen to the brain she has severe brain injuries to recover from. She is getting movement in the arms and head and opening her eyes which are positive signs however she still a long way to go. We are now praying for her fingers to move and squeeze, her to use her voice and respond to commands as she progresses to a FULL recovery. Thank you so much for your messages, thoughts and prayers.

Mother Mary Joseph Aubert, founder of New Zealand Religious congregation Daughters of Our Lady of Compassion, was widely known and respected as a healer and this healing took many forms. Her herbal remedies were appreciated and marketed throughout the country. She founded her community of sisters to ensure that the poor were healed from their hunger and in her presence the vulnerable experienced the healing love of God. All of this healing possible because Suzanne Aubert lived in intimate and robust relationship with Jesus Christ.

Bridget too is a woman of great faith, and (as reflected when we gathered for the prayer vigil last week) her friends and family also live this faith.

Many times every day in the Lord’s prayer we pray “thy will be done”, since we know that the ways of God bring about what is best for us. But these days as I pray for Bridget I realise I cannot easily pray “thy will be done.” I simply want Bridget back among us as she was, full of faith and friendship, with her energetic enthusiasm for life and love.

Perhaps you also have had this same struggle in these days with the “thy will be done” part of our prayer.

Therefore, knowing that our limitations and conditions are not a problem for God,  I invite you as you read this to renew your prayer for Bridget’s complete healing, and to join me in praying very specifically for the miracle needed for Bridget’s full recovery.

Bridget’s current situation is ripe for the action of God. While her body is doing well, the healing of her severe brain injuries is beyond the skill of the medical professionals. This is where we turn to God with total need. We are powerless, and only God can restore Bridget to us. In short, we turn to the God of miracles in need of a miracle for Bridget.

Most often when I pray for Bridget I need a short, to-the-point, prayer. So I suggest we use a simple form of Suzanne Aubert’s novena. While there is a full novena prayer through the intercession of Venerable Suzanne, the form I suggest is the simple conclusion of the longer prayer. It’s short and easy to memorise and I have adapted it for our use. This means that we can pray it dozens of times daily, at a moments notice, together or alone, and with the conviction and passion of faith that can move mountains. You might, like me, find it helpful to use it a regular visible or audible reminder, perhaps the ringing of a phone, the traffic light, or any other regular occurrence that can serve as a “prayer bell.”

Together we, the friends and family of Bridget with those who are turning to Venerable Suzanne with their own intentions, form a family of pray-ers united in prayer for the miracle for Bridget. We believe that Suzanne Aubert now lives even nearer the ear and even closer to the heart of God than us, so we pray with and through her intercession that God will hear our pleading and return Bridget to full health.

Here is the simple prayer. Let us pray, as often as we are able:

Thanks be to God for all he has done, is doing, and will do for Bridget. (x3)
Suzanne Aubert pray for Bridget (x3).