I live in a house one-half block from our parish church that has a 24-hour perpetual adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, in which my shift is from 11:00pm to midnight on Wednesdays. I have shifts on other days, usually after midnight, and my neighbors are used to seeing me walk up to the church in those lonely hours. This has been going on since we started Eucharistic adoration eight years ago, so I feel safe that neighbors seem to be looking out for me.
That Wednesday night was no different. It felt safe walking up the street, but when I got into what I thought was an empty Church's parking lot, two strange young men suddenly came at me, I thought they were going to beat me up. They did not, but one of them violently snatched my handbag and both ran away, leaving me quite terrified. I ran to the adoration chapel and frantically knocked at the locked door, screaming for my friend Linda (the 10 o'clock adorer inside) to open up. I told her what happened and she called the police. (I don't know how to use a cell phone and I don't carry one.) When the police came, I described the thugs to them and they asked what my purse contained. There was no money in it, just: My Liturgy of the Hour (Volume 3) book, a very nice rosary in an embroidered silk purse, my reading glasses, my house key, a handkerchief, and a folding umbrella. Nothing that cannot be replaced, but I was scared that if the thugs discovered there was no money in it, they could come back and beat me up. Also, my book has my name and address on its inside cover. I was afraid that with my address and the key, they could come and break into my house. The police told me to give them pictures of things similar to what I lost. I could not pray that night, just knelt there in front of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. Linda stayed with me for the whole hour and later drove me home. When I arrived home, I scoured the internet for similar pictures of my handbag, my breviary, and rosary. It was only then that I remembered to pray to St. Anthony. The next day just as I was leaving my house on my way to the police to give them the pictures, two men knocked on my door and handed me my breviary book. They found it in a garbage can a block from the church. Oh, St. Anthony, who's ever so helpful in finding lost and stolen things! Thank you, thank you!
My handbag, umbrella, and rosary haven't come back, but that's all right. I have other rosaries, bags, and umbrellas. Maybe St. Anthony will find some uses for them, if only for the young thugs to learn a lesson. I just want to thank St. Anthony with all my heart. He has been a friend since childhood and he has never forgotten me, even if I sometimes forgot him and remembered him only when I lost something. Thanks, Ygnacia. God bless you.
And thank you M.P. for your story of trust in Saint Anthony's help. Have a St. Anthony story of your own to share? Email it to us and we will post it on our blog~
That Wednesday night was no different. It felt safe walking up the street, but when I got into what I thought was an empty Church's parking lot, two strange young men suddenly came at me, I thought they were going to beat me up. They did not, but one of them violently snatched my handbag and both ran away, leaving me quite terrified. I ran to the adoration chapel and frantically knocked at the locked door, screaming for my friend Linda (the 10 o'clock adorer inside) to open up. I told her what happened and she called the police. (I don't know how to use a cell phone and I don't carry one.) When the police came, I described the thugs to them and they asked what my purse contained. There was no money in it, just: My Liturgy of the Hour (Volume 3) book, a very nice rosary in an embroidered silk purse, my reading glasses, my house key, a handkerchief, and a folding umbrella. Nothing that cannot be replaced, but I was scared that if the thugs discovered there was no money in it, they could come back and beat me up. Also, my book has my name and address on its inside cover. I was afraid that with my address and the key, they could come and break into my house. The police told me to give them pictures of things similar to what I lost. I could not pray that night, just knelt there in front of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. Linda stayed with me for the whole hour and later drove me home. When I arrived home, I scoured the internet for similar pictures of my handbag, my breviary, and rosary. It was only then that I remembered to pray to St. Anthony. The next day just as I was leaving my house on my way to the police to give them the pictures, two men knocked on my door and handed me my breviary book. They found it in a garbage can a block from the church. Oh, St. Anthony, who's ever so helpful in finding lost and stolen things! Thank you, thank you!
My handbag, umbrella, and rosary haven't come back, but that's all right. I have other rosaries, bags, and umbrellas. Maybe St. Anthony will find some uses for them, if only for the young thugs to learn a lesson. I just want to thank St. Anthony with all my heart. He has been a friend since childhood and he has never forgotten me, even if I sometimes forgot him and remembered him only when I lost something. Thanks, Ygnacia. God bless you.
And thank you M.P. for your story of trust in Saint Anthony's help. Have a St. Anthony story of your own to share? Email it to us and we will post it on our blog~
