You may recall several months back when we had articles about those who have lost something, only to have it turn up again, in a way that seemed miraculous. Angelic intervention? St. Anthony?<\/p>\n
We recounted how rosary beads and a pair of sandals “lost” in Africa suddenly reappeared (the sandals in the middle of a room on Christmas morning). We can add to that an extra pair of “seed” rosary beads made in the area of Kibeho, Rwanda, have since turned up in a way that could not be explained — in this case not beads that had been lost, but instead an extra pair that had been sought (to no avail, until they suddenly appeared on a carpet with a subtle noise at the moment of genuflection in front of a Crucifix).<\/p>\n
At any rate,\u00a0as far as “lost” items, we have heard from many who had similar experiences.<\/p>\n
To continue, there is Carmelo Valeno.<\/p>\n
“When I was 18 years old, in Philadelphia, I took off my chain and lost my favorite medal of the Holy Family,” he informs us. “I knew it was right there in my room but for three days we were unable to find the medal.\u00a0 I had a white carpet so a gold medal would show up quickly.\u00a0We used flashlights, etcetera.\u00a0However, my family and I kept praying that I would find it.<\/p>\n
“On the third night, I had a dream to wake up and I would find the medal on the floor.\u00a0Sure enough I woke up and in the darkness of the room there was the gold medal shining on the floor right where I had walked many times. I picked up the medal and then went back to sleep knowing that it was not a dream but a miracle. The next morning the medal was exactly where I had placed it when I awoke.”<\/p>\n
There is also Barbara Stephens, who long has operated a Gospa center and recounts:<\/p>\n
“My mother\u2019s sister, a very dear aunt of mine, died in a tragic house fire where she lived alone. My mother was the executrix of that estate.\u00a0 It was very difficult for her. One of the few things she had remaining from Lillian was a diamond ring which was on her finger.\u00a0The diamond was thought to possibly be carbonized. We never had it checked but the ring was cleaned and when I returned from overseas a year later, my mother gave me this ring. I really cherished it and wore it every day.<\/p>\n
“Now moved to \u00a0Florida, my parents visiting us, I was doing some yard work which involved the uncleared lot we owned next to our house. \u00a0Toward the end of my hour or so it began to rain and ended up in a deluge,\u00a0 I continued to work as long as I could which included taking large armfuls of weeds, etcetera, and flinging them into piles to be placed in bags at the curb.<\/p>\n
“Arriving in the house soaking wet\u00a0\u00a0I realized my son would soon be late for altar service so we hastily prepared for Mass and headed to church.<\/p>\n
“Kneeling in the pew, I clasped my hands and lo — the ring was missing!<\/p>\n
“I never\u00a0ever<\/em>\u00a0\u00a0removed it. I knew it had to be somewhere in those mounds of yard debris — or the part of the lot we had worked, an area of at least fifty by fifteen feet!\u00a0I decided to put it out of mind and concentrate on Mass.<\/p>\n “I hated the thought of telling my mother<\/em>\u00a0that I had lost her sister\u2019s ring.<\/p>\n “My husband and I picked through every bit of the piles of yard debris. Nothing!\u00a0I wandered in the lot and again: nothing.<\/p>\n “My husband told me I should forget trying to find that ring because the downpour had driven it into the sandy soil and it would be irretrievable but I continued to pray and to beg St. Anthony (who had never let me down since I was a young girl).<\/p>\n “We still hadn\u2019t told my parents of the loss.<\/p>\n “One afternoon\u00a0as I sat on my bed while my parents had gone to nap, I prayed again. The thought came to me to go out into that lot with a flashlight after dark. I’d had that thought several times before when praying and always discarded it as being so impractical.<\/p>\n “The lot was dark. The flashlight made only a small circle of\u00a0 light, \u00a0the area to search was so large, etcetera. For some reason this time I decided to act on that thought. As soon as it turned dark, out I went with the flashlight. I found a piece of tinfoil; then a small piece of cellophane gleamed.<\/p>\n “Then, a small glimmer of gold.<\/em><\/p>\n “There was the ring,\u00a0<\/strong>directly in front of my feet and it was not the diamond sparkling in the light but the narrow golden band of an\u00a0upside-down<\/em>\u00a0ring!<\/p>\n “I had promised St. Anthony\u00a0I would place his statue in our church if the pastor would let me and, failing that, I would put one in the lot and tell everyone why it was there. The pastor declined the statue. Nevertheless I purchased a church quality statue.\u00a0We went away in the summers in those days so, afraid that it would be stolen from the lot, \u00a0I placed it in the planter at one end of our screened \u00a0deck, closest to where the ring was found. I continue to tell anyone who will listen this story of the miraculously retrieved diamond ring. (My grandson has it today for his intended).”<\/p>\n