Woman Returns to Confession After 50 Years

Jun 05, 2013 / Written by: Nicholas Mak

Nicholas Mak
Nicholas Mak

We Custodians many times leave a visit without knowing how grace was working inside the souls of the attendees. In fact, I experienced such a visit in San Francisco, California.

There was nothing unusual about the visit. The small group that assembled was quiet and attentive. Nothing remarkable seemed to happen, yet grace was moving behind the scenes.

Priest giving absolution in a Confessional

Months later, the hostess of the visit mailed a letter to the America Needs Fatima office in Kansas. She wrote she had been extremely moved by the statue of Our Lady of Fatima, and had consequently decided to go back to the Church and confess for the first time in 50 years. She concluded her letter with, “I feel so blessed she helped me find my way.”

People often ask me if Our Lady has done any miracles through the statue. I answer that no “sensational” type of miracle has happened with the statue.

However, Scripture teaches us that converting a soul is a miracle, and no small one at that. So the statue, or rather Our Lady through her statue, did a huge miracle in converting the hostess’ soul after 50 years away from the Church! Can you imagine living that long away from the Church?

Saint Ignatius says that we should do everything as if everything depended on men, but know full well that everything depends on God, and this is very much the attitude of Fatima Custodians as we travel with Our Lady, for she is really the one who does all the work.