Telegrams to Padre Pio… a story from Austria-

Shortly before Easter 1950, I found out that a dear friend of mine who lived in Innsbruck, had suffered a heart attack while visiting her sisters in Vienna; she was in hospital hovering near death. I wondered what I could do. Whenever I have asked myself this question on similar occasions, I have always felt the entirety of my wretchedness and my inability to offer real help.

Of course I can pray. To be sure, we never pray in vain, even if we are conscious of the weakness of our own prayers. But in these kind of cases we need powerful prayers; so I sent the following telegram to San Giovanni Rotondo. “Padre Pio, we very much recommend to your prayers Mrs N.B who is seriously ill in Vienna, so that she may improve, have priestly assistance and go back home”

Almost immediately I received the response from San Giovanni Rotondo “Padre Pio prays for the sick woman, sends his blessing and his best wishes” My friend recovered from her heart attack almost immeditely and her health improved day to day, she was also visited by a priest and was able to go back home to Innsbruck.

And thus all 3 things I had asked for in my telegram, at a moment when, humanly speaking there was no hope left, were granted to the letter.

The Good Shepherd ... a story from Australia

A young girl, a lapsed Catholic, broke her leg . As she was unable to do much, one of her friends asked her if she would like to go to Mass with her and she went along.

The reading was about the Good shepherd going after the lost sheep. And in the sermon the priest was saying that in olden times when a lamb was a bit wayward sometimes the shepherd would break one of its legs, so it would be immobile and unable to run off and would then carry it around on his shoulders while the leg healed.

In that way the lamb would become familiar with the shepherd and less inclined to stray. As the girl was listening to this, its application in her life became clear and she came home to the church and counted the broken leg as a blessing !