November 5, 2021 Reflection – He who prays is not afraid of the future…
“He who prays is not afraid of the future…” November 5, 2021 Dear Family of Mary! “Dear children! Return to prayer because he who prays is not afraid of the future…” (10/25/21) Thank you to all who have sent me confirmations about the power of praying Psalm 91 for protection! I am so edified. In particular I want to share an amazing story from our shipmate, Karin! She tells us of a moment in her life when it she was in terrible danger, but through her daily prayer of Psalm 91 (and Psalm 23) she was delivered! Here is her story: Dear Cathy, Please forgive me for this long letter. I felt I had to share this with you. Today, when you talked about Psalm 91 (Under God’s Protection), I was hit by a memory I had put away in my drawer. In 1987, I lived in Haiti for 13 years. I worked at Tele Haiti; the private TV station owned by good Catholic French People. I was not Catholic, yet. I grew up a Lutheran. In 1987 Haiti was in chaos. On the day I am going to talk about, all important roads were blocked, people were shooting in the streets. People were told to stay home, no school for kids. Ever since I had worked at Tele Haiti, I would start my mornings in my office asking my secretary not to be disturbed. There, I prayed daily Psalm 23 – The Lord is my Shepherd – and Psalm 91 – Under God’s Protection. Someone in my heart had told me that I needed to do this daily. It gave me peace and strength. ……. As I mentioned, this special day almost the whole Haitian population stayed home. However, we at the TV station had to work. We all had a big sign of Tele Haiti on our cars. This was a kind of protection as we were not the government TV Station. But around noon the shooting in the streets was terrible and the fire barricades on the roads were growing. The German Embassy was almost next to our TV building. I had very good friends there. They started calling me to tell me that it was getting too dangerous on the streets, I should drive with them in their car column home. It was very visible that the German Ambassador and his staff were in the column. That would be the safest way for me to drive home. I had to drive directly behind the ambassador’s car with the German Flag etc. Of course, he had a blended car, and the chauffeur was a Haitian who knew the roads very well. Shortly after we left, we saw the barricades burning in the street. Nobody was there, besides our cars. The chauffeur drove to the not burning sidewalk. I had no choice but to drive very close after his car. He hoped that on the sidewalk we could go through this fire barricade. But soon we realized there was one fire barricade after the other. Suddenly, “out of nowhere” big stones of the size of soccer balls or larger were hitting our cars, one after the other from big slingshots. My good German friend from the Embassy who rode with me because she did not want me to be alone in my car, started screaming and was hiding on the floor of my car. The slingshots did not stop. But each stone hit only the frame of my car. Not once the windows. When they hit the frame in the front of the car, they made a big crack in the windshield but nothing broke. I was driving very close to the ambassador’s car. My friend did not stop screaming out of fear. We were driving approximately 1 1/2 miles through fire and stone slingshots. Nobody was around us. I stayed totally calm only concentrating on the car before me. Suddenly, I saw on the small sidewalk a Jeep coming towards us. I was thinking. Is he crazy? Does he not see they are shooting big stones on us? But we kept driving. Shortly after that we finally left the fire and stones behind, and the chauffeur stopped his car. I did the same and we left the car to see the damage done. I turned around and looked for the cars behind me. When we left, we were six cars, now there was only one car behind me. I saw the Ambassador and the driver going around their car. I realized his car was full of signs of shots in the front window and on the doors etc. My car had not one sign of bullets! Shortly after I came finally home – now shaking and crying. The Ambassador called me. He told me he just got a phone call from a journalist. He told him he heard that the “Madame Tele Haiti” got shot and he wanted to know if I (she) died. I then realized: I WAS TRULY UNDER GOD’S PROTECTION!!! These two Psalms, 23 and 91, are close to me. They helped me to get through those 13 years living in Haiti. And today, as a Catholic, I still feel the protection and guidance of The Father, Jesus Christ, Holy Spirit, Mother Mary, and St. Joseph. Yes, Psalms 23 and 91, are very powerful. When I just started writing down my memory of 1987, for a moment I felt the panic and lived through those terrible moments again. But now, I feel only joy. God showed me again how much HE loves me. Thank you for reading my Psalm 91 Story. In Jesus, Mary, and Joseph Karin Thank you, Karin!!! Your courage, which could only have come from God, is amazing! God’s protection was all around you as you drove through that gauntlet of fire and a rain of stones. We can all learn from your experience. God is with us. Our Lady is directing our steps. And our faith is powerful. Truly we can pray Psalm 91 with such hope and trust: He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High, who abides in the shadow of the Almighty, will say to the LORD, “My refuge and my fortress; my God, in whom I trust.” (Psalm 91: 1-2) In Jesus, Mary, and Joseph! Cathy Nolan Mary TV 2021