Beauty of Childlike Faith
“A child has nothing to give and everything to receive,” Pope Francis explains. “A child is vulnerable, and depends on his or her father and mother. The one who becomes like a little child is poor in self but rich in God. Children, who have no problem in understanding God, have much to teach us: they tell us that he accomplishes great things in those who put up no resistance to him, who are simple and sincere, without duplicity.”
“Be Still”
I taught school for forty-seven years, and everything I did had to do with teaching. I enjoyed teaching, but after forty-seven years I said to myself, “It’s time to move on!”
I had no idea what I would do. I was offered a few different positions, but they did not seem like a good fit. I started going out for prayer walks. It was winter, and one day I stopped by a dormant tree. I saw this tree as a symbol of strength because it held the promise of new life in the spring. Then I heard an interior voice saying, “Be still.”
I opened my hands and my heart, and I prayed, “Help me to let go. I give you my life. I need a new view. Show me the way.”
A few weeks later, I received a call from a woman who invited me to lunch. She offered me a position in a medical office. I had no knowledge of taking a temperature or a blood pressure. I said, “There is no way I could accept this position.”
She said, “Why don’t you come in tomorrow and check it out?”
So the next day I went to the medical office, and I shadowed someone all day. I went back the next day, and three years later, I was still working there. For the first year and a half, I took temperatures and blood pressures when the patients came in. I learned how to do EKGs and breathing treatments. I truly enjoyed this new ministry.
Then I was asked to move into the office, where I would be doing clerical work and making follow-up appointments. At first, I didn’t think I wanted to move because I loved the connection that I had with the patients. But now the patients come to me after they leave the doctor, and I can be a life-giving presence to those who are sick or suffering.
If they need surgery, I give them a medal and say, “Keep this.” Or I hand them a little heart and say, “I will hold you in my heart.” At times, I present patients with a prayer shawl and pray with them.
This job was truly an answer to prayer. It has transformed my life and lifted my faith in God to new heights. I will always have an attitude of gratitude for this experience.
— Sister Barbara Whelan, O.S.F.
What is a Prayer Walk?
A prayer walk is simply praying while walking. Some people prefer prayer walking in the countryside, on a beach, or in a park because the beauty of nature lifts one’s heart and mind to God. But prayer walks can take place in the neighborhood, on a treadmill, in a shopping mall, on the way to work, or in any place where you want to transform walking into a form of prayer.
“I Kept My Promise”
I was twenty-seven years old when I divorced a very abusive, violent, vindictive man, who had discovered the best way to hurt me was by abusing our four children. Once we were divorced, he continued to abuse and harass us. Somewhere along the way, I became fearful that he would actually succeed in killing me. I was obsessed with the thought that if I died, he would fight my parents for custody of the children — not because he loved and cared about his children, but to hurt everyone.
So I prayed (begged is probably a better word) and asked God to let me live long enough to see my children grow up, and be happy, and able to take care of themselves. After a few weeks of asking for this favor over and over, I decided God had gotten the message. I calmed down, let it go, and actually forgot about it.
Years later, I got a phone call from my daughter-in-law telling me my thirty-two-year-old son, Thom, had a massive heart attack at work and died. Before I could react or even say a word, I very clearly heard a voice say, “I kept my promise.” I instantly knew it was the voice of God. The grace and mercy of those words enabled me to accept Thom’s death and to be there for my other children.
A few years later, my son, Michael, had an extreme flare-up of a rare enzyme deficiency disease that he had since childhood. His body was shutting down, and the doctors thought he might not survive. I could not bear the thought of losing another child. I begged for God not to take my son, but I also told God I would not be mad if he took Michael home. I asked only that He give Mike a happy death if that was his will.
I immediately felt God’s grace flow into me. I felt peaceful. I knew I had done the correct thing even though it was so difficult to think of what might happen. A couple of hours later Mike’s wife called to say he was on the mend, and he hasn’t had another flare-up like that since.
— Susan Stout
Chapter 5
Signs from Above
There are times when something supernatural breaks through our ordinary existence. We may become aware of God’s presence, or we may feel as if Our Lady, the saints, or angels are near. We may feel as if we have received a sign from above.
These kinds of mystical experiences are not common, but they are also not rare. According to a Pew Forum survey, 37 percent of Catholics reported that they have had a mystical experience at some point in their lives. These experiences involved a vision, an unexplained coincidence, or some spiritual happening that went beyond the ordinary and left a lasting impression.
Mystical experiences are not something that people can conjure up on their own. These kinds of experiences tend to happen unexpectedly and are so profound that they are often difficult for people to describe adequately.
Most of these experiences take place in an instant, which leaves the person feeling as if he or she has crossed over into some spiritual realm. The result is almost always some new insight, awareness, knowledge, or truth. Sometimes, the experience offers consolation and encouragement. Other times it instills in the person a feeling of courage and a renewed sense of zeal. It almost always leaves the person with feelings of deep reverence and awe.
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