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Not By Coincidence Dear Miles Jesu, It is to Fr. Sullivan, MJ, Dan O., MJ and all of the Miles Jesu members that I profoundly submit this letter of thanks and of testimony to God’s wonderful Goodness. While those who are of the world might characterize my first encounter with Miles Jesu as fortuitous and coincidence, those who are in the world but not quite of it will recognize the Lord, in whom all things move and have their being. In my case the good Lord acted through Miles Jesu in allowing me a great honor under impossible circumstances. It all started with Pope John Paul the Great’s funeral. On that day I was among the millions of Catholics who had just witnessed what words cannot describe. The last days leading to Pope John Paul the Great’s passing, the Funeral Mass, and subsequent period of both mourning and triumphant prayer, had enveloped my being. I longed to represent my Faith by adding my one number to the millions descending upon the Vatican. Never before in my life have I experienced a more earnest desire to be somewhere, to attend something, to show my support, to proudly and yet humbly stand among others. Despite my greatest effort and prayer, I was not able to reconcile airline, hotel, domestic responsibility, and other concerns to make this pilgrimage. My efforts throughout the funeral’s subsequent mourning period continued to no avail, in which I longed for the seemingly undesirable, to join what perhaps was the longest line ever seen, moving ever so slowly, to render last respects to the Holy Father. Emotionally torn, my attention and prayers quickly turned with the Universal Church to the election of the Successor to Peter. In the midst of daily Mass and prayers, my desire to be in Rome only intensified. When the prayers of the Church were resoundingly answered with the election of Pope Benedict the XVI, I resolved with even greater fervor to make my pilgrimage to Rome. The quintessential occasion would be the Installation Mass of our new Pontiff. I knew this would rank next to Pope John Paul the Great’s funeral as one of the greatest evangelical moments in history. On the Thursday before Installation Sunday, I was able to make arrangements for time off from work. I was able to get a 24 hour hold on a mileage ticket that involved 5 layovers before reaching Rome. Though intimidated, I remained resolved. This time it felt as though it was meant to be. Not having any friends or family in Rome or nearby, I searched online and called various travel providers for a room. Everything reported back as sold out. I searched upscale, low-scale, hostel, and other options, but all to no avail. By Friday morning I was in a depressive stupor. I exercised a little self-therapy by rationalizing the situation: I could stay up all night watching the Installation Mass on TV, as I had done for the preceding funeral. The hold on the ticket I had involved 5 layovers, each carrying a risk I might miss the following flight, leaving me abandoned at some locale on one of the most restrictive tickets one could have. Rome would be a sweltering scene – uncomfortable to say the least. Perhaps the Good Lord recognized my earnestness and rewarded me some grace as it was, without allowing my pilgrimage. Oh the power of one’s own persuasion. There I was at my work looking at the CD and DVD manufacturing jobs that I needed to process that day, reconciled at that moment on Friday, April 22nd, when I received a note from our receptionist that a Fr. Sullivan – a priest from Rome had called and left a number to call back. I was struck with consternation, as I knew no priest in Rome, and wondered whether someone from my inner circle was pushing humor a little too far. Before my imagination could go off unchecked, I returned the call. Fr. Sullivan explained that he had received my contact information from a mutual friend in CA, and was calling for some help with a vocation DVD that Miles Jesu desired to make. Before Fr. Sullivan could go into any detail, I blurted out that I might have had a chance to meet him in Rome had circumstances cooperated more. Fr. Sullivan then changed the subject on me. He asked what time the flight was leaving. Before I could explain that the 2 hours I had were insufficient for a Friday afternoon drive from San Diego to Los Angeles airport, and that I had already decided against the idea, he calmly but emphatically told me to get in the car and head for the airport. I did, and against all odds, I made it on time. Picked up by Dan, a Miles Jesu seminarian, and hosted by their friends at a Holy Franciscan Brother House, my religious pilgrimage to Rome remained precisely that, for my company was the Holy members of Miles Jesu and the kind Franciscan Brothers. Both lay and religious, and from almost every country, my company was a microcosm of the Universal Church, which I was blessed to represent in my small way on Installation Sunday. P.S. While speeding to the airport, I called the airline back to confirm my ticket. The agent explained that she had never booked an international ticket this close to departure, and said her computer may not allow it. Inspired by Fr. Sullivan, I told her to worry not, as I was heading to Rome for the Pope’s Installation Mass, and this was meant to be ... Not only was she able to confirm the ticket, she put me on a direct flight. |