Answered prayer

Our daughter was going through an extremely difficult moment in her marriage. When I spoke to her on the phone, she was in tears about an impending divorce, having lost all hope of saving her marriage. My husband and I have always been struck by the promise Jesus made to his disciples: “If two of you agree on earth about anything you ask, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven” (Matthew 18:19). With this faith, I promised our daughter that we and her five other siblings would pray for reconciliation. Not long afterwards, she called me up. She sounded elated and almost incredulous. After much reflection, her husband had agreed to talk to people who could help them solve their problems, and they did manage to save their marriage. A few years later, our son-in-law shared with her his desire to become a Catholic and asked her to accompany him to see a priest so that they could start the process.

(G. B. – USA)

A new beginning

I was really looking forward to teaching at a Church of England secondary school in West London, but after some time, my enthusiasm began to wane. Not being welcomed by the students as I would have wished and being in constant conflict with them, I started to assert my authority. However, when I shared the situation with friends, I came to realize that I had to try a different tactic. Even though I felt I was in the right, it wasn’t what Jesus would have done. The following day, I apologized to the class admitting that I had probably made a lot of mistakes that a more experienced teacher would not have made. As the pupils listened in total silence, I said I would try to see them all with new eyes, and I hoped they would do the same with me. One of the main troublemakers publicly accepted my apology, and apologized in turn for his own behavior and that of the rest of the class. Several students nodded at these words, and I saw some of them smiling. Something almost unheard of had just happened: a teacher had apologized in front of the whole class! It was a new beginning for everyone.

(G.P. – England)

The boy at the crossroads

Every morning, before I start work as a traffic policeman, I go to Mass and ask Jesus to help me to love everyone I meet during the day. One day, at a busy crossroads, I saw a young lad speeding by on his motorbike. After a while, he came back again at very high speed, and this went on several times. I told him to stop, hoping in my heart that he won’t cause trouble, but to no avail. Finally, he did stop, just to say to me: “I have so many problems, and I just want them to end with my life.” I listened to him for a long time while carrying on with my work. I offered my willingness to help and decided not to give him a ticket. He left much more at peace. One day, a few years later, while I was on duty in another place, a young man came up to me with a big smile on his face and hugged me warmly. I told him: “Look, you must have got the wrong person ” to which he replied, “No, I’m the guy at the crossroads; now I’m happily married and happy with life. I came all the way back here from the town where I now live because I wanted to thank you.” In my heart, all I could do was thank God.

(S.A. – Italy)

Compiled by Stefania Tanesini

(taken from Il Vangelo del Giorno, year VI, no. 6, November-December 2020)