CF

On the fifth anniversary of his ordination, a young American priest studying in Belgium had just enough money for the train to Lourdes. Nothing more. He recounted, “If I have faith enough to go, it’s up to the Blessed Mother to help me out.” He arrived broke. Then he decided that if Our Lady was going to cover his hotel bill, she could just as easily cover a big one as a small one. “When you ask for miracles,” he later joked, “you must never be a piker.” So he checked into one of the better hotels and began a nine-day novena. Day nine morning: nothing. Day nine noon: nothing. Day nine evening: nothing. He went to the grotto around 10:30 at night to give Mary one last chance. While he knelt there, a portly American gentleman tapped him on the shoulder. “Are you an American priest?” “Yes.” “Do you speak French?” “Yes.” “Will you come to Paris with my wife and daughter tomorrow and speak French for us?” They walked back to the hotel. Then the man asked the most interesting question the young priest had ever heard: “Have you paid your hotel bill yet?” Our Lady settled it. The young priest was Fulton Sheen. Years later he would call Lourdes the best city in the world to be broke — financially, spiritually, or otherwise. And for the rest of his life he never stopped telling the story of the Mother who always showed up, even when the clock was running out. God love you. Pic source @ShopCatholic