He is one of the great saints of the Catholic Church, and one of the beloved--even far beyond Catholics themselves. Untold numbers of people turn to him, still, when there is loss. And strangely--at least strangely in the usual ways of the world--those things often quickly turn up. And often they turn up in the most unexpected--even seemingly miraculous ways. Let the stories begin.
Monday, August 22, 2011
Finding Lost Luggage
Returning from a vacation this past spring, a friend and I were stranded because our connecting flight was canceled due to weather. We could not get a flight out for 2 days. My friend called some local relative and they agreed to come pick us up and allow us to stay in their house for the time. The only problem was that our luggage was still on course to be sent home. We went to the baggage office and asked if they could pull it for us and the woman behind the counter told us it was not possible. We persisted and she finally called someone in charge of luggage. She got off the phone and told us that there are many people waiting for luggage and since it is dark, raining, and there are thousands of bags, it could take 4 hours or longer. My friend and I went to sit by the carousel to wait. A woman walked by who had just got her luggage and I congratulated her. She told me that she had been waiting since 4:00--it was now after 9. I decided to say a prayer to St. Anthony that he would find our luggage and have it sent to us. I also texted my mom and brother asking them to do the same. 20 minutes later, we see our luggage come down the carousel. It is a huge airport and it probably took 20 minutes just to get the luggage from the terminal to the baggage claim area. I know that St. Anthony found it for us.
