VERO BEACH, Florida (CNN) – The Rev. Michael Massaro says he has a few aches and pains, but a good night’s sleep has done him some good as he recovers from being attacked Saturday with a knife in a confessional at his church.
It was one of the most harrowing weekends in the 28 years he’s been a Roman Catholic priest, Massaro said. But it won’t stop him from hearing confessions.
“We’re at the mercy of the people we serve,” Massaro told CNN. “We can’t live in fear. God has asked us to live in trust. If it’s going to happen again, it’s going to happen again, but that’s not going to prevent me from doing God’s work.”
Massaro had just finished hearing confessions in his Florida church when he was stabbed twice in the back by a woman who later told police Massaro is the Antichrist.
“It was paralyzing, like a nightmare, and I just feel like I woke up from it. It was so quick and sudden,” Massaro said in a telephone interview.
Vero Beach police arrested Josephine Gatchell in connection with the attack. The 57-year-old suspect is being held in the Indian River County Jail. She is being held without bail.
Prayer for the Intercession of Saint Dymphna, Patron of Mental Illness
Lord God, Who has graciously chosen Saint Dymphna to be the patroness of those afflicted with mental and nervous disorders, and has caused her to be an inspiration and a symbol of charity to the thousands who invoke her intercession, grant through the prayers of this pure, youthful martyr, relief and consolation to all who suffer from these disturbances, and especially to those for whom we now pray. (Here mention those for whom you wish to pray.)
We beg You to accept and grant the prayers of Saint Dymphna on our behalf. Grant to those we have particularly recommended patience in their sufferings and resignation to Your Divine Will. Fill them with hope and, if it is according to Your Divine Plan, bestow upon them the cure they so earnestly desire. Grant this through Christ Our Lord. Amen.
I posted with out thinking and I am sorry for using a term that could be painful to others, please forgive me…It was thoughtless rather than malicious…my own mom has mental problems
I was posting the prayer for the poor soul afflicted enough to lash out so violently. I read the article and it stated later that “Vero Beach Police say that Gatchell appears to be a troubled woman.” It wasn’t a personal judgment on your previous post. forgive me if it came across as such.
Palm Beach, Fla., Apr 30, 2009 / 07:13 am (CNA).- A Florida priest who was stabbed in a confessional by a troubled woman on Saturday says he will neither “live in fear” nor allow the stabbing to prevent him from “God’s work.”
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