Road to Fifty Reflections: Day 23

I was listening to a podcast about a man who had a near-death experience. He said that after taking drugs and attempting suicide, he found himself descending into a dark, terrifying place --- hell. His account wasn’t as detailed as that of St. Veronica Giuliani, but there were striking similarities. He shared that he was pulled back to life because of the fervent prayers of the people his mother gathered while he was in the emergency room.

It was unsettling to listen to. I tried to imagine what he must have gone through and even just the thought of it sent chills down my spine. He said it was a place so full of despair that you wouldn’t wish it even on your worst enemy. He couldn’t recognize any faces there... only countless shadowed figures lost in anguish.

Before that, he said the devil had tempted him, offering a false bargain, “It’s now or never.” The promise of escape, of bliss after death, turned out to be the greatest lie. The reality of eternal separation from God... a life without love, peace or hope... is far more dreadful than any suffering on earth.

Listening to his story reminded me how fragile our choices are, how easily the world deceives us into thinking that sin, despair or self-destruction can give relief. But God’s mercy reaches even the depths we cannot imagine. The man was saved... not by his own strength... but by the POWER OF PRAYER, the intercession of a mother’s faith and the love of people who believed in God’s healing grace.

It made me realize that every prayer counts. No soul is too lost when there is someone praying. Every “Hail Mary,” every whispered plea, every Mass offered for another can open Heaven’s door even for someone standing at the edge of despair.

I know I am still on the journey myself. I have not reached that holiness or steadfastness of heart that I long for. There are moments when I falter, when prayer feels dry or when I fail to see God’s presence in the ordinary. Yet this story reminds me that the challenge of life is not to be perfect, but to keep walking...with faith, with hope and with love.

As we go on with our lives, may we never tire of turning back to God and lifting one another in prayer. May we choose daily to live well... with God, in grace and in communion with others. And when we stumble, may His mercy find us, raise us and lead us closer to the holiness we are all called to become.

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Listen to this: https://www.instagram.com/share/reel/_q-O1Obnf