Pray, Hope and Don't Worry

I recently had the pleasure of visiting arguably one of the best Catholic gift shops I have ever been to, and I’ve been to them all over the United States and in four countries. The Retro in the Denver suburb of Arvada is truly unique. The ladies who run it have hearts of gold and exemplify the welcoming light of Christ in the way they interact with guests. In my interaction with one of them, she shared a Surrender Novena prayer card with me and I told her that I was not familiar with it. She told me the back story of Fr. Dolindo Ruotolo, a contemporary of Padre Pio’s from Naples who shared some of the same divine graces as Padre Pio, including the stigmata. When I told her that I was a therapist in corrections, she asked if I would be permitted to give the cards to inmates and I told her that I would be happy to do so and explained that while I could not initiate spiritual conversation with them, I was permitted to engage in it when they brought it up first—and greater than 90% of them do. I promised her that I would pray it. We prayed a Hail Mary together and I left, filled with the Spirit.

(To be continued)...