When a Jewish father sings the Hail Mary (II)

Days and months went by, and from time to time, the son would stop by the Eau-Vive to place flowers by the statue of Mary and to ask for prayers for his father, whose cancer was progressing. One day, he arrived very distraught and said: "My father is dying. I came to ask you to pray for him." And as he laid red flowers at the feet of Our Lady of the Poor, we promised to pray especially for his dad, in the evening, during the singing of the Hail Marys. 

He returned on the feast of Our Lady of the Rosary: "Do you remember my last visit? Well, that very day, around 7pm, my father was in agony. I didn't know what to do, but I wanted to help him to make a good death. So, in my distress, I began to recite the Our Father slowly, very close to his ear, so that he could still hear. As I gently shook his hand to give him confidence, he pushed me away three times, as if to signal that he didn't want to hear anything, since he couldn't speak any more. But I kept on, because I was sure that people at the Eau-Vive were praying along with me. Then suddenly, to my great surprise, I heard my father say very calmly: Forgive me, Lord. 

It was ten pm; his face immediately lit up with a strange serenity, and half an hour later, while you were singing the Hail Mary, he left us peacefully. Don't you believe that my father received forgiveness from God, and that Mary is the one who obtained this forgiveness for him?

It was through the Hail Marys that he and I, a year and a half ago, began to become acquainted with God. And seeing how my father entered into Life just as you were singing the Hail Mary, I too want to become Catholic. I want to be baptized. Can you help me find a Catholic priest?"

Story shared by the "Travailleuses missionnaires" (T.M., Missionary Workers) who run the "L'Eau-Vive" restaurants

Published in Recueil marial 1986 by Marist Brother Albert Pfleger