The Power of Prayer

Hey all,

Firstly, let me say how much I have missed you all over these past few weeks. Unfortunately you can't just hit pause on life and do what you want all the time (though I wish we could).

Now I know the title of this piece isn't exactly original, but over the past few weeks, I've really begun to see just how big of an impact prayer can have. I've never doubted that praying can help, but I never expected just how much it can help.

I write this piece not just to share my own experiences these past few weeks, but to encourage all of us to pray constantly for ourselves and for each other, especially with things like school, sports, college, and life in general looming ahead. With God's help, we can make it through these trials, as long as we keep our eyes on the big picture, that everything we go through is designed to bring us closer to God. If you look at things that way, many of your not so great moments in life can lead to some of your greatest moments later.

But I'm starting to go off on a bit of a tangent here. Prayer, our 24/7 direct line to God. I'd like to share a story with you about how much praying has really helped me these past few weeks in making it through the trials of everyday life.

Firstly, as you all know, Taylor and I have decided to become Catholic. When we both made this decision (completely seperately at the same time. How cool is that?!?), I knew my parents wouldn't be jumping for joy, but I didn't expect the amount of resistance I have encountered either. At first they just took it in, didn't say too much about it, just kind of let me be in my new decision. However, a week or two later, we, meaning my mom and myself, had quite the argument with dad trying to mediate.

It was after my first mass at St. Paul's in Madison. I was meeting up with Taylor, and my parents asked if they could come along. I was thrilled! My parents were showing an interest in my new faith. Well the mass was beautiful, I've never felt more peaceful and complete at any other church service except for mass at Camp Gray. As soon as we were in the car heading home though, everything went South. My mom started tearing in to the mass, and the Catholic Church in general, saying many unkind things about it (one of those things including "cult-like" if you all remember our little board of things others call Christians). She even went so far as to say that she now sometimes wished I had never gone to camp. I wanted to fight, I wanted to scream and yell at her, but instead I just sat there. Something inside me told me to stay silent, and to listen instead of argue. By the time we got home, my parents had decided that I could still go to mass, however, they wished for me to wait a year before joining the Catholic Church. This was a major blow at first, but later that night as I was praying, I realized this was just a test of my faith. Could I wait the year and keep my desire to be Catholic burning bright inside of me? The answer is yes, I don't care how long it takes, whether it be one year, or 100, I will never lose my desire to join the Catholic Church. Because this desire isn't just a desire for my self wants, it's a desire to be closer to God, and nothing will strip me of that desire.

Still, I wasn't exactly happy with my parents and I prayed and prayed that something good would come out of there decision. Well, that very next sunday, I went to mass, God answered my prayers. It was the feast day of St. Mary, and the homily was all about how great our blessed mother is. On my way home that evening, I realized something. I couldn't stay mad at my parents. True, they had kept me from going in the direction I wanted to go in my faith, but they were only doing it because they loved me and wanted to make sure I was 100 percent in my decision. I was so touched by this, that all of my anger at them melted away, and I was saddened by how much anger I had held towards them just for loving me. After I got home, I told my mom that I loved her, and that I understood why she and my dad had wanted me to wait the year before joining the Catholic Church. She started crying and apologized over and over about how she had acted after mass the previous sunday. She then told me that if at the end of the year, I still wanted to join the church, she would support my decision completely.

Now there are three big prayers I made during the time this story took place. The first: that I could continue to go to mass at St. Paul's. The second: that God would make it known that I was still following his path after my parents asked me to wait the year. And the final prayer: that my parents would eventually support me in my decision to become Catholic. Well, all three prayers were answered. Perhaps not in the easiest, or most non-conflict based way, but they were answered and God continues to answer my prayers as he does for all of us. You just have to remember that bad things happen, and that through them, you can grow closer to God.

I hope this message finds you all in great places in your lives, and know that I will be praying for you all in the upcoming months.

God's peace and love
Dan(ny)