We think of Christ on the cross here, the Christ who suffered
torment, but also the Christ who rose,” Leary said. “Because of the
heavy trauma, many of these girls have spiritually and emotionally died.
It is work to enter into the wound of abuse, to allow a man – even a
priest – who desires to spiritually help them to enter into that dark
place. But these girls are also smart; they know they have to live.”
“When they fully open themselves to healing, this dark place of
theirs becomes a place of the empty tomb; where death and evil lose,
where the girls begin to crawl out of their caves.”
Several sisters wept and confided to me of their love for Leary. “He
has awakened me – he has awakened all the Sisters – to the sacrificial
love of a father,” Sr. Marilyn said. Sr. Margie Cheong, the woman who
once headed all the Sisters of Mary communities throughout Central and
South America, said Leary’s fatherly presence – especially as it relates
to his emphasis on healing in front of the Eucharist – has transformed
the entire community.
“Even if I asked [Leary] to slow
down, I couldn’t do anything to stop him. It is very strange; his work
ethic to help the children and the sisters seems a supernatural grace,”
she said. “All of us need an hour or two to ourselves to break away, but
not him. He keeps going… Many Sisters have told me that his priesthood
and his spiritual direction have changed their lives.”
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A dozen or so priests, a bishop, and seminarians have visited Leary
over the past few years to assist with the mountain of his spiritual
work. “I was wiped out after a few days,” said a priest from Washington,
D.C.
Fr. Dan’s work is non-stop; simply, it is a supernatural
grace that sustains him. The devil is relentless, and Fr. Dan’s work in
these villas is proof that with God’s supernatural grace, a single
priest can be an instrument that brings large and relentless measures of
love and healing.
All day long he works with kids who’ve been beaten up, and
individually, he listens to them all. But here’s the thing; these kids
are healing. He’s equipping them with the spiritual tools to live again
and be productive members of their villages, colleges, and communities.
In some measure, he is helping to rebuild the Catholic Church in Mexico
through these children.
To read the full story, go to LIFESITE NEWS.
