Indirect answer!

Armando F. Ordoñez, a retired public schools supervisor, wrote to me about his prayer to the Virgin Mary, whose statue is enshrined in a grotto, inside his compound. He believes that she has answered him, in her own way.

He says: "It has turned my life full circle, from just being a practical Catholic to one whose implicit faith in the grace of God can never waver, until the day my Creator says that my time is up."

This is his story:

"I was rushed to the hospital due to intense pain in my chest. I was confined for ten days. The doctor’s findings pointed to a heart attack.

"The days following my convalescence were a series of do’s and don’ts capped by maintenance dosages of medicines. My road to recovery was punctuated by fluctuating moods of near frustration, due to sudden feelings of debilitating fatigue, shortness of breath, and periodic chest pains. Sometimes I would feel a euphoric sense of well-being.

"But in between my bout with both extremes, I never forgot to seek divine intercession.

"Inside my bedroom is an old image of the Santo Niño, where I have religiously prayed, especially following my heart attack. Although I must say, with profound humility, that I am only a practical Catholic, with a minimum of religious fervor.

"One morning, after waking up from bed for my morning prayers, I found that the right hand of the Santo Niño was missing! My fruitless effort to look for the missing hand did not deter me from praying with more intensity. It dawned on me that perhaps I did not pray hard enough.

"At the corner of our concrete fence is an image of the Virgin Mary. It was inside a grotto, which my wife lighted, every night, until morning. At this moment my bout with my ailing heart weighed heavily on me, in spite of my medical maintenance and regular exercise to enhance the ability of my heart to pump blood.

"One morning I chanced upon your article suggesting that we write to Mama Mary if we encounter an insurmountable problem, since what is impossible to man is possible to God. Mama Mary is up there in heaven, but right inside our compound is the iamge of the Mother of God. I could transmit my message to her in no time at all.

"But I wrote, as you suggested, out of curiosity, and a bit of optimism, after reading your account of what Mama Mary did. What was deemed to be impossible was made possible.

"In a state of trepidation my blood pressure surged, when rising up from bed after a short nap, I stepped on a hard object as I put my right foot on the floor. And what do you think I saw? The missing hand of the Santo Niño! Immediately, I glued it in place. My favorite Santo Niño was no longer a one-armed icon.

"I was resigned to my fate. I did not expect any reaction from God and from Mama Mary, because I know that God has His own way of doing things for His flock.

"Then came the day when I thought that one of my myriad requests was answered by Him, through the intercession of Mama Mary. On the morning of August 23, 2002, at 2:00 a.m. my youngest son, together with my nephew and a friend, were driving my campershell van. When they were nearing a curve in the road, the right rear wheel burst! The van went out of control and sommersaulted twice before it fell on a concrete embankmen, off the road.

"The car was a complete wreck. The front and rear windshields were shattered to smithereens. The hood was mangled, like a crumpled newspaper. The front and rear bumpers were twisted like figure-eight knots. The two doors on the right side were caved in. All the windows were shattered to bits.

"What happened to the three car occupants? Believe it or not, they were like stuntmen in a movie! They came out of the wreckage effortlessly, with only bruises and superficial wounds on their limbs!

"Was it God’s saving grace, or sheer good luck? I believe that my prayers, and my letter to Mother Mary were graciously answered. She answered me, in her own beautiful way.

"If something dreadful had happened to the boys, the dire consequences would have been a hundred times worse than I could possible sustain and absorb. This has changed my life.

"My ailing heart? I’m still nursing it. But I know…..I acknowledge that God and Mama Mary are watching over me."

The Chinese have a proverb: "God draws straight, with crooked lines."