You Answered Me!

By MSGR. JOHN J. FARLEY

"Lord, on the day I called for help, you answered me!

God doesn't have clogged ears. He has no communication problem. Your prayer goes straight from your lips to God's heart. Immediately after you have asked him for something, say, "Thank you." Because you are his child, he delights to hear your prayer and he delights to answer it. His answer may be unexpected and mysterious. But believe in his hearing, believe in his answering.

In July of 1993, Raymond Flynn, the one-time mayor of Boston, presented his credentials to Pope John Paul II as the new ambassador of the United States to the Holy See.

After the formalities had been completed, and after the pope and the new ambassador had spoken privately about various issues affecting the world and the United States, Mr. Flynn spoke very personally. The story is found in the ambassador's book, "Pope John Paul II: A Personal Portrait of the Pope and the Man."

Recalling his youth, Mr. Flynn spoke: "Holy Father, I hope you don't mind, but I would like to tell you this. When I was a little boy, my parents had a shrine in our house, in a corner of the kitchen, dedicated to Our Lady of Fatima. And every night after dinner, we used to gather in front of that shrine to say the Rosary along with Cardinal Cushing who had a radio program at seven o'clock. We prayed to Our Lady of Fatima for the conversion of Russia, for the end of communism and for peace in the world."

As the pope listened intently, the ambassador continued, "Holy Father, I just want to say that I feel I am with the one person in the world who is most responsible for making those prophecies come true."

At the conclusion of these words, Pope John Paul's face was serious but had the trace of a smile. Finally the pope spoke, "Mr. Ambassador, perhaps it is more that Our Lady answered your family's prayers."

The pope knows well what Jesus teaches us today: God hears our every prayer. "Lord, on the day I called for help, you answered me."

Msgr. Farley is pastor of St. Margaret of Cortona parish in the Bronx.