Letter Dated: December 16, 1991

Our first Family Prayer Night was on November 12, 1991. Our pastor has been very supportive. Our core group is small (approx. 20 people) and each night we have had new people attending for a total of 30-50 persons. We have been meeting for 5 weeks now and we are already receiving many blessings.

The parish is located in a very poor section of town with many homeless sleeping around the neighborhood. This has had a profound affect not only on our children but ourselves. We had a long discussion with our children about Jesus' call for us to show mercy and compassion towards all and read to them Matthew 25:31-46. We started with the family food basket from the very first night. However, on their own the children made little bags of potato chips to take to the people waiting outside the church. This affected my wife and I and we both felt we should do more. Independently, the Holy Spirit gave the same inspiration to four or five other families!

Responding to the needs of the homeless, on the third Tuesday Family Prayer Night, we had the privilege of (preparing various meals) to feed 65 of our brothers and sisters in Christ. We are hoping as our numbers grow, to be able to feed them throughout the week.

Letter Dated: February 13, 1992

Our Family Prayer Night in Tucson continues to grow as Our Lady promised. Each week we hear of answered prayers to family situations that seem hopeless. We now average from 100-125 people per week. Our pastor is amazed at the number of people coming weekly and feels Family Prayer Night has been a tremendous blessing to the parish. Our Family Prayer Night Meal Outreach for the homeless continues to grow with the generosity of families reaching out to those in need.

Our Family Prayer Night group felt the need to evangelize...with reference to Divine Mercy. We met with our Bishop who agreed to concelebrate the Mass on Mercy Sunday, April 26, 1992. The Novena will begin on Good Friday and continues with novena devotions and recitation of the chaplet at the daily noon Mass. He has given us permission to promote this as widely as possible.

We can't begin to tell you how much Family Prayer Night means to our family. Sally and I have always wanted to serve Our Lord and Our Blessed Mother in some capacity...

Once again we thank Our Heavenly Father for the tremendous grace of Family Prayer Night. Our warmest regards to you and your family and all the members of St. Agnes Parish (Family Prayer Night).

September 23, 1992

During my trip to Tucson, I was invited to meet a 36 year old lady named Nancy. 13 or 14 years ago during a pregnancy, Nancy contracted Lou Gehrig’s disease. Shortly thereafter her husband divorced her but Nancy fought for and obtained custody of their two children; raising them even to this day.

I learned that most people who acquire Lou Gehrig’s disease die within three to five years, yet Nancy has been going now for nearly 14 years. Her doctors tell her that she no longer has the disease, however the affects are irreversible.

When I was introduced to Nancy, I found a warm and very caring person inside a body that could not move. She lay in bed with a steel respirator on her chest and weighed a mere 56 pounds. Her bones were barely covered by flesh as all the muscles had long since atrophied.

Her mind was sharp and she was very alert, communicating through a system of eye and lip movements. Two blinks of her eyes means “yes,” but the main task of interpreting her sign language was done by a nurse during our visit.

Just as a side note, I was informed by two friends, Dorothy and Ruth, that a month or so earlier, between the hours of midnight and 5:30 a.m., Nancy was attacked by an army of red ants. They ate her left eyebrow and began chewing into her face and eye. When she was found by her son in the morning, Nancy was bloodied and they thought she might lose the eye.

Think about the torment Nancy must have endured, not being able to even move a muscle to defend herself. In silence, all she could do was to cry out to God from the depths of her being for mercy. But she’s a strong lady.

During our visit, Nancy had many questions concerning Our Lady’s messages and so we spent about an hour discussing them. Afterwards, we prayed a rosary together and it was during this time that Our Blessed Mother opened her heart to Nancy in a very special way.

The entire visit was tape-recorded so Nancy could review the tape again at a later time. The parts underlined were transcribed word-for-word from the tape.

At the conclusion of the rosary, Nancy said, “When I found out you were coming, I asked Mary if there was anything she wanted, anything she wanted me to know and you have told me lots of things and I thank you.” As Nancy said these words, Our Lady came and told me to tell Nancy that she could ask her some questions. I then told her, “Nancy, Our Lady is here and she says you can ask her a question.”

This is the first time Our Blessed Mother has permitted another person to ask her a question. Oh! how she must love Nancy. Even more important, what does Mother Mary want us to learn by this?

Now, because of this special grace, she was able to ask the Mother of God a question. Nancy was moved very deeply by this; you could clearly see the emotions in her eyes.

Nancy asked, “Blessed Mother, what do you want of me?” There wasn’t a dry eye in the room. Our Lady replied quickly and all I could do was paraphrase what she said, “Our Lady says to tell you that she is most grateful to you for all your sacrifices, pain and suffering; that she has used them to save many souls around the world. She wants you to know how deeply God loves you and how much she loves you too; that your place in heaven shall be great. You have been very blessed by God.” As I finished relaying the message, Our Lady came and spoke very slowly so I could repeat her message word-for-word. She said, “Thank you, my daughter. I bless you in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. My special motherly blessings are upon you now and for all eternity. Praised be Jesus!

Everyone broke down crying, including Nancy. There were big crocodile tears coming from both of her eyes as the joy and love overcame this dear person.

I was later told by a medical doctor that it is very, very difficult for a person with Lou Gehrig’s disease to cry, and therefore one doesn’t often see a person with Lou Gehrig’s disease cry. What a special day. Nancy received both a blessing and a deep inner healing from our loving God and Mother Mary.