Hundreds of people raised their hands in response to a question about faith healing posed by the Rev. Peter M. Rookey during a healing Mass in Biehle. Rookey visits the Perry County parish about once a year to hold healing services.

Reciting the rosary is an integral part of the healing Mass performed by the Rev. Peter Rookey who is known as the "healing priest."

The Rev. Mark Balzora followed the Rev. Peter M. Rookey during a blessing and laying of hands at St. Maurus Catholic Church in Biehle. Rookey is a faith healer.

Two people prayed near the outdoor grotto at St. Maurus Catholic Church in Biehle after a healing service with the Rev. Peter M. Rookey.

A grandson with terminal cancer. A brother filled with rage after serving in Vietnam. A husband whose radiation treatment and surgery hasn't yet sent his cancer into remission.

As the Rev. Peter M. Rookey plucks the scraps of paper from an offertory basket and reads the petitions, he prays for healing. In the background, the melodic chant of believers -- some kneeling or reclining in wooden pews -- reciting the rosary echoes within the walls at St. Maurus Catholic Church in Biehle.

The parishioners and petitioners aren't just asking for prayer and support. They came to the Mass seeking miracles.

Like the crowds of skeptics and believers flocking to see Jesus perform a miracle, hundreds of people flooded the pews and aisles of the 126-year-old church for a chance to see the "healing priest."

Rookey visits the parish at least once a year to offer his compassion and "miracle prayers." He last visited in August.

Rookey is a faith healer who spreads as much truth as he does optimism among his followers.

He is one of the first to admit that faith healing attracts as many honest people seeking miracles as it does skeptics. And Rookey was one of the first skeptics. He admits there are obstacles to faith healing and that many people won't be healed in the way they had hoped.

But after nearly 50 years of healing, Rookey, a member of the Servants of Mary or Servite order, said his ministry is truly a gift from God.

"It's not my doing but the Lord's," he said during an interview with the Southeast Missourian. "I pray as the Lord told us; he sent us out to go and heal the sick."

Faith healing isn't solely about healing illness or performing miracles. The two are separate, said the Rev. Jack Strong, pastor of the New Life World Outreach Center in Cape Girardeau.

Miracles happen instantaneously. Healings are progressive works, said Strong, who has seen people cured of cancer and blind eyes opened.

Yet both healings and miracles require a faith strong enough to believe that God's choices are correct, regardless of the outcome.

"How much faith does it take? You can't measure that," Strong said. "But each of us is given a measure of faith. I think it's enough to believe God and trust God to do what's needed."

Along with a trust in God to provide the healing, those seeking healing, whether it's physical, mental or spiritual, must be open to God working in their lives.

And sometimes how God works doesn't correlate to how humans deal with life. There are a lot of factors that relate to healing. Some can help aid the process while others are a hindrance.

Sometimes life's distractions can cloud or choke out faith which leads to a lessened trust in the healing process, Strong said. "But you have to rely on and feed on the word."

Rookey prays constantly throughout the days prior to his healing Mass. He fasts also, limiting himself to tea and juices. The combination of prayer and fasting helps him concentrate.

Rookey opens his service with an explanation of how it will be conducted. Most of the healing portion takes place outside or in larger, less confined spaces. The rosary is recited throughout the service.

He explains that some people have said they smell a strong fragrance of flowers during the healing Mass. Others will "rest in the spirit" or be "slain in the spirit," meaning they will appear faint and fall backward. A "catcher" is always nearby to help them fall gently, he says.

Anyone is welcome to receive the healing, but those in wheelchairs or who need extra attention are blessed with an oil first. Rookey walks along a sidewalk between the church and rectory, blessing those who step forward.

Betty Griffith of Cape Girardeau attended the Mass and was blessed by Rookey. She was "slain in the spirit" and rested for nearly half an hour on the church lawn.

"It was a marvelous experience," she said. "It was just like the hand of God coming down on you."

Griffith was diagnosed with cancer and then developed a form of polio. Her legs get tired by the end of the day and she walks with a limp.

After the service she said, "Now it feels like its 50 pounds lighter. It's as light as a feather."

A permanent healing would be wonderful, but Griffith said she only wants what God has planned for her. "I just want his will."

Rookey said that the greatest and most important healing is an inner healing. "Physical healing, at best, is temporary and then you die. Of course the inner healing is for eternity," he said. "You have a great peace that comes from that inner healing. And when you have the peace of Christ then you have it all."