A Miracle for Mary at our Douai Retreat
A Miracle for Mary at our Douai Retreat
The following experience was shared by Mary. This story is anonymised and produced here with permission.
“I want to hear God speak to me,” said Mary. “My friends often say that God speaks to them, but God doesn’t speak to me.” At the start of each PositiveFaith retreat weekend, people are asked why they have come and what they want. It’s a way of discovering what our members want from their time away. How could such an expectation be met? “I know if I hear His voice, I will be afraid,” she continued, “but still, I want to hear His voice.”
Mary arrived on the Friday hoping for some peace and rest. The past year had not been so good. She carried with her many worries, not least concerns for her daughter, who was struggling at college, keeping bad company, and smoking too much, Mary thought. She had tried to help whenever she could. Mary just felt frustrated and sad. She didn’t know what to do. Mary’s daughter let her know that her advice was not appreciated, and they argued a lot. Naturally, this hurt her feelings. Often, she couldn’t find the right words to say to the daughter she loved so much.
This will be familiar to many parents. Young adults face so many challenges. Naturally, a parent’s guidance may be dismissed as interference. Perhaps the young person will shout, “You just don’t understand!” At the same time, how could Mary’s daughter understand the many sacrifices Mary had made to raise her only child alone?
As the retreat went ahead, Mary remained in a state of distress. She had great difficulty sleeping, so even the rest she had hoped for was denied her. On the final morning, she spoke with one of the members and was soon in floods of tears as she shared her pain. Mary seemed inconsolable.
Knowing that this was Mary’s first visit to Douai, Lazarus had been looking for an opportunity all weekend to bring her to the glade behind the Abbey, where a large crucifix stands. But there hadn’t seemed to be a good time. Mary was so upset. Finally, on Sunday, Lazarus invited Mary to this quiet place, where he left her alone. Mary knelt before the feet of Jesus on the Cross, and she prayed. She shared all her hurts and worries with Him. She cried and spoke with our dear Lord from the depths of her heart.
Shortly after, others arrived with Abigail to see this place. Now composed, Mary asked one of the members to take a photo of her so she could remember her time of prayer at the foot of the Cross. Several photos were snapped quickly on the smartphone. Straight away, Mary looked at the photos just taken. As she swiped from one to the next, something remarkable happened.
All the photos were more or less the same. They showed Mary standing by the Cross on a dry but not especially sunny day. The sky through the trees was light but not bright. But the final two showed Mary encircled in an arc of light. Mary was amazed by what she saw. Excitedly, she called the others to look! The exercise was repeated with Abigail by the Cross to see if the same effect was replicated. Of course, it was not. Everyone agreed that the appearance of beautiful rays of light in the last two photos, not perceptible otherwise, was indeed remarkable. This was Mary’s moment. She understood the message of the picture, and it was meant for her. In that moment, Mary felt God speaking to her.
Mary’s daughter also attended the weekend retreat and helped to look after the children. Mary has since reported that, against all their expectations, her daughter had passed her second year of college after all. She is studying hard again and has stopped smoking. And Mary knows not to disturb her daughter, who has started to reserve some time for prayer each day.
“It is a miracle!” Mary said later. Her prayers have been answered in a most surprising way.
