Miracle Moments

Twenty four years ago today, April 27, 1987 the Blessed Mother allegedly appeared in Hrushiv Ukraine with a warning and words of consolation. She came on the Feast of the Ascension, exactly one year after the nuclear reactor disaster at Chernobyl saying "Do not forget those who have died...Chernobyl is a reminder and a sign for the whole world." In 1990 while producing a television documentary in Ukraine, I visited Hrushi and interviewed a handful of people who had witnessed the apparition above the church of the Holy Trinity. In all, some five hundred thousand witnesses claimed to have seen the Virgin Mary over a four month period. Mary apparently told them she came to thank the Ukrainian people because they had suffered so much at the hands of a raging lion who had been prowling around seeking whom he could devour. She said their suffering would come to an end and one day Ukraine would become an independent state. She then urged disciplined, Christian fortitude, ...

We cried buckets of tears, carried heavy bags under our eyes from all the sleepless nights, harbored a heavy, broken heart that felt like it was going to burst-and then suddenly-without warning-relief. Nothing could have prepared us for that moment, no one could have told us it was coming. We simply would not have believed them. On the day our sons or daughters entered community, we entered a profound feeling of freedom that we had not known could exist. We experienced a new sense of peace and joyful hope that somehow overrode all the past pain and fear. For the first time, in a long time, we felt like living, really living. When the doors of community opened, the door to a new way of life flew open. This weekend I was reminded of that remarkable reality during a parent's retreat sponsored by Comunita Cenacolo. As I sat and absorbed the talks and the prayer, the testimonies and the teachings, I felt the continuing evolution of all the spiritual principles I have held dear. Ou...

My friend Kat is celebrating her birthday today enjoying God's hand in creation along the beautiful California shoreline. She is spending a few days with my sister in Mendocino California which is surrounded by the Pacific Ocean and nestled among an artist colony. They sent us beautiful pictures of the cliffs and white peaked waves and I wondered why anyone would ever want to leave that vision. I'm so happy for her getaway because she's deserving of abundant blessings and lots of old fashioned merry making--having given others more heartfelt Love then I could ever describe. Their dogs, Sophie and Boris made the cut and are traveling with them, enjoying the perks of parents who like to spoil them-and everyone else. My kids and I know this firsthand! So today we prayed for safety and lots of sunshine for the birthday girl, Kat...And we gave thanksgiving to God for giving her life and giving her to us so that our lives will be fuller and more fruitful-just by knowing her! ...

I had the most amazing experience last night. I witnessed what appeared to be the resurrection of a dying woman. I felt called all day to attend an evening women's 12 step meeting which I hadn't been to in a while. I really felt the urge to go, so after dinner I jumped in the car and flew up town. A few minutes after the meeting started, a girl walked in who looked and felt vaguely familiar. Thin and wiry and dressed in jeans and a modern t shirt, she looked like someone I had known...but I wasn't sure. I just kept glancing at her and then she spoke and shared some very eloquent words of recovery wisdom. As I listened I noticed her front teeth were decayed like the teeth of people I had seen who had been hooked on crack cocaine. It dawned on me, this girl had an uncanny resemblance to a drug addict I had helped about two years ago. A girl I had blogged about. I had been driving downtown on a Sunday morning when this young, emaciated woman fell to the ground in an empt...