Speak to Me Sunday: Wonders Happen

Last night during Mass, I prayed for a man I didn't know. His name is Max and he lives in Berlin, Germany with his family. 

Earlier I had received an email from Max who came across a blog post I had written on the Sanctuary of La Verna, a Franciscan monastery nestled on the top of a mountain that we visited during a family trip to Italy. La Verna is where St. Francis of Assisi went when he needed spiritual nourishment and discernment. And it was on that mountain that he received the stigmata. 

Max wrote that at the age of 16 he had a near death experience and a vision came to him of a man in a brown robe. He recognized the man as St. Francis, and ever since he has been reading and studying about the saint. The reason for his email was to ask permission to use the picture I had taken of St. Francis' robe for a lecture he will give to some Christian communities in Berlin. 

"Wonders happen, we have to talk about it!" said Max in his email. 

I told him that he could use the photo, and any others on that post, with my blessing. I also sent him a PPT presentation on La Verna I had given to a Women's Bible Study since it contains additional photos of the monastery that I did not post on my blog. 

His response, a few hours later, was filled with such joy about the photos. 

"What a nice Saturday evening this had become!" he wrote. "What could I wish more for "my" story (or better, "his" story)! I promise: as soon as it [the lecture] is finished, in a few days, I will translate it into English and send it to you."

He also sent a photo of a slide from his lecture, and I look forward to seeing the finished product.

I have often said that one of the most beautiful things about this world is the interconnectedness of humanity, that we all have more in common than we think, or even realize. 

And that something as simple as a photo can make a connection between a wanna-be writer from Georgia and a stranger from Berlin. 

Wonders do indeed happen. 

This photo is my most pinned photo on Pinterest, 

and it generates traffic to my blog every single day.