As every iota of sin is heinous to the Lord our God, I make it a point to go for the sacrament of reconciliation regularly, usually every other week. Today I found myself going early to be the first in line. As I sat there, a lady asked if it was the queue for the sacrament, and I said yes. I recognized her from about nine years ago when she first walked into the parish. She was new there, from the United States, and didn’t know anybody in the parish. I remember striking a conversation with her, and she shared with me at that time that she was a cradle Catholic, but her husband and children were brought up in a different denomination. She was finding a catholic church to introduce her son into the Catholic faith. I welcomed her and invited her to join my cell group. I got her number and her name and reached out to her every other month, but she never showed up not to even one. After a while, I didn’t see her in church anymore.
Today she sat beside me. I asked her, “Do you remember me?” and I asked her name again, and she shared that it was Rebecca. She said, “Yeah, the cell group leader, right?” I said, “Yes.” Then she started to sniffle and shared with me that she was drawn to coming back to the Catholic faith, and the Lord has put it on her heart to do so. She even brought one of her sons with her, and they were going for the sacrament of reconciliation, She began to tear a little bit. I just told her not to worry, because it is definitely the Lord that has called her back. According to his will for her and her family, and in his time, he will be the one to draw them back home. But even if some of her family members they decided to remain in the other faith, they still believed in Jesus, and that was all that mattered. I offered to pray for her. As I prayed for her, she broke down a little more, and I prophesied over her at the same time.
After going for the sacrament of reconciliation, I saw, an old lady with snowy white hair. I’ve seen her before. She was always smiling, and had a helper to help her walk and to care for her. She was sitting beside a friend of mine, so I asked if they were related, and the friend said no, and shared with me that this nice old lady was ninety-one years old and that her name is Celine. I asked if she would be open for prayer. My friend didn’t know her that well, so I was to ask her on my own. I went over and asked, “Auntie Celine, is it all right I pray for you?” She said, “Sure, yes, yes. Thank you.” I started to pray for her. After finishing my prayer for her, she gave me such a radiant smile, and I was so thankful for the opportunity to pray for her.
Then I saw the son of the earlier lady moving down the queue for the sacrament. I went up to him and introduced myself. He remembered me, but unfortunately, he remembered the wrong ministry I was in. He thought I was in the St Vincent de Paul Society. I told him I was never a member there, but in any case, if it was all right, if I prayed for him. So I prayed for her son, Brandon. He was thrilled that somebody from the Catholic faith would pray for him.
After mass, as I stood outside the foyer, I saw the old auntie whose husband had passed the last time I prayed for her. I asked her how she was, and she smiled. I offered to pray for her again. The only thing is I got her name mixed up with another lady. But she was still thankful for the prayer, although she did mention, “Oh, I’m not who you think I am.” We laughed it off.
Then I saw one of my fellow communion ministers whom I served with in the past come out into the first. She has always been asking me to come back to the ministry. I love her because she’s very humble, and always cheerful. A nurse by profession Earlier, her daughter wanted to bring the father for reconciliation and asked if the father who is in a wheelchair could go ahead of me. I readily agreed. But later the wife, my communion minister friend came up and was slowly pushing her husband away. First she thanked me for allowing him to go ahead of me, and secondly, she explained that she had checked with a priest. Father had told her that it is not necessary for him to go for reconciliation as he had dementia. So I decided that if I saw her later, I would pray for her. Pray for the Lord to be with her because she’s just an extraordinary lady.
I’m just so thankful that the Lord has put it in my heart to pray for all these people this evening. I didn’t expect to pray for so many in one evening. All glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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