Saints' Discussion Forums

What was a Providential moment in your life when you feel God intervened and you will never forget?

That you feel free to talk about?

 :D

Here is one from my life.

I had taken up the chaplet of St. Michael prayers, for those who are not familiar with them they are the ones with this description:

Appearing to the Servant of God, Antonia d' Astonac, St. Michael revealed that he wished to be honored by nine salutations corresponding to the nine choirs of Angels and that an Our Father and three Hail Marys should be said in honor of each of these nine choirs. The Archangel promised that whoever would practice this devotion in his honor would have, when approaching the Holy Table, an escort of nine Angels from each of the nine choirs. In addition, for the daily recital of these nine salutations, he promised his continual assistance and that of all the holy Angels during life, and after death, for those who have been holy enough to warrant a short Purgatory, deliverance for themselves and their relations.

I prayed the prayers, but did not have any beads for them. It was my habit to simply pray them without.

One day I felt quite unworthy of the promises of the chaplet, I said to myself, "What if all these angels are helping me, and wasting their time, better spent elsewhere, since I am praying it and gaining this promise?" I do not want them to be wasting their time with me.

After mass that day I went up to the Communion rail, and knelt down before the sanctuary and offered up the promises back to God, saying, if God wished it, let the angels take care of other folks who have a better need for them, do not let them be obligated to be with me because of the promises. I give them back to Him.

I prayed for a time and stood up to leave, and a person had came down the aisle and said someone wished to speak to me. The person directed me to the back of the church, taking me to meet a woman there in a wheelchair. They said some things that confused me a little, trying to reassure me somehow, and giving me to understand she was someone who was sometimes told things by Our Lord. Then she said, she was told, she wanted me to understand she was told to give me this, and she gave me a string of beads --

It was a chaplet of St. Michael.

I will add I had not mentioned to anyone else I practiced this devotion, no one on earth knew of it. And too, the church I went to at the time, is called St. Michael's. Has a statue of him out front.

So St. Michael and the angels will still specially help even truly worthless folks like this one.

I was truly surprised by it and will never forget it. I still have those beads. And so I truly recommend to folks praying the chaplet of St. Michael. Hopefully this story will help folks to realize it's good to take up, and the promises are not going away. They're still fulfilled today, and if you wish to honor the angels and make your life on earth happier by making Heaven happier, there is the chaplet of St. Michael.

It's one of those special devotions, like the 15 Prayers of St. Bridget, which I was given once during Eucharistic Adoration and which had its own Providential story.

 :D

I have been sitting here staring at your post, my eyes tearing!
A truly indisputable miracle! It gives me strength to pray even more.
 Did you feel even closer to God at that point in time?
Blessed be Our God, now and forever!

Ho ho, don't make my eyes gleam too!

It's a secret to happiness (http://saintsworks.net/forums/index.php?topic=212.0), that chaplet. Whenever you pray it I think you might feel happier because Heaven's happiness rains down. I recommend it to all.  :angelyellow: :angelblue: :thrones:

It was a very unusual time in my life then. I felt very close to God all the time, I was going to daily mass twice a day at times.. Despite that I had so much to overcome, some habits that I was quite unaware of the trouble of, sadly.. I didn't understand so much.. It makes me think how dangerous ignorance is.. and how much being humbled by very hard events helps the soul..

I wonder how that lady is doing now, it's been many years. I still have the little letter I asked her to write of the event though, I asked her to write it down, it is in a box, I have not read it in awhile. I should I think.

It makes me think of another story in my life. I'll share the one about the St. Bridget prayers I think, though I hope to hear from some other folks too..?

If it had been me in your place, I would probably made a nuisance of myself, never wanting to loose contact with her.
A really holy person that woman is!

Ho ho you would be like her friend who talked to me a bit and too. Nancy, who knew everything about every sort of miraculous or at least believed to be so event. I talked with her awhile too, I remember a very nice woman..

At that time in my life I was very wrapped up in a lot of personal troubles.. despite all the graces.. Or where troubles about, grace abounds more?

I heard a story recently from a lady who met a priest who read her conscience once. I must remember that one. What a gift.

She said something very soothing. That the Holy Ghost brings to mind past sins little by little, and as He does to confess them as part of your regular confession. The gradualness is God's mercy, for some folks, if you remember everything at once it would perhaps provoke despair!

The chaplet of St. Michael prayers, is present in the little booklet known as PIETA. It is a wonderful prayer book, with treasures like the Fifteen Prayers of Saint Bridget and many other. I have had the book for years but used it only when I first bought it and then put it aside. Today I bought a revised edition. The rosary was not available but there is a woman who makes them and she promised to make more and bring to the bookshop in the next few days.
Thanks for sharing Shin. I am really keen on this one.

Yes, the Pieta prayer book, I know that one. There are some very wonderful prayers in there!   :flower:

 :crucifix:

Let me know how it goes! !  :D

I guess I'll share another story and hope some folks find one to share too.

This one is short.

It's about some other prayers. The 15 Prayers of St. Bridget.

Years ago I went to an church that held regular Eucharistic Adoration. I went there and prayed, and saw a lady there with a veil. She was in the pews, and she held a booklet. It was a very thin booklet, I saw the cover and recognized the prayers, it was 'The Fifteen Prayers of St. Bridget'. Tan Books published those prayers in a booklet, with images from the Crucifixion to help. The older cover was very simple, it is not the same cover now. . . I had prayed the 15 Prayers of St. Bridget before, but not regularly pursing the devotion, and I was happy to see another person who appreciated the prayers..

So I mentioned to her that I loved the prayers, I do not remember the words anymore, it was a number of years ago. I told her I was happy to see the prayer book. Then she offered the prayer book to me.

I was quite surprised, I thought I might be depriving her of the prayer book, but she urged it upon me, she told me to take it. And so I did and thanked her.

It was after that I took of the yearly devotion of the 15 Prayers of St. Bridget. This is praying the prayers each day for an entire year.

( I hope folks will read about the 15 Prayers of St. Bridget. )

I do not understand quite how I did that devotion, or decided to take it up, because you see, to do it every day without miss for a year. . .

How do I explain? It is impossible. Impossible -- for me. At that time in my life, it is impossible, I cannot do it. I did not have the virtue, or the habits.

Yet strangely..

After she gave it to me, that booklet in Eucharistic Adoration, I did it.

Strangely, I prayed the prayers every day for a year. Sometimes midnight close at hand, but finishing just before, just before.. each time..

Somehow.. what I could not normally ever do.. it happened. I completed the devotion for a year, and to my recollection, I did not miss out a day.

There is nothing I could do then, or did do, so regularly, I did not possess that virtue, to every day without fail do something like that, or anything practically.

And my irregular life around it still persisted. Yet so did the prayers.

I do not know how to communicate it. How.. impossible for me to be so regular was. You will think too much of my capabilities, perhaps?

But I lived a very irregular life back then. So irregular, humanly speaking.. no, simply no it could not happen.

But it did. I wish now, that I had not broken off, after the year.

So I see Providence there, so thankfully, in that church, and in the lady who I think prayed for me. . . and gave me the gift of the 15 Prayers of St. Bridget.

Those very special prayers.

For sure!

You did it with God's grace. He wants us to be willing at least to take the first steps. He does the rest so that a seemingly impossible thing turns out to be doable after all.
Pray more for those kinds of encounters because you seem destined for them and they do strengthen our faith.

Thank you for the advice, odhiambo.

Have you ever read the book: " The Poem of the Man God" by the Italian mystic Maria Valtorta?

I remember reading a short bit of it, then putting it aside. It is controversial, there are articles about it some saying there has been approval and some disapproval by various authorities and I have never sorted it out.

I set it aside due to that. I did not want to read something of such a sacred subject I did not have confidence in.

Ok. I was brought all the four or five volumes by my niece who is in Italy. I read the lot. Was not aware of any controversy.
If that still exists then it is best to leave it be. :(

Ah well. I think that you have made a good decision.

It was a kindly meant gift no doubt, of such a sacred subject. You have that thought of her good wishes even though the books be put away, you can be thankful to have a niece who wished you to read of the crucifixion at least. :D

God keep you odhiambo! Keep happy!  :flower:

Can one say the fifteen prayers spread out during the day or does it have to be at one prayer session?

I do think you can spread it out during the same day, if you wish. I have not been in that habit but it has its good points I think!  :D

A long story I will try to keep short. 8years ago I became quite ill and could only work 4 hours a day, my wife's company notified her they were either closing down or moving to the Midwest, we were losing our home and getting forclosure notices, both my son's were in the military, my grandchildren were living in California so I never saw them and my spiritual life was in disarray. My life was falling apart, we were losing everything, one day I prostrated myself on bedroom floor and wept before God and prayed that He be merciful and forgive me for all my sins and spare my wife from the fears she was undergoing, I begged Him to let me know my grandchildren, and a chance to turn my life around and start living it as a child of God should. The next morning a man came to our house to cut our grass, he said a mutual friend had told him we might be interested in selling our home( which was in great disrepair requiring many thousands to fix) and how much would we take for it, I figured out how much we owed on all our debts and how much it would take for a down payment on a new home and I gave him the number, knowing he wouldn't pay that much for a house in such bad shape. That night he called me and agreed to buy the house (as is) for what I asked for it, we were stunned, a month later my wife came home from work and told me her company asked her if she would move to Indiana to be a manger at their new facility, we agreed to go and they flew us out there and helped us build our new home. I started having more health issues and could barely work at all, my wife came to me one night and handed me a check from the money we got from selling our home, and told me she wanted me to go to Lourdes to find my answers. So me and 2 friends of mine got our tickets  and went (One friend was a pagan the other had no faith at all) (long story- short), I came home full of faith and sure of the miracles of Lourdes and both friends came home Christians, the one sings in his church choir. We moved to Indiana and my health began to deteriorate finally they put me on disability, my son got out of the military and his wife told him he she wanted to move out of California to Indiana, but they both had to work and needed a babysitter, for a few hours a day, being home alone I told them I could handle it and so they moved here, which answered the prayer I prayed to Our Lady at Lourdes. When they got here my 3 year old grand daughter became deathly sick and went to the emergency room in our small town hospital, where they discovered a birth defect that was strangling her and sent her to children's hospital for surgery, they told us one more month she would have died, the big hospital in California had misdiagnosed her, but they found the problem here in our little hospital. Now both girls are in school but I see them every day, my prayer was answered. The prayer I said that day 8 years ago changed so many lives for the better, my wife and I laugh about how I had to get really sick for all these things to happen as they did, but I wouldn't change a thing, there is so much more to the story but I have to get going. By the way, living out here, not knowing anyone, no friends, feeling kind of lonely I got a computer and started looking for a Catholic website where I could pray with other believers and guess what I found  Saintsworks :cheers: :+:

Amazing stories and very encouraging!! Shin, I want to start saying the chaplet of St. Michael after reading your providential story!! :crucifix:  George, your prayers were answered in a swift manner!!  :angelyellow:

George, it's so inspiring to read!

I have not got words!

I'll have to find them! ! !

And I am so glad to simply hear from you, we're all praying together it's good to read one of your posts.  :flower:

This place helps me keep from being too alone too. I am such a solitary person, and shy -- and so poor at keeping touch as much as most people like, though I am always thinking of and praying for folks. I don't think you get much more solitary than a computer programmer who would wish to be a Carthusian.  But even someone like that needs friends and family. ::)

Through this place I have dear friends and family. And we have the saints and angels always there. And I am very thankful to God.

 :flower:

Thank you for sharing George.
God is with us.  He listens;  He acts!

"All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
 God is our merciful Father and the source of all comfort."
2 Corinthians 1:3

I have the rosary. It is pink/red. I understand it is supposed to be red in color

I started today with an unblessed Rosary. I could not wait till Sunday to have it blessed so I asked the Lord to bless it meanwhile. I ran into a little problem if you can straighten it out for me.
In the pieta prayer book, on the four pendant beads, we are supposed to say an Our Father for each of the four leading Angels, that is; St. Michael, St. Gabriel; St. Raphael and  our Guardian Angel.
That is four Our Fathers,
In another booklet I have, we are supposed to say an Our Father on the first of the four  beads then on the other three, we say a Hail Mary per bead.
Which is which?
I said the Our Fathers.

For each of the nine choirs, you say one Our Father and three Hail Marys.

Then at the end of the chaplet, you say four Our Fathers -- one each for St. Michael, St. Gabriel; St. Raphael and your Guardian Angel.

At least that's what I've read and how I've always done it. :D

Thank you. Will continue that way.

I was at work and I was hungry and I had no money to buy any food. I prayed to God, "Give us this dday our daily bread." Within fifeen minutes I was confronted by an elderly couple. They said we have all this food but we cannot eat it. We would like for you to have it. This was some kind of chinese food. It had vegatables that I had never seen before nor ever again. But it tasted very good. I thank God for the food and for the elderly couple that brought it to me.

That's amazing Poche!! Were they angels? We will never know in this life.  O:)
  I have told this story before on this forum but will repeat it. We were at a gas station out of town . I was in the car with 3 older kids and my baby on my lap in the passenger seat. My husband parked the car and went in to buy something quick. I don't remember exactly what he did because I noticed the car was not on park and moved it to park but without pressing the brake ( my mistake ). The car began moving backwards since we were on a slope. I panicked because behind me was the gas station . Some older men were standing outside the store talking and noticed what was happening. One of them moved fast for his weight and age.  He moved with the car, opened the driver door , slid in and put his foot on the brake pedal and moved the car to park position. All this happened in seconds. I was too frozen to even thank him or react. So there we were parked in the middle between the gas station and the parking spaces, looking frightened and ridiculous.  ;D The man finished his conversation with the other man and abruptly left before I could thank him. My son ran in to call my husband, and boy was he mad!!  :D  God bless that man wherever he is!!  Our guardian angels are constantly on the watch. :angelbell:

This is really splendid to hear of Patricia!

That was really something! Deo gratias!!!  ;D ;D ;D

Another time I was working at night. I had to train someone and as part of their training I had to leave them alone. It was around 1:30am. I started to pray the rosary and I offered it to God for the someone who was to die that night. At the end of my shift I went to mass at a parish I didn't ordinarily go to for a conference. I had come to that place on the wrong day. The conference was for another day but the priest came out and said "I have an announcement, X a long time parishoner died last night at approximately 1:30am."
May her soul and the souls of all the faithful departed rest in peace. Amen. 

The Lord chose you to pray for X; Maybe there was no one and the Lord provided. How wonderful.
I understand the chaplet of Divine Mercy is another wonderful intercessory prayer for the dying even if one is not in the same room with the dying, the Lord promised Sister Faustine " ...Write that when they say this chaplet in the presence of the dying, I will stand between My Father and the dying person, not as the just Judge but as the merciful Savior (Diary, 1541)."