Monday, January 18, 2010

Living in God’s Mercy: Bro. Stanley Villavicencio’s unwavering faith and devotion

Living in God’s Mercy: Bro. Stanley Villavicencio’s unwavering faith and devotion


What would you do if one day the Lord showed you the movie of your life – successes, sins and sorrows -- and rewinds it three times for you to review? One would think that it would take more than a lifetime to watch it once, much less thrice. But for one person, it only took three days. For Bro. Stanley Villavicencio, it was an experience that further changed his life, devotion and faith in the Lord.

An ordinary man of extraordinary faith

Born in Bais, Negros Oriental, Bro. Stanley was raised a Roman Catholic and had a great devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus Christ, a devotion he started when he was still in grade school.

He married Melissa Gantuangco Villar, a nurse, and moved to Cebu to start a family. Still, his devotion continued, as close to his house was a chapel dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Having the chapel near his house had a great bearing on his decision, but after moving, he discovered that the chapel was portable. "Portable lang siya, pero meron nag-donate ng lote, kaya we were able to build a permanent chapel," he explained. In 1983, he became Chapel President.

Bro. Stanley was basically and ordinary man. In 1993, he was an employee of AVSECOM (The Aviation Security Command). He also became a member of the Perpetual Dawn Rosary Association in Cebu.

A miracle and a calling


In 1993, as head of the family, Bro. Stanley was suppose to receive the statue of the Virgin Mary into their home. However, that morning when the statue arrived, he was not up and so his mother-in-law received it. Concerned, she went inside the bedroom, there she found him convulsing, with blood spurting from his mouth.

Bro. Stanley was taken to Chong Hua Hospital in Cebu and was rushed to the Emergency Room. There, still bleeding profusely from his mouth, and convulsing, he was injected with the maximum dose of Valium to try to stop the convulsions and slow down the huge quantity of blood pouring from his mouth. The doctors ran all sorts of tests, but could not locate the source of the bleeding, nor any kind of illness. "Wala akong sakit noon," he said and added, "but I was pronounced clinically dead by the doctors."

Doctors took a blood test with view of giving him a blood transfusion, but his blood count was normal which medically was impossible, it meant that his body was not short of blood, despite the fact he had lost so much blood. He slipped into a coma, is heartbeat became slower, his skin color turned gray and then he stopped breathing.

He was declared "brain dead." His family at first did not believe because Bro. Stanley had shown no previous signs of being ill and the doctors were unable to determine what was wrong. But on the second day, his family prepared for his funeral -- his coffin, a burial plot, and a burial gown were all arranged. By the third day Stanley’s blood had congealed in the bottom of his legs and feet and rigor mortis begun to set in.

But after the third day, Bro. Stanley came back from the dead, perfectly healthy, as if nothing had happened. While his heart was flat line, his brain dead, he had in spirit, met for the first time "Jesus Christ of the Divine Mercy."

Every sequence and procedure of his medical condition was documented. Medical records showed that he was first in a coma and then dead. On investigation these records were examined and all medical staff involved, questioned. The Church started to investigate on this phenomenon and their discovery led to the endorsement of the Archbishop of Cebu, Ricardo Cardinal Vidal.



A message of repentance, faith and mercy

"Ang Diyos hindi Niya tinitignan kung gaano kalaki ang kasalanan mo, kung gaano karami or kung gaano kaitim ang budhi mo. Lahat napapatawad ng Diyos."

Bro. Stanley said in an interview with the Asian Journal.

Such is the message given to Bro. Stanley by the Lord. Today, he is on a mission to go around the world to spread God’s unfathomable mercy not only to Catholics but also to other denominations. "God’s mercy is for everybody, regardless of faith or religion," Bro. Stanley said.

Bro. Stanley has been traveling around the world for 15 years now, evangelizing the God’s word. "I have given 6,478 talks all over the world," he said, "I am there to share what happened to me. That is the work of the Holy Spirit."

But of course, he knows – and has encountered – non-believers and skeptics.

"Hindi naman maiiwasan yan.

Persecution makes us mature," he said and explained, "If it’s for the Lord, maraming mag-oppose."

Still, there are many who embrace their faith and accept God’s mercy. Bro. Stanley relates one story about being touched by the Lord’s grace, "There was one woman who attended my talk and approached me. She told me, ‘I’m a Baptist, and I was suppose to have an abortion. But after hearing your talked, I changed my mind – because I do not want the Lord to show me the film of my life showing that I killed my own child.’"

The film the woman was referring to was the same as what the Lord showed Bro. Stanley in 1993. "Pinakita sa akin ang pelikula ng aking buhay, from childhood to the present – may review and rewind pa, three times," Bro. Stanley said and added, "Seeing the film of my life, ngayon, kahit nakapikit, I’m so afraid to commit a sin."

What is the Divine Mercy?


The story of the Divine Mercy devotion started with God’s call of Sr. Faustina Kowalska, a simple nun, front eh convent of the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy in Poland. Living a holy and difficult life, Sr. Faustina offered all of these in union with the sufferings of Jesus. She then received from Jesus the mission to proclaim to the world that the devotion to the Divince Mercy is a sign for End Times, the Second Coming, and that people must approach Him as a merciful Savior if they want to avoid meeting him as a Judge.

This is the same message that Jesus has given Bro. Stanley. "Before I come as a just judge, I will open wide the doors of mercy. He who refuses to pass the doors of mercy, will have to pass through the doors of My justice."

In closing, Bro. Stanley sent out one of the most timely messages given to him by Jesus, "Now is the time of mercy. Now is the time for us to reconcile with the Lord. Now is the time to reconcile with our family. Now is the time to reconcile with everybody. Not tomorrow, because tomorrow never comes because when tomorrow comes, that is today. So why wait for tomorrow? We have to be ready now." (www.asianjournal.com)

Source: http://www.asianjournal.com/galing-pinoy/59-galing-pinoy/40-living-in-gods-mercy-bro-stanley-villavicencios-unwavering-faith-and-devotion.html?showall=1

 

1 comment:


  1. I READ THIS YEARS AGO. I AM DEVOTEE OF DIVINE MERCY.
    THANKS FOR POSTING IT.....GOD BLESS!

    ReplyDelete