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Imagine the most freezing day you can remember.

That is what I remember about February 10th, 2017.  It was so cold out it hurt my face.

It was a Friday and I had 2 hours between dropping my son off at pre-school, running ALL THE ERRANDS, accomplishing some of the at home to do list and getting back to his school on time to pick him up.

I felt overwhelmed (like I often do).

I also knew that this was the time I liked to give prayerful witness outside the local Planned Parenthood.  It was on Fridays that the abortion doctor makes his rounds to their location.  It is on Fridays where around 25 women come for their abortion appointments every week.

It is also on Fridays when my friend Mary stands outside and from the sidewalk offers help to the women and couples walking into the building.  She takes the 30 seconds to 1 minute it takes for patients to walk from their car to the door to let it be known, there is a possible way to choose life.  There is a community of people that will provide financial and emotional support for the next months, and the next few years.

Help is out there that most Americans have NO IDEA about.

I wanted to get my personal errands done . . . but I also wanted to help Mary.  I wanted to also communicate the help and assistance that is offered with so much love and substance that this knowledge could truly give a woman with an abortion appointment the answer she desired more than that appointment.

Hope.

Realistic hope.

But being realistic, I know I have a responsiblity to help my family first. The bills need to get paid and whatever else was on my to do list that day seemed like I should do those chores more than stand outside a clinic for an hour.

Still, I felt called to do something.

I had an idea.  I texted Mary to make sure she was outside the local Planned Parenthood around 9:30 in the morning.  She responded yes.

I drove to the nearest drive-thru Dunkin’ Donuts.  I ordered 2 medium hot chocolates and one giant “box of joe” container of hot chocolate.  I got 12 cups and lids and I drove to the Planned Parenthood.

I pulled over, got out of the car and gave the two medium hot chocolates to Mary.  I suggested she offer some hot chocolate to the women walking into their appointments.

I mean, who in the world would want to talk outside on a day like this!??  It must be -30 out!  If you are going to offer some alternatives, offer some hot chocolate so she can think of something other than frost bite!

I brought the box of hot chocolate that could give a dozen people a cup to the group praying the Rosary quietly outside the clinic.

I commended them for being outside praying on such a cold day.  I hoped my gift would life their spirits.

I told Mary how sorry I was that I couldn’t stay.  I probably told her “how much I had to do”.

Then I left.  I drove away and started my to do list.

Then, at 11:00 am, I got a text message.

It was Mary.  She wanted to know A Baby’s Breath’s address and phone number. A Baby’s Breath is the crisis pregnancy center I volunteer with – it is located extremely close to the Planned Parenthood.

I sent her the info as quickly as possible.

I was filled with curiosity.  What was going on?????????

Eventually I spoke to Mary on the phone.  She had called to a woman entering the clinic saying:

“My friend just brought me hot chocolate.  She was here because she wants to adopt a sibling for her son.  All you have to do is keep your baby safe for 7 more months.”

That initiation inspired the woman walking into the Planned Parenthood for her abortion appointment to stop, turn around, and listen to more of what Mary had to offer.

Mary explained there was a place just a few doors away that offered free ultra sounds.

The woman agreed to go with Mary and request one.

Did that woman have some hot chocolate you might wonder . . . No.  As Mary told me, “that was long gone by then”.  But, Mary also told me,

“That hot chocolate gave me the good opening line that drew her to me “

In early October, after months of not really talking to Mary, I received another text:

The woman who turned away from abortion the day in February when you brought me hot chocolate just delivered a baby girl!”

Not only did Mary give this young mother hope on that cold day in February, Mary developed a relationship with her.  She helped her so much a long the way, that when her daughter was born, she felt compelled to share the joy with Mary.

I know the crisis pregnancy center offered the young mom to be help as well as Mary who works with another pro-life organization.  I don’t know if she took any help, other than that day.

My guess is many women walking into an abortion appointment are looking for a reason to turn around and never look back.

This baby girl and her mama are two people that make me think my guess is correct.

I love this memory, because it reminds me that every little thing we do in love, matters.

Giving an hour to pray outside a clinic matters. Lifting the spirits of those praying outside the clinics matter.

And lives are saved by those standing outside the clinics (another story here: God Hears Us: A Spiritual Adoption Miracle

Does this young mother struggle today?  I don’t know?  But I know Mary, and she probably checks in with her every once in a while and reminds her that she would love to help her.

Is God calling you to be a “Mary”?

Is God calling you to be a “hot chocolate deliverer”?

Will you seriously consider offering a prayerful witness to life?  What a wonderful act to do this Lent – you can, and don’t have to feel alone!

Take a minute now and go to The 40 Days for Life Website

Donate an hour of your time.  Pray for our country and our world.

And maybe, witness a miracle . . .

In the mood for hot chocolate now?

Amazon Prime has some!

Hot Chocolate – and Amazon Prime!

Dunkin’ Donuts Hot Chocolate

The post The Hot Chocolate Miracle appeared first on Prayer Wine Chocolate.

Bobby was in so much pain.  He just wanted the pain to go away.  The 14-year-old had ear infections before . . . but this one he could not shake.  It would not go away . . . and it hurt, a lot.

When one of the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament asked his mom how he was doing, she said,”well, not good.”  The Sister responded, “We will pray for him here.”

The family doctor sent him to St. Christopher’s Hospital in Philadelphia.  The doctor there performed surgery to clear up the infection and discovered it dissolved two of the bones in Robert’s ear and perforated his eardrum.  The doctor told Robert’s mother, “he will never hear out of his right ear again.”

But laying in the hospital, Bobby asked his mom who was calling him.  His mother said, “no one is calling you, go back to sleep”.  The next few days Bobby often complained how noisy his room was to his mother.  The mother told the doctor.

The doctor took a look at his patient’s ear.  He looked puzzled.  He kept looking in Bobby’s ear, then writing things down, and repeated this over and over.  When Robert’s mom questioned the doctor, he responded:

“His body is reconstructing anatomy.  It’s healing itself”.

Robert received a miracle.  His ear healed and he can hear out of both ears.

After much investigation, this miracle led to Mother Katharine Drexel becoming Blessed Katharine Drexel in 1988.

Through the intercession of Saint Katharine, Our Lord healed Robert.  He took away the pain and allowed him to hear.

A few years later, Amy Wall was born.  Amy was born deaf.

When her parents realized this, they began sending her to a school that would teach her to communicate using sign language.  The family started learning sign language too.  Mrs. Wall saw a PBS special about Bobby’s miracle and decided to pray to Blessed Katharine Drexel.  She told her older children to pray to her too.  She said, “pray for understanding”.  As a mother, I think Mrs. Wall needed the Lord to help her understand why she had to carry this cross. But also as a mother, she wanted her children to understand one another.

Amy’s big brother Jack was seven years old.  He learned about miracles in school.  He came home and asked his mother:

Why are we praying for understanding?  Why don’t we just pray she can hear?

Mrs. Wall looked at her son and said, “Okay.  We’ll pray she can hear.”

A mother embraced her child’s faith.  The family asked Blessed Katharine Drexel to intercede.  Amy, now a young adult, can not only hear, but can speak three languages.

At the canonization of Saint Katharine Drexel, Amy and her mother sat next to another woman and child.  The two moms discussed with one another the miracles they had both experienced that had led them to Rome that day.

A few hours later, Mrs. Wall realized the woman she had a conversation with only spoke Spanish.  Mrs. Wall only spoke English.  God had not only heard her prayers for her daughter to gain the ability to hear; but God also heard her prayers about understanding.

In our country today, we “hear” almost everyone’s opinion.  We often only “listen” to what we want to hear. We certainly could use some help “understanding” one another.

It is no wonder the Saint that fought for social justice intercedes for those who wish to hear and understand.

Saint Katharine Drexel not only established schools in 21 states for Native Americans and African Americans; she also initiated an anti-lynching campaign in the 1930’s.

It makes sense that Saint Katharine Drexel is known as the patron saint of racial justice and of philanthropists.

It makes sense to go to her in prayer and ask her for her to intercede on America’s behalf.

There are many people that will say, “we need to do more than just pray.”  They are right . . . but we still need to pray.

When I met Amy Wall, the young woman who was given the miracle of her deafness being healed, she reminded me

God gave us two ears and one mouth.  We need to listen twice as much as we speak

God wants to heal us.

God wants us to listen to one another and understand one another.

God wants us to ask Him for help.

Will you pray with me?

Ever-loving God, you called Saint Katharine Drexel to teach the message of the Gospel and to bring the life of the Eucharist to the Black and Native American peoples.

By her prayers and example, enable us to work for justice.

Draw us all into the Eucharistic Community of your Church, that we may be one in you.

Help us to remove each others’ pain; 

Help us to hear and listen to one another;

Help us to understand each other and Your will for all of us.

Help us to live in harmony with one another.

Grant this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

Amen.

“Christ wishes the Christian Community to be a body that is perfect because we work together towards a single end, and the higher the motive which actuates this collaboration the higher, no doubt, will be the union.” Saint Katharine Drexel

The post Hear, Listen, Understand: St. Katharine Drexel’s Prayer for America appeared first on Prayer Wine Chocolate.

The conversation between the social worker and the hospital nurse would normally stop there – but for some reason the nurse was compelled to say, “this baby is very sick”.

Hearing this news made my heart sink.  Matt and I were devastated.  This was the fourth time we had our hopes up in a one year span – we were finally going to be parents!  This was the fourth time the plan was changed.

But this time, it was even more devastating. Matt was certain this was our child.  I didn’t know what to think.  But I knew a baby was born, “very sick”, and needed prayers.

I went to adoration and prayed for the baby’s health.  I thought, whether we adopt him or not, he needs to heal.

Then, about two weeks later, we got a call we didn’t expect.  The biological parents changed their minds again, and decided that adoption would be best for their baby.

The social worker told me over the phone that all she could tell me is that the baby is sick.  She needed to know if we were still interested.  I thought YES, and talked to Matt.  All I kept thinking was – we will pray and he will be okay!

We told the adoption agency we were still interested.  I then went to the members of Saint Gianna Beretta Molla, Pray for us! group on Facebook.  I posted:

Please pray to St. Gianna – ask her to heal a little boy in the NICU. We may adopt him . . . we have been praying to be parents for 6 years!!!!!!

Nine days later, I posted this on that same group page . . .

For those of you praying for the little baby boy in the NICU – THANK YOU! We are adopting him!  We can’t wait until he is healthy enough to bring home. I taped a St. Gianna card to the back of his name sign on his crib in the hospital. St. Gianna please continue to pray for him!!!! He’s the most precious, beautiful baby I have ever laid eyes on!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sixteen days later, I posted this . . .

Xavier came home from the hospital today! He had to come home with a feeding tube, but other than that he’s all good! We finally found out when we were coming home after I took 2 Saint Gianna prayer cards that had been touched by her gloves and pressed them over him – from head to toe!!!!!!!!!!!!

I write this post/testimony on Saint Gianna’s daughter – Gianna Emanuela Molla’s – 54th birthday.  Gianna Emanuela only knew her mother for a little over a week.  The husband of Saint Gianna, Pietro Molla, recalled:

I still see Gianna when, on Easter morning in 1962, in the maternity ward of the Monza hospital, she took the child in her arms with great effort, she kissed her and looked at her with a sadness and an anguish that to me are the proof of her awareness that she would soon orphan her. From that day, her pain became constant. – Pietro Molla, husband of Saint Gianna

Saint Gianna passed away on April 28, 1962.  Her life and death were lived for the glory of God and her love of Jesus.  Anytime is a great time to ask for her prayers and intercession.  There are many books written about her, some exclusively recount miracles attributed to her intercession.

Our family could add at least one more testimony.  Here is the novena prayer to Saint Gianna:

Novena To Obtain Graces Through Saint Gianna Beretta Molla

God, our Father, You have granted to Your church the gift of Gianna Beretta Molla. In her youth she lovingly sought You and drew other young people to You, involving them, through apostolic witness and Catholic Action, in the care of the sick and aged, to help and comfort them.

We thank You for the gift of this young woman, so deeply committed to You. Through her example grant us the grace to consecrate our lives to Your service, for the joy of our brothers and sisters.

Glory be …

Jesus, Redeemer of mankind, You called Saint Gianna to exercise the medical profession as a mission for the comfort of bodies and souls. In her suffering fellow men and in the little ones, deprived of all support, she saw You.

We thank You for having revealed Yourself to this servant as “one who serves” and who soothes the sufferings of men. Treasuring her example may we become generous Christians at the service of our brothers and sisters, especially those with whom You deign to share Your Cross.

Glory be…

God, Sanctifying Spirit, who love the Church as Your Bride, You poured into the heart of Saint Gianna a share of Your Love so that she could radiate it in her family, and thus cooperate with You in the wonderful plan of creation, and give life to new children who could know and love You.

We thank You for this model wife and, through her encouraging witness, we beg You to grant to our families the serene and Christian presence of mothers committed to transform their homes into cenacles of faith and love, rich with generous activity and sanctifying service.

Glory be…

O God, Creator and lover of mankind, You were close to Saint Gianna when, affected by illness, she was in the painful dilemma of choosing between her own life and the life of the child whom she was carrying in herself, a gift long-awaited. Trusting You alone, and aware of Your Commandment to respect human life, Gianna found the courage to do her duty as a mother and to say “yes” to the new life of her baby, generously sacrificing her own. Through the intercession of Mary, Mother of Jesus, and after the example of Gianna, inspire all mothers to welcome with love the sparkle of new life. Grant us the grace we are praying for …………. and the joy to find an inspiration in Saint Gianna who, as a model spouse and mother, after the example of Christ, gave up her life for the life of others.

Hail Mary…

If you are eager to learn more about Saint Gianna, here are some resources (including an affiliate link):

An informative website and details about the National Shrine: Saint Gianna Beretta Molla

To purchase a book about Saint Gianna, written by her husband, click here: Saint Gianna Molla: Wife, Mother, Doctor

If you would like to join the Facebook Group Saint Gianna Beretta Molla, pray for us!! click here: Saint Gianna Beretta Molla, pray for us!!!

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