Because of you Papa, I believe that Jesus exists…

This is my story when I was around 5 years old. At that time, the most important person in my mind is only my father (we call him “Papa” in our language) and that I love him a lot… But, unfortunately, he worked very far from our city; he worked on the different island.

Me, I’m the smallest, my older sister and my older brother, three of us very missed him…

I remembered that we could only talk with him on the phone once and in my age; I didn’t know why I could hear his voice in a little box...

But by just hearing his voice in the phone was not enough for us. We really wanted to see his face and watch him while talking to us, especially when he was calling my name…

I did not know whose idea, my sister or my brother (and off course not me because I did not know who Jesus was, I only knew that He is a God and we could ask something through Him), we’ve decided to pray to Jesus and asked him to send my dad home.

So, my sister and I were looking for some flowers in our garden and we placed it in a plate. My brother prepared the room, the cross, and the candle to pray. We put the flowers under the foot of the cross.

After that, we were standing in front the door, made a queue to enter the room which was very dark, just only a candle inside. As I could remember, I told Him just one or two phrases: “Lord, I missed my dad. Could You send him home?” And after that, we just cried together in the dark until there were no more tears that could fall again.

We were waiting that night, until I felt asleep. After that, somebody was knocking the front door in the midnight. And you know who that was?? Yup, MY DAD WAS HOME!!!

Suddenly I woke up because I heard his voice was calling my name… I ran to him, and hugged him, and sat in his lap and felt a sleep again…. I felt that in that time I could sleep without crying to miss him again…

If you asked me: Is there a heaven in this earth? Or that God can hear our prayer?

I can say it clearly, yes, there is! And He can… He has sent my father home…

When life is so hard and not easy, just remember that we have a great father who loves us so much… and not far away… You just need to close your eyes and say to Him, “God, please help me!!” …And like a father, He will in hurry to help us.

God bless you.

Church of the Blessed Sacrament

Prayer Before a Crucifix

  -  Country          : United States

  -  City                : New York City

  -  Address          : 152 West 71st Street, New York, NY, 10023 (Manhattan)

  -  Their website : www.blessedsacramentnyc.com

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  -  Weekday Masses :

           Monday - Friday : 07:30 am

                                        12:10 pm

                                        05:30 pm

  -  Sunday Masses :

           Saturday             : 05:30 pm

           Sunday               : 08:30 am                              12:30 pm (choir)

                                        10:00 am (family mass)        05:30 pm

                                        11:00 am (spanish)

                                       

  -  Confessions :

           Saturday            : 04:30 - 05:15 pm

           and anythime at the Rectory

  -  Babtism :

           3rd Sunday        : 02:00 pm

  -  Benediction of The Blessed Sacrament :

           1st Friday - Exposition : 12:35 pm

           Adoration                     : all day

           Benediction                  : 05:15 pm

  -  Miraculous Medal Novena :

           Monday             : 12:00 pm 

                                        05:15 pm

  -  Fatima Devotion :

           The rosary is said daily after the 12:10 pm Mass. Friday from 6-7 there is a holy hour.

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I found a beautiful old prayer from 1923 in this church. You can find the photo of this prayer in below of this text.

Prayer Before a Crucifix

Look down upon me, good and gentle Jesus, while before Thy face I humbly kneel, and with burning soul pray and beseech Thee to fix deep in my heart lively sentiments of faith, hope and charity, true contrition for my sins, and a firm purpose of amendment; the while I contemplate with great love and tender pity Thy five wounds, pondering over them within me, whilst I call to mind the words which David, Thy Prophet, said of Thee, my Jesus: “They pierced my hands and my feet; they numbered all my bones.”

A plenary indulgence may be granted if FIVE OUR FATHERS and FIVE HAIL MARYS are recited after this prayer, for the intention of Our Holy Father the Pope.

New York, August 11, 1923

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Struggle with Discouragement

This story happened to me at the time when I was not sure about my capability and had to facing a man who said a discouragement words several times.

(Marc 9:22-24: “It has often thrown him into fire and into water to kill him. But if you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.” Jesus said to him, “ ’If you can!’ Everything is possible to one who has faith.” Then the boy’s father cried out, “I do believe, help my unbelief!”)

It happened in 2008, when I decided to continue my master degree. At that time, I was applying into a university in France even though I could not speak French even a single word (in France, most of people do not speak English). As information, for normal international students, we have to learn French at certain level by taking a French course (min. 1 year), then repeat the last year of bachelor before enter into master. It means we have to spend 2 years before master.

Lucky me, my professor said that I can enter directly to master without spending 2 years-preparation. And here the problems: first of all, I could not speak a single word in French (I do not understand what “merci” is, so you can imagine how bad it was) and… I was very bad in learning a language; even my English was very bad comparing with my friends in the same class. And the biggest problem was that the course would be in French!!

And at that time, I only had 2 weeks left before my departure to France.  So then I decided at least I must learn how to pronounce the French words even though I did not understand it. I took a private course.

But do you know what the teacher said to me at the very beginning of our course meeting??

        “You will fail for sure!”

       “You know, some students who had already learnt French for 6 months were sent home by their professors! So it is useless for you to go there!”

        “You will fail! For sure! So, just refuse your acceptance!”

I felt very depressed when hearing that. I was so upset (to him and my self because I am bad in learning language) and afraid that it would be happened to me. And he was repeating his words in each meeting for almost 2 weeks!

Of course when I arrived in France, it was not easy to learn a new language from the very beginning. When I could not understand the professors’ speech, the teacher’s words remained steadily in my mind: 

“You will be failed!” repeatedly… 

But I studied very hard, prayed, and tried to keep it in my mind:

        God has already sent me here, in this land, He will never abandon me.

        He will make a way when it seems to be no way.

        If He closes the door, He will open another door.

Now I can say to you, instead of failed, I got 2 master diplomas!

Instead of being sent back to my home country, now I am taking my doctoral program in Germany and France!

How great our God! He makes a way! He opens the door! He does! And He will do a great thing to one who believes Him!

What I want to share with you is:

God gives a dream to every person. (Proverb 23:18: For you will surely have a future, and your hope will not be cut off.)

Do not let anyone else break your dream. It does not matter what the people around you (family, parents, best friends, enemy, spouse, children, etc) say to you, they can say whatever they want to discourage you. 

But you, do not give up just because of what they have said. You must try it, and give your very best. No matter the result is, failed or succeed, you do not have any regret because you have already tried it. DO NOT GIVE UP!!! A failure is not a dead end, but it means one step closer to success.

GBU!

Catholic Dignity