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The Way of Love for the Lord
Chapter 47. "Oh, my goodness! This lady is making sense!")
There was a four-day charismatic retreat at Dong-Sung High School in Seoul. I wanted to make a really fruitful retreat by renting a single room for myself so that I might pray and meditate better alone. After the end of the first day of the retreat, I was about to go to my room, but Theresa, one of the other participants, called to me and said, "Why don’t you spend tonight with Ursula at a house which will be vacated by the owners who are going to Gwangju ? "The lady of the house was a catechumen. I felt more like going to my own room, but, thinking that it might be the Lord calling me to that house contrary to my intention, I went there in obedience to the Lord. The married couple owning the house, however, changed their minds and did not go to Gwangju. So, there were four of us in the house conversing together that night. The man said, "God surely does not exist." Hearing this, Ursula rebutted, "Then, how can we eat and live?" The man retorted, "What are you talking about? Is God feeding you? It is we ourselves who work and earn our food." Ursula was anxious to persuade him into accepting the existence of God and said, "God is giving us our daily food . . . ." She talked on and on with much fervor. As the debate continued, the man’s face was becoming more stiffened. He said, "I do not think God exists at all, but I am letting my wife go to church only because I want her to become a better person." Then, he firmly declared, "I will never believe in God. I am 99.999% sure that God does not exist in this world." Ursula’s fervor did not weaken, "God is truly alive and is with us . . . ." Finally, she stopped talking when I nudged her in the ribs. I took her to the washroom and said, "Don’t you see he is so stubborn? Do you think he will believe God if you say that God gives us our daily food? When we talk to those who do not believe in God, we have to be prudent. There are words appropriate for kindergartners and words appropriate for college students. If you keep talking like that to this person who swears that God does not exist, he will only become more defiant. Let’s talk to him in a more tender way, Okay?" After we came back from the washroom, I began talking to the man, "Sir, what Ursula was saying was difficult to understand, wasn’t it? I am not going to ask you to believe in God, because we cannot see Him. Would it be possible for you, however, to just pretend that God really exists and go to church? Instead of flatly denying God’s existence even without visiting the church, how about going to church where you can hear many good words and observe many individuals who are trying to become better people? If you go to church regularly, you may even find some truths there." Then, the man said, "Oh, my goodness! This lady is making sense!" hitting his lap with his hand. I asked, "May I tell you a little about my experience?" He said, "Yes, go ahead." I told him how I had suffered terrible illness and was healed of it: "I suffered serious illness and complications for seven years and finally came very close to death. Cancer cells spread throughout my body, and my blood pressure was 50/40. The doctor finally gave me the death sentence, ‘We did our best; there is nothing more that can be done. Go home and eat many delicious foods.’ "Then, I told the man in detail how I was called by God while I was preparing for death and was completely healed through His grace. When I finished, he said, "Thank you. I understood."Then, he said, "My wife and I are going to an inn. You two sleep well here." Several weeks later, at a prayer meeting at Gwangju Catholic Center, I met him again. I learned that he had been attending the charismatic prayer meeting every Wednesday. He further said, "I was deeply moved by what you said the other night. I, who was swearing that I would never believe in God, now believe in Him and am now receiving instructions in preparation for Baptism." "Oh, my Love, my Lord! Glory to you alone!" "As you remain in My Love, I also remain in your love."
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