A Personal Conversion

I try not to reveal to much personal information or experiences in this blog. However, I really need to share an amazing story of conversion.

Readers of this blog may recall the following from previous blogs: I am Catholic and my wife is Lutheran, my wife and I went to Rome earlier this year and that close family members were in a motorcycle crash this summer. Those seemingly unrelated things have lined up to form a marvelous situation.

My wife is not only Lutheran, she is a WELS Lutheran. When we were married, we wanted an ecumenical service, but her pastor would have nothing to do with it. We were married in a Catholic ceremony over eight years ago.

Skip ahead to early June of this year. While in Rome, we visited the tombs of the Popes beneath St. Peter's Basilica. When we approached the tomb of Pope John Paul II, there was a woman kneeling on the tomb, crying loudly and dropping flower petals. She was obviously a family member or close friend - nobody else would have been allowed past security. My wife was really struck by this scene.

Skip ahead a few days. On our last day in Rome, I bought about a dozen Pope Benedict XVI mini-rosaries (the ones that are one decade) as small gifts for Catholic friends back home. I bought them at my wife's suggestion.

Skip ahead a few more days. Shortly after returning from Rome, my wife's parents were in a freak motorcycle crash hundreds of miles away. My wife's mother was not expected to live. My wife drove out to be with her mother. On a quiet evening when she was alone at her mother's bedside, my wife took out one of the Pope Benedict mini-rosaries. For some reason, she felt compelled to bring it with her. She didn't even know what to do with the rosary. Even though it was a Pope Benedict rosary, my wife, recalling the scene at his tomb in Rome, prayed for the intercession of Pope John Paul II on behalf of her mother. Although she did not make a "prayer deal", she asked that her mother survive and, should that happen, my wife would take that as a clear sign that she should convert.

Skip ahead to the present. Within the next week or two, my mother-in-law will be returning home after over four months in various hospitals and rehabilitation centers . Two days ago, my wife completed her second RCIA class.