Never losing faith or hope
I am taking advantage of a trip to Rome to personally leave this letter at 75 Bruno Buozzi Street, to share the favour my husband received:
While in the hospital three days after his surgery, he felt a tightness in his chest and told the medical staff about it immediately. He suffered a severe heart attack, went into respiratory arrest, and experienced a series of complications.
This happened on Saturday, 25 June 2016, the very day of the Mass in honour of St Josemaría in the Cathedral of Santiago (Chile), since 26 June fell on a Sunday that year. When I learned of my husband’s condition, I immediately called a friend and asked her to include him in the intentions of the Mass and to pray for him.
He spent 34 days in the hospital. The first twenty were critical. He suffered several cardiac crises and was connected to an ECMO (extracorporeal membrane oxygenation), a machine used for patients whose lungs and heart are severely damaged. The doctors said that it was practically impossible for him to survive. His organs were severely compromised, and if he did make it through, he would likely suffer serious physical and mental aftereffects.
We organized a prayer chain, asking St. Josemaría for his healing, without ever losing faith or hope.
Despite all the medical predictions, my husband began to recover, little by little. He was discharged after 34 days without any aftereffects. The doctors said they had no doubt there had been divine intervention, because there was no medical explanation for what had happened.
Seven years have gone by, and he continues to live a normal life. He is now 74 years old. I have not stopped giving thanks to God, to our Lady, and to the intercession of St Josemaría every single day, and I pray a full novena to him daily.
I am sure I owe his healing to St Josemaría and to the entire Work, especially to my friends who are cooperators (like me), since everything began on St Josemaría’s feast day.
A. M. B. - Chile
Saint Josemaría: A Life That Left a Mark (Youth Opus Dei)
After three miscarriages
I would like to share the grace I received through the intercession of St Josemaría: my pregnancy after three miscarriages. I am 28 years old and my husband is 33. We underwent several tests after the losses, but they never found the cause.
I came to know Opus Dei after my second miscarriage, through my doctor, who supported me with preventive medicine, even though no illness had been identified that could explain the infertility.
I see now that God is always giving us new gifts. In the midst of those painful losses, He allowed me to discover the Work and to draw closer to Him. I thank God and our Lady, first of all, for this grace received, and also St Josemaría for his intercession. My previous pregnancies never went beyond the sixth week, and today we are in the sixteenth week, full of joy at this beautiful sign of God's love.
Y. Z. S. C. – Brazil
Novena to Saint Josemaría for the family
Even in little things
I had to bring a bicycle I had been given from Warsaw to Poznań. It was a very good bike, worth several thousand zlotys (4 zlotys is roughly 1 euro or 1 US dollar), so I was prepared to take the train. But the train that suited me best didn’t, in theory, allow bicycles. Intercity trains that do allow bikes are marked with a special icon in the schedule... and this one didn’t have it. The earlier train did, but I couldn’t take it because I had a work meeting. The later one also allowed bikes, but I would have missed a family dinner I really didn’t want to skip.
So I entrusted the matter to St Josemaría, asking that the train staff be understanding and let me bring the bike on board. After praying the prayer card, I felt more at peace.
When I got to the platform, I saw that the carriages had been changed, and there was now a carriage in the lineup with space for probably 10 or 15 bicycles. Mine was the only one. I didn’t even have to speak to the staff about it. St Josemaría looks after his spiritual children even in these minor matters.
S. U. - Poland