Facing unemployment
Last year I was unemployed. Fortunately I got a job in an employment agency. There I met a man who had been unemployed for two years. I became friendly with him and gave him a prayer-card to Saint Josemaría. After saying the prayer for two weeks, he had seven interviews. Now there is a group of people who say the prayer daily, both for themselves and for others. We go to Saint Josemaría to help the unemployed. It makes sense. As he had so much interest in people working well for the love of God, he must also be interested in people having jobs so that they can work...
Chicago, United States
At the market
“I pray to Monsignor every day”, wrote a woman who works in a market. “I would be grateful if you could send me copies of the prayer for some people who want to obtain favors from the Monsignor, since I have told them that he works marvelous cures for sick people, and that he cures the curse of alcoholism. Some have already seen these marvels. So please send me some more prayer-cards.”
Guatemala
A lung transplant
I have lived in Stockholm for two years and I work as a physiotherapist with patients who suffer from cystic fibrosis, a disease that affects the lungs. One of my patients had been waiting over a year for a lung transplant. A fortnight ago this patient was hospitalized in a very bad state. On Sunday, when I went to give her treatment, I could see that she was so seriously ill – almost dying – that I felt desperate, and as I left the hospital I said, “St Josemaría, I can’t remember your prayer, but this girl needs a pair of lungs NOW!” On Monday I got a surprise: I’d hardly set foot in the hospital when I heard that my patient had been transferred to Lund in the south of Sweden very early that day, because “by chance” new lungs had been found for her!
Everything is now going well.
Stockholm, Sweden
Mother and child are well
When my sister delivered her baby, she had a massive hemorrhage which led to profound shock (the line on the electrocardiograph appeared to be flat). The priest administered the sacrament of anointing of the sick. Her husband (my brother-in-law) prayed the prayer-card and asked for the intercession of Saint Josemaría Escrivá. My sister recovered — and felt she had really been helped by that prayer. She was safe, and the baby also, and they decided to name the baby, Leonardo Ardyani Escrivá Pamungkas in gratitude to Saint Josemaría. We have made copies of the prayer-card and it has been prayed by hundreds of people.
Yogyakarta, Indonesia
From prison
The following letter, franked with a prison stamp, was written some years ago, before the beatification of Monsignor Escrivá. “I received the prayer-cards. Some of the other prisoners here are pious and say the Rosary daily. I handed them out after Sunday Mass, celebrated by the prison chaplain. I suggest you send him some too as nobody here knew this beautiful prayer. And, above all, it provides help for everyone in their daily needs. The chaplain visits six other blocks where there are old people like me who appreciate something of great Christian value.”
In the desert
The prayer-card is often passed from hand to hand and ends up in the remotest places, as is seen in this account of a Chilean lawyer. “Two weeks ago a colleague and I went to the north of the country. We had to visit a number of towns and villages to check on the progress of various cases. The road passes through huge tracts of the Atacama desert, one of the most arid in the world. As we had time to spare, we decided to visit the Encanto Valley, an archaeological site in the area. It was hard going and often difficult to distinguish between the road and the desert. We arrived at the hut giving entrance to the site. On entering I started to examine the primitive artifacts on display and was greatly surprised to see Msgr. Josemaría’s prayer-card, somewhat faded by the sun, pinned to the wall. I asked the attendant if he prayed to him, and he replied yes, that he had a great devotion to him for many years.”
Santiago de Chile, Chile
At the hospital
“In Galway”, writes an Irish doctor, “a lot of people recognize Monsignor Escrivá when I offer them a prayer-card. Some say: ‘I have that prayer a long time and have been using it.’ Others add with conviction: ‘It’s a great prayer!’ In the hospital where I work, you can see it on bedside tables, at the head of the bed, on windowsills. In some cases, patients have copied it out by hand to give it to their relatives. (...) Many pray to Monsignor Escrivá to overcome their illness. Others give the prayer-card to their relatives to pray for their recovery. They treat it with great respect and are delighted when they receive a new copy.”
Galway, Ireland
Compiled from www.josemariaescriva.info