Its A miracle
By Editor of "Spirit of Medjugorje" Newsletter June Klins

As I slid into the pew of our new church on the first Friday of Lent this year, the woman in front of me spun around and exclaimed, "Jean, I have to give you a big hug." I realized who she was as soon as she wrapped her arms around me. It made no difference that she got my name wrong.

Flashback to another Friday of Lent one year ago: It was during the 8:30 A.M. Mass when it happened. During daily Mass at our church, the assembly has the opportunity to voice their petitions aloud during the Prayers of the Faithful. This particular day, a man who was a stranger to me called out, "For Paul Rosenthal, who has cancer." For some reason, which I did not understand at the time, I felt prompted to offer this man a medal of Our Lady of Medjugorje for his friend, even though I had very few medals left. So after Mass, I approached this man and his wife and asked if they thought their friend Paul would like a medal. They responded that their friend was not Catholic, but that his wife was, and that she would probably appreciate the medal. They explained that Paul was in very bad shape and that he felt very badly about leaving his wife behind because she was so dependent upon him. I said I would pray for him, as we parted company. The next day, when I saw them again, they said they were on their way to the hospital to give Paul the medal. I never saw them again until that first Friday in Lent this year.

Fast forward two months: It was Friday again, and I was reading the obituaries in the newspaper when a name I read struck a bell. The name was '"Paul Rosenthal." It took me a minute to figure out why that name was familiar, and then it hit me. Tears filled my eyes as I realized who he was. I felt so badly because I really had hoped for a miracle for him. I decided I would send his wife Norma a sympathy card, and suggest that she keep the medal for herself to give her strength through her grief. The next day, as I re-read the obituary to get her address, I noticed that Norma's maiden name was Wellington. I recognized that name, so I called my mother to ask her about it. "Don't you have relatives named Wellington?" I asked my mother. "Yes, " she replied, " that's my cousin, and her husband just died." I almost dropped the phone as I burst into tears. I had given a medal to a complete stranger to give to another complete stranger, and it turned out to be my second cousin! (Now one might think that subconsciously I would have recognized the names, but that side of the family never had family reunions, and my grandfather who was the link, had passed away many years previous to this. I really had no opportunity to meet or even hear about the Rosenthals.) This is not the end of the story, though.

After I composed myself, I wrote a note in the sympathy card explaining to Norma my relationship to her. About a week later, I got a thank you note from Norma, which said, "Dear June, Thank you for the lovely card and most all for the medal. Paul was wearing it when he died. He had just become Catholic a month before he died. Maybe that was his miracle!!" Talk about a flood of tears…..

The funny part of it is, when I read the obituary the first time I noticed that Paul was having a funeral Mass. I was surprised at that, since I remembered that he was not Catholic. I had secretly hoped that he had converted, so when I got the note from Norma confirming it, I was thrilled. I was simply in awe of how God used me for my part in this story.

Fast forward to March, this year: As I mentioned earlier, I never knew the names of the people to whom I originally gave the medal, and I never saw them again until that first Friday of Lent this year. The woman told me her name was Therese, that she and Norma are very close, and Norma wanted her to give me a big hug when she saw me. (It's funny that we didn't see each other for a whole year since we belong to the same parish.) Therese related to me that during the time that Paul was in the hospital dying of cancer, he kept praying to be healed, but after having received the medal, he completely changed. She said that after he got the medal, his only prayers were for a peaceful death. And his prayers were answered.

This story is my very favorite of all because it involves a spiritual healing. I don't know why it took me so long to write it down, since I have been telling people this story for a year now, but I guess the reason is that I needed to see Therese so that I could have the complete story.

And this is still not the end of this incredible story. As I sat down to write this, I found yet another surprise in Paul's obituary, which I had saved. I could not believe my eyes when I read his date of death. It was May 13. Not only was it one of Our Lady's feast days (Our Lady of Fatima), but last year it was also the feast of the Ascension! Thank you Mary and Jesus!

June Klins