FR. SWAMY’S untimely demise shocked everyone whose lives he touched. And those are far too many lives– not only in India, and the Philippines, but even those as far as the US, France, UK, Japan, and many other parts of the world.
Many of us who knew him considered him as a saint for his kindness, charity, humility, eagerness to help, and of course, for his rare gifts of healing and exorcism. While on earth, he performed what we considered as miracles.
Many do say that with Father’s passing, we lost a saint. I would say we gained one in heaven, one who personally knows us.
“We need him here on earth,” as many of his friends say. Who can argue with that, when in many situations Fr. Swamy was always the ‘call’ and ‘go to’ priest. Whenever there were family crises, we thought of and went to Fr. Swamy. Whenever there were sicknesses, especially those that even doctors couldn’t give medical explanations for, it was always ‘call Fr. Swamy.’ Whenever we experienced paranormal challenges, we would ‘call Fr. Swamy.’ Whenever we experienced difficult and ‘impossible’ situations, again, ‘call Fr. Swamy.’
Father, on his part, would always be eager to help. Always. He was ever so selfless to the point of losing his health, family, some friends and associates. And still, he continued to help. He experienced persecution. He was also misunderstood. There were times he felt alone and abandoned. But always, the inherent kindness and goodness in him made him be eager to help more.
He was so sought after for his exorcism ministry. His gift was so great he didn’t have to do the rituals. But the consequences weighed so heavy on his well-being and on his family, that he had to lay low on this.
He then advocated promoting prayer — on reminding everybody to acknowledge the presence of God anytime, anywhere. He wanted everybody to “pray unceasingly” as commanded by St. Paul in 1 Thess 5:17. Hence he taught us the short but miraculous prayer: “Come Lord Jesus, come into my life. Bless me, help me, heal me.”
He printed prayer books, one of which is a small one, which includes basic Catholic Prayers and Catechism, distributed to school children in different parts of the country.
Then he concentrated more on how to be able to help future generations. The Ave Maria Holy Family Ministry, a group of volunteers to assist Fr. Swamy and whom he trained personally, reaches out to mothers, teaching them to pray for their children while pregnant, and even before conception.
He helped countless poor children and families, teaching them to pray and care for the environment by tree planting, gardening, and even providing food items and school supplies for them with the help of his friends.
April 17, 2021 is supposed to be Fr. Swamy’s 39th Ordination Anniversary. On this day, his celebration will be in heaven. He performed miracles here on earth, and as he is now in heaven, our ‘go to’ and ‘call him’ priest, our saint, our Fr. Swamy can surely do more miracles for us with his prayers.
(Maria Embornas has worked with Fr. Swamy for many years. She was also infected with COVID-19 and is recuperating in an isolation facility in the city.)
