Power of Prayer

This past weekend I witnessed a miracle. Can I prove it? Well...no I really can't, but I have this powerful feeling of peace that tells me it was more than a coincidence. In G.K. Chesterton's Orthodoxy he wrote, "For the more complicated seems the coincidence, the less it can be a coincidence. If snowflakes fell in the shape, say, of the heart of Midlothian, it might be an accident. But if snowflakes fell in the exact shape of the maze at Hampton Court, I think one might call it a miracle." Well, I know I didn't see any snowflakes in the shape of the maze at Hampton Court in central Texas. To see a snowflake in central Texas, during the hottest summer in recorded history, would be a miracle.  But I know that prayer saved a man’s life, and this is what happened. 

I went camping with the Fellowship of Catholic University Student or FOCUS group in Canyon Lake. We had a great time just hanging out as brothers and sisters in Christ, and we stayed up till about three in the morning. I had wanted to go back home, sleep in my bed and be with my family a little longer, because I had to come back to Dallas that same day. I told them I was leaving, and one of my friends asked if I could give him a ride to his house. I said "sure", and we left the campsite at about three in the morning.

There are two ways to get to San Marcos from Canyon Lake. You can go through New Braunfels and Interstate 35 which is safest, or you can go through the hill country on Ranch Road 12 which is dark, windy, full of deer, and has drop offs, but it is much faster. I asked my friend which way he wanted to go. He said he didn't care, so I am sure you can guess which way we went.

My friend asked if I wanted to pray a rosary, and I said "Yeah! But you lead it, because I want to concentrate on the road." He agreed, and we began the Joyful Mysteries. We began the fifth mystery, and we passed the turn that goes to Wimberley. We started entering a construction zone, and I saw a car about fifty yards away coming towards us. There were not many cars on Ranch Road 12 at 3:30 in the morning, so any car that passed seemed like they had there brights on, and I was preparing for the car to pass. Then I see the car turn to its left, and as we got closer my friend said "Hey, I think we should help that guy out." I looked at the car and realized there was not a turn there, and the car was off the road. I slowed down to pull off the road, and I ran over something. It turned out to be the guy’s right car door. We got out to see if he was okay, but we were so calm from praying the rosary, and deep down we knew he was fine. We got to his car, and the right side was totaled. The guy came out, and he only had a small cut on his nose.

He told us that he had been drinking; he looked down at his center console, and hit the side railing. His car had gone off the road into the construction area and was now facing the road again. Pieces of his car were scattered everywhere, and the railing was now blocking the entire lane. We were able to move the railing out of the way, and I told him we were praying a rosary right before. He knew he should have died, and he thanked God that he was still alive. I gave him my rosary, and he said he would pray it every day. The power of prayer is great!

I will never be able to prove it was a miracle, but try telling that guy it was just a coincidence.

Also, if you read this, please don't tell my parents what happened. They would freak out.