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March 4, 2023I have often been asked, "What brought you to the Catholic faith?" My answer is always the same, "My journey began with an Orthodox Jewish physician who walked with me through the wilderness of having a very ill newborn son." At the time when our son was born, my family and I were no longer attending church and even though this physician made no reference to his Jewish faith, I knew he was a person of compassion for I could see and feel through my tears and anguish, he was also a healer, with comforting words. That was over forty years ago, and our son has a family of his own. I consider this a miracle, a miracle of biblical proportion.
In the Book of Deuteronomy, we find Moses having now concluded the commandments that God had instructed him to teach his people, as his life draws to an end, and he realizes he will not be allowed to journey with them to the promised land. He is exhorting his people to observe God's commandments, decrees, and explanations with all their heart, mind, and soul. In the Gospel of Matthew, we find Jesus, speaking face to face with his disciples and as Cardinal Ratzinger writes "as a man speaks to his friends." He is exhorting His disciples to show mercy and loving-kindness to all people, the good, the bad, the just and unjust, and to be perfect in holiness.
So, what has made and kept me a devout Catholic and a Lay Dominican? It has been God, and the prayers of the faithful from my church parishioners, my family, my friends, acquaintances, and even strangers. People's prayers have given me a strong belief in the divine providence of God and the miracles of Jesus Christ, our Savior and our Great Physician. Our hurting world needs more prayers and certainly needs more miracles. Please join me.
