Partners in prayer save the day
By Vivian Marino
Recently, we celebrated my daughter’s senior ring Mass, and I cannot tell you how excited she was to finally wear her ring. She received it on a Friday and, the following Friday, she lost it! To say she was upset was an understatement.
My daughter rarely wears jewelry, so she thought it had somehow slipped off her finger. We retraced her steps and then turned the house upside down, but nothing was found.
The next day I was searching again and was so distraught, that I immediately sent a message to my Lectio Divina group for help. I simply texted this group of 11 ladies and said, “Would you all mind saying a quick Memorare prayer for Juliette because we lost her senior ring, and we need help finding it!”
Within seconds, I received responses from these wonderful ladies with prayer emojis and even some offering their time in adoration for her.
I texted the group at 11:34 a.m.; I found it at 12:36 p.m. in the most obscure place – at the bottom of her water bottle. How it got there is beyond me, but we found it! How did I find it – with the help of my friends and their prayers.
You see, about two years ago, I prayed to Mary and Jesus asking them to send me their best friends. I specifically asked them to send one or even two people with whom I could enjoy talking about faith, family and life in general.
My prayer was answered almost a year later when I got the invitation to join this Lectio Divina group. Instead of sending one or two friends, he sent me a group! We have been meeting weekly for over a year now, and it truly is the best part of my week.
When I think of them, the parable of the paralytic man on the roof comes to mind. In Mark 2:2-11, a group of men are carrying a paralytic man on a mat in hopes that they can bring him to Jesus. Due to the crowds, their only option was to dig a hole in the roof so they could lower the man down in front of Jesus. Once they did this, Jesus forgave his sins and healed him.
My Lectio group is the equivalent of these men. They saw my need and, without hesitation, they brought it to Jesus and he answered their prayers for me.
At some point, we will all take turns being that paralytic man, and having friends to dig those holes for you is the greatest gift God can give. My prayer now is for Jesus and Mary to send their best friends to my children!
