I hesitate to say too much about Kevin, for fear that it would sound almost like gossip. My main intention in writing this blog is to ask for prayers for him. Kevin graduated from Ignatius the year after I did, but when he walked across that stage to receive his diploma, he had already received an education that the rest of us hadn't. As well as going through four years of an intense, college-prep education, Kevin had also battled through months and months of chemotherapy. His future was uncertain. He didn't know whether or not he would be alive in the fall to attend the University of Notre Dame in South Bend. He was just fighting one day at a time.

One year later, he's still kicking. Despite chemo and the rest of it, he still brought home a 4.0 from one of the toughest schools in  the country. But the beauty of his transcript and the beauty of his character didn't match up quite with the state of his lungs. We had thought he was fine for a while, but the cancer came back. They opened him up to remove some tumours, and found tennis ball size tumours that had not been there when they scanned him the week before...and they were forced to close him up immediately without doing any work.

He began chemo again last Monday. So tomorrow he'll be having it again. His dad was one of my favorite high school teachers and was telling my last night about the pain of seeing this happen to your son and being powerless to help...except through prayer.

A couple of Kevin's friends and family have started a 54-day rosary novena for him. Others have been praying one or more rosaries a day for him for years. There are so many people united in prayer for him, but we could always use more. Pray, if you could, not only for his health, but for his sanctity. Pray for his family. Pray that the mercy and goodness of God is demonstrated through the life of this young man, no matter what the outcome is. Pray that many souls are called to or return to Christ by the witness of a young man who keeps on fighting because he has something to fight for. Prayers do not go unheard, and if they are not answered the way we want them to be, it is because they have been answered in an even better way. Thank you.

www.kevinhealey.com

and for facebookers...

-the 54-day Rosary group. You can start at any time...http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=29056373712&ref=ts

-the "Pray for Kevin Healey" group. http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2233031913&ref=ts