Two Stories: Priceless and Sister’s Story
Hello, friends. Hope your Lent is going well. The following story just seemed to fit. And when you’re finished with this one, another one follows:
One of my favorite episodes in Scripture has Jesus telling his followers that the more they give, the more they will receive. It cannot be otherwise, he explains, because God will never be outdone in generosity. The concept of tithing is explained in a different part of Scripture, the idea that the first fruits—perhaps 10 percent of one’s earnings—should be given to God as an act of faith. (The actual money can be given to charity or church.)
It sounds simple, but putting it into practice is very difficult. We all have reasons for not giving money away, especially now when so many people are out of work completely, or earning reduced wages. But a principle is a principle, and it works all the time, not just when it seems easier to accept.
Colleen W. knows it first hand and her story is typical of how most of us take the first step. Finances had been somewhat tight for Colleen. One day she received a letter from a woman for whom she had done a favor. Inside was a gift card for $25, along with a brief “thank you” note from the woman.
Colleen was hadn’t expected to be paid, and she was thrilled. She couldn’t remember the last time she had received money that had no specific destination. The possibilities, although modest, seemed endless—something to wear? Something pretty for spring? She headed out to one of her favorite stories to enjoy some browsing time before making a selection.
While wandering up and down the aisles, she passed a display of Easter bunnies and angels. And she thought immediately of Grace. Grace was a dear friend who was mourning the death of her son. He had died around Easter of last year, and the anniversary was approaching. How would Grace handle it, Colleen wondered? Grace had started a collection of angels and another of bunnies shortly after the funeral. “They just make me feel better,” she once explained to Colleen. Now Colleen was looking at a display of the same items, and…she moved closer. There was a statue of an angel holding a bunny. Just perfect for Grace. The price? A little under $25.
No, Colleen thought. I can’t spend my gift card on something for someone else… But she could and she knew it. You will be repaid, said a voice in her head, but what did that mean? Quickly, before she changed her mind, she bought the statue, went home, wrapped it and left it on Grace’s porch.
When Grace phoned, Colleen could hardly hear her through the tears. “It’s the nicest thing that’s happened to me in a long time,”her friend told her. “How could you possibly know that I was asking God for a sign that my son is in His arms?”
Colleen cried too then. She had definitely been repaid, as the words in her head had promised. What could be more enjoyable than making someone happy?
God probably feels that way too, which is why Colleen received an unexpected check in the mail a few days later, from a utility bill overcharge. The amount? $25.
The amount? Not important. Being a part of God’s answer to prayer? Priceless.
In 1855, Adele Bris — a 24-year-old who, with her family, had come from Belgium to settle near Green Bay, Wisconsin — began seeing a beautiful lady, just as the famous Bernadette of Lourdes had a year before.
The lady was concerned about the new immigrants abandoning their faith, and she asked Adele to teach the children. Education progressed, but slowly. At one point the lady told Adele that her son might need to punish the people if they did not mend their ways. Adele was convinced she was speaking to Mary, the mother of Jesus.
Adele became a nun, opened a school and built a shrine called the Chapel but continued to experience much rejection. Then, on October 8, 1871, disaster struck. Chicagoans battled an enormous fire which ruined much of their city. On the same night, flames were also wiping out Peshtigo, Wisconsin, a small town near Green Bay. Encircled by the inferno, Adele, her fellow Sisters and several families fled to the shrine for protection. Many brought their livestock as well (although the city’s wells ran dry, the little well at the shrine was able to supply all that the animals needed).
All night the people prayed, and by morning rain had come. As far as could be seen, everything had been destroyed, everything but the convent, the school, the chapel and the parcel of land consecrated to the Virgin Mary. Though the fire singed the chapel fence, it had not entered the chapel grounds. (Peshtigo lost 2,500 people, ten times that of Chicago’s death toll). Those assembled were awestruck. Was there a spiritual significance here?
Today the Shrine of Our Lady of Good Help remains directly over the site where Mary appeared to Adele. And last December, the Bishop of the Green Bay diocese approved the apparitions as worthy of belief, making this the first and only Marian Shrine in the United States which is on the site of an approved apparition. People traveling in the area have helped to make it a popular stop, and volunteers are preparing for larger crowds in the future.
Sister Adele died in 1896 with no fanfare or recognition. But she had carried out her heavenly assignment, and no doubt found great treasure in heaven. She leaves one question: Are destructive forces in nature related to humankind’s behavior here on earth? What do you think?
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Yes Joan… I do think some disasters are a part of God’s plan. The Blessed Virgin Mary has said (at Medjugorje) that events, even wars, can be prevented by prayer and conversion. We seriously need to pray more – look at what is currently happening!
Thank you for your truly good works! I’ve read most of your books.