Subtle Divine Guidance

[Bob_Crowley]

I’m aware there’s another thread on demonic experiences, to which I’ve contributed a few times,so I thought I might start one on subtle divine guidance.

I’ll give two examples.

Story One.

Some years ago, my sister and her husband had just built a new timber home. As part of the process, he’d oiled the floor boards with a special oil.

Since it was Christmas, they went to a Christmas function that night with their two young daughters.

While they were there, my sister had this nagging feeling about the alarm which just wouldn’t let up. Eventually she told her husband she was going back to check. He told her to stay there, and he’d go.

As he got back, he spotted this light under the house and wondered if burglars were around, as the home was one of the first in a new development, and relatively isolated.

But when he got there, he discovered flames licking up the back of the laundry door. Fortunately he quickly put them out.

It seemed he’d dumped the oiling rags in a cardboard box, and they’d self ignited, as it warned in the fine print on the tin the oil came in.

The point is, had my sister not had the nagging feeling about the alarm, he’d never have gone back. Had he been five minutes earlier, he’d have checked the alarm, and gone again, and the fire would have broken out soon after. Had he been five minutes later, the fire would have been far more advanced.

As my sister said, “Someone was looking after us that night”. By the insistent nagging about the alarm, I think God saved their house.

Story Two

I do two jobs - one simply driving, the other administrative involving people doing landscaping construction.

Yesterday I was driving, and it just happened I could have gone and checked the work progress on the other job during lunch time as I was nearby. But every time I thought about it, something seemed to discourage me. So I didn’t.

But on the way home I got this fairly insistent sense I should go and check on some concreting. So I did so. I was impressed with their work, but I noticed an expensive piece of machinery hadn’t been put away. I was able to put it away. Had it been left where it was, there was a very good chance it would have been stolen, or possibly damaged by inclement weather.

Now had I visited earlier at lunch time, I would not have bothered to come back later, as I would have already have seen the work.

I believe the sense I should see the work progress **after work, and not at lunch time **was a subtle way of ensuring the machine was safe.

But there was …er… one fly in the ointment. Just as I was thanking Him for this whilst driving home, a car cut in front of me with the number plate “666…XXX”. I thought that was a bit of an odd coincidence…

Anybody else had experiences where they think an insistent sense to do something has led to a fortuitous result in something related to it?

 

[Vigilant]

Dad was my best friend, and my hero. In his last years, I took him out for a ride just about every Saturday, the same way he used to take me to ride with him to the woods. I spent a lot of time with him in the woods, especially when he was at his logging campl. As badly as I hurt right now, that hurt is offset by an immense sense of consolation. I called the ambulance and had Dad hauled back to the hospital on his last day. He was mad as a wet hen, but he went. When the doctor told us that Dad’s life was about to come to an end, I thought he surely had at least a few more days. I told him I was going to run a couple errands and come back to see him. I thanked him sincerely for all that he has done for me, and all of us. I told him once again that I love him, and left. Something told me to go ahead and call the church, even though it was just past 5 PM. Of course, they had already closed. Something told me to go to the church anyway, so I did. I had been there for less than a minute, when Monsignor XXXXX drove through the parking lot. When I told him what was going on, he insisted on going to see Dad immediately. Less than a half hour later, I received a call from the hospital, notifying me that shortly after Monsignor XXXXX gave Dad the Anointing of the Sick, Dad passed away peacefully and painlessly.

And now, as Paul Harvey would say, here’s the rest of the story: The next day, Father YYY told me that Monsignor XXXXX had been driving to Raleigh that evening to spend some time off, when something changed his mind. Something told him to turn around, and come back to town. Just before he made it back to the Rectory, something… something told him to swing by and check on the church. And there I was. That takes my breath away. There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that God had a hand in Dad’s passing. Dad left this world loaded for bear.

 

[Bob_Crowley]

Dad was my best friend, and my hero. In his last years, I took him out for a ride just about every Saturday, the same way he used to take me to ride with him to the woods. I spent a lot of time with him in the woods, especially when he was at his logging campl. As badly as I hurt right now, that hurt is offset by an immense sense of consolation. I called the ambulance and had Dad hauled back to the hospital on his last day. He was mad as a wet hen, but he went. When the doctor told us that Dad’s life was about to come to an end, I thought he surely had at least a few more days. I told him I was going to run a couple errands and come back to see him. I thanked him sincerely for all that he has done for me, and all of us. I told him once again that I love him, and left. Something told me to go ahead and call the church, even though it was just past 5 PM. Of course, they had already closed. Something told me to go to the church anyway, so I did. I had been there for less than a minute, when Monsignor XXXXX drove through the parking lot. When I told him what was going on, he insisted on going to see Dad immediately. Less than a half hour later, I received a call from the hospital, notifying me that shortly after Monsignor XXXXX gave Dad the Anointing of the Sick, Dad passed away peacefully and painlessly.

And now, as Paul Harvey would say, here’s the rest of the story: The next day, Father YYY told me that Monsignor XXXXX had been driving to Raleigh that evening to spend some time off, when something changed his mind. Something told him to turn around, and come back to town. Just before he made it back to the Rectory, something… something told him to swing by and check on the church. And there I was. That takes my breath away. There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that God had a hand in Dad’s passing. Dad left this world loaded for bear.

Good story. I hope there’s a few more out there.

 

[Vigilant]

Excellent topic, and thanks for bringing it up. Another thing that you can probably relate to is a dream I had almost two weeks after he passed. All of a sudden, I became acutely aware of his presence… while I was in a dream state. There was no mistake about it. Then, I realized that I was dreaming, and that he had passed. I turned away, so to speak, but got the feeling that it most certainly WAS my dad, and that he was right there with me. I didn’t see him; I just sensed his very strong presence, in a way that I have never experienced before. I also felt an immense sense of love between us. I gained a great deal of comfort from that dream, and also from the previous post I shared here.

 

[Justicia_et_Pax]

I’ve often felt God prodding or guiding me in a certain direction in my life but the most significant example has to be in January 2010. I had just been diagnosed with psychosis, meaning I’d been pulled out of all my classes. I was under the care of two welfare tutors: my college chaplain and the Tutor for Women. The previous term this Tutor for Women had directed some medieval mystery plays about the Blessed Virgin Mary. I had taken part in these but found it difficult and slightly traumatic, for various reasons.

When it came to January, the Tutor for Women was preparing to stage Passion plays from the same medieval mystery cycle and gave me the option of being involved. Having been ill during the last set of plays and knowing that my Catholic guilt could get very nasty during Lent (it has done for a number of years), I was uncertain as to what to do. I wanted to be involved but knew it could be difficult and - indeed - dangerous. I asked God what to do.

At first there was no answer, which I found frustrating and disappointing. A week or so later, however, I was overcome with a sense of certainty that I was to do the plays. So I got involved and was quickly promoted to stage manager. Staging that play was the best and worst month of my life. Worst because the psychosis was horrendous and I was absolutely terrified. I ended up trying to kill myself after the plays because Satan, masquerading as God, told me that my time was up. It was also the best though because through being so heavily involved in these plays and what with all the illness going on behind the scenes, God granted me a small but beautiful insight into the Passion story. I was truly blessed to receive this and if the psychosis was the price I had to pay for it, then so be it

 

[Bob_Crowley]

Just goes to show the truth of the old saw - God works in strange ways at times.

 

[Bob_Crowley]

Excellent topic, and thanks for bringing it up. Another thing that you can probably relate to is a dream I had almost two weeks after he passed. All of a sudden, I became acutely aware of his presence… while I was in a dream state. There was no mistake about it. Then, I realized that I was dreaming, and that he had passed. I turned away, so to speak, but got the feeling that it most certainly WAS my dad, and that he was right there with me. I didn’t see him; I just sensed his very strong presence, in a way that I have never experienced before. I also felt an immense sense of love between us. I gained a great deal of comfort from that dream, and also from the previous post I shared here.

I sometimes get a sense of peace when someone dies, and more so if they’re Christian. When my old pastor died, whom I regarded as a spiritual father (if somewhat discouraging), I had this very strong sense of peace right about the time he died (3am in the morning if my information is correct). It must have gone on for about half an hour.

It wasn’t unexpected, as he was in an induced coma due to the terminal stages of cancer, but the sense of peace was very pronounced.

 

[Jcnava15]

Sorry for the long post, but it’s worth the read (I hope).

Part 1

On Thursday, December 8th, 2011 I was in spiritual desolation. I had been experiencing it for a few days, as the consolation from a previous answer from God had subsided into a memory. I had resolved that I would do the smart thing, and attend Eucharistic Adoration.

However when my first day off work came, on a Wednesday, I was unable to go. I had to stay home and watch after my puppy, and take care of her. The rest of the family was either working, or were busy running errands.

The next day, on that Thursday, I had resolved that I would do everything I could to attend Adoration. However I learned that I would have to pick my sister up from work at 10pm that night, so I decided to attend Adoration somewhat later in order to get out in time to pick my sister up right after.

As time rolled on, and I distracted myself with various things, I finally found myself watching Tv. It was 7pm, being the huge procrastinator that I am, I had not even showered or done anything productive. As I sat there and watched TV, a really interesting, but fruitless show came on.

This new distraction allowed me to feel comfortable about putting off adoration until Friday, or even later. I decided that I would get ready to go after the show was over so that I could both watch this show, and go to adoration (even though I knew the chances of me skipping again were more than likely).

As the show rolled on, and it got to the climax, I had a sudden realization. I thought “What if the church closes soon?”. I had never been to adoration at such a late time, so I had no idea if it were closed or not. I knew from past experiences that I have arrived only to find it closed, so I knew the possibility of it being closed were more than likely.

Without thinking, and completely contrary to my procrastinating habits, I jumped up and got in the shower at 7:14pm . As I did I remember thinking, “Why did I just do that? I never just jump up and do anything like that.”.

As I showered, I started thinking about a question that had been bothering me for a while. In the New Testament Paul tells us that we should not consume the Body and Blood of Christ in an unworthy manner, lest we bring condemnation on ourselves. This is why I never partake in communion, unless I am in a state of grace after confession.

“Yet,” I thought, “when I attend Eucharistic Adoration, aren’t I consuming the Eucharist, albeit Spiritually? Isn’t this the same thing?”.

I got out of the shower at around 7:30pm, and was still thinking about my question. I definitely wanted to attend Adoration, as it is a great source of spiritual consolation, and growth, but did not want to consume the Eucharist in an unworthy manner, and bring condemnation on myself. I was seriously concerned about this.

So I decided that now would be a good time to apply what I had learned; if you ask you shall receive. So I got down on the bottom right corner of my bed, and said a simple prayer. I said “Lord, Jesus Christ, if it is your will that I attend confession before Adoration, let me know in a way that I can understand.”.

I said this prayer for two specific reasons. First, I was in spiritual desolation, not because God had not answered me, but because each time every prayer I submitted was answered in a miraculous way, my cynical mind blamed it on coincidence.

So if he answered again, coincidence would be diminished as a possibility. So I had doubts in my mind, and I was worried about not bringing further condemnation on myself if I was consuming the Eucharist in an unworthy manner.

So after some stalling, I finally left my house at around 8pm. As I drove I was thinking a lot about the spiritual consolations that I had received, and about a new request that I was submitting to God.

I was thinking about the stories I had heard from other people about “random” people showing up and doing something miraculous in there life. They always talked about them as if they were Angels who were there specifically to do something for them.

I was requesting God to send me an Angel like that, because I thought that would be so incredible. I had requirements too, as to what would help me determine whether or not I had met an Angel or not. I figured if this person was wearing all white, then I would be able to tell they were ‘Angelic’.

 

[Jcnava15]

Part 2

As I was arriving at the Church, I had a sudden realization in regards to an answer I had received. I realized that when God wants me to do something, he always provides a means for me to accomplish it.

He never sets an impossible task for me, he provides for me. My evidence for this was in the manner in which a latter prayer was answered, where God gave me a resource to accomplish a difficult task. So as I was pulling into the Church, and I had already received spiritual consolation by having this realization.

I began to walk up the inclined pavement that led to the Church. As I looked ahead through the glass doors, something immediately caught my eye. There, in the lobby, was a person completely dressed in white.

Seeing as how my vision was bad I couldn’t immediately make out who it was. However seeing this person dressed in all white, immediately caused some suspense. I was on edge, and I felt a bit of a rush. A part inside of me “knew” that this was for me, or at least I hoped that this was my “Angel” I had prayed for.

As I got closer, I realized that this person who was wearing all white, and now I could recognize a purple sash, was the Priest. This was strange to me. I had only spoken to this Priest twice, and each time I felt uneasy about him, as he didn’t seem to care to have conversations with me. I had stopped attending this church for Mass, as I didn’t feel at home, and only attended it for Adoration, away from the priest and the rest of the Parish.

As I walked in, I was courteous, and said hello. Yet, that part of me that believed that he was my “Angel”, wanted to probe further. I had hoped that God would send me a message through him.

I literally thought that He was there specifically because God had given him a specific message for me. At this point I wasn’t thinking about anything to do with Confession, I was going to wait on God to answer at what I assumed would be a later date. I was going to attend Adoration anyways.

So, rather than avoiding the priest as I usually do, I probed further. I awkwardly asked him, “So… I never see you here this late, is there some special event going on?”.

Then he casually replied, “I decided to hold Reconciliation till 9pm today for Advent.”

I was a little confused, being a new Catholic, I wasn’t exactly sure what Advent or Reconciliation were, but I thought Reconciliation was just the technical term for confession, so I asked him “Is Reconciliation…confession?”

He replied affirmatively.

Not knowing how to reply, as I stood there amazed, I simply said “Well, then that’s me.”

As I walked to the confessional with him, I could barely pay attention to him as I was in such joy, and awe. He was saying something about holding Reconciliation this late for those that were moved by the Holy Spirit. I just wanted to tell him how right he was!

I said, “Well I’ll tell you in a minute why you’re right about that.”

He said, “No, not me, You’ll be telling it to the Lord.”

After confession, I joyfully went to adoration. I was so happy, and thankful. I was so amazed at God that on my walk to the Adoration Chapel, I kept asking him, “Why are you so good to me?” . I didn’t feel like I deserved such beautiful things from him, but I was so thankful.

 

[pollycarp]

My dad was in the hospital with congestive heart failure. Death wasn’t thought to be imminent, but we knew he was dying. I planned on going to the hospital right after work. The last few hours at work I became more and more worried and I guess it showed on my face because the office manager, a nice orthodox Catholic lady, told me to leave early. I got to the hospital about 3 or 3:15 pm, and as I arrived at the bedside, I put my arms around my dad to help him as he seemed he wanted to sit up more in bed. As I did, he passed away at that moment. I think I was blessed that day.

 

[pollycarp]

One day I was in the adoration chapel praying for peace, peace for myself. Incidentally, I believe God gives me clear answers as I usually don’t know what I can trust or not. Anyway, I left the chapel and went to the grocery store, and decided I would but some fish cause it was Friday. There were two funny looking pieces of fish in the prepared food case. I asked the lady for a piece of fish, told her I’d take any one of those, and she picked up one of the funny ones and said "we call these the ‘peace sign fish’. We laughed. The piece of fish had a part sticking out that looked like a big thumb or something, like a hand making a peace gesture. I do believe God has a sense of humor too.

Another day I woke up feeling grumpy, very sad and desolate. As I got up I prayed "look on me Lord and have pity, for I am poor and alone. I guess I was feeling that I had no family, no one to count on, and that worries me at times. Anyway, I was looking for a certain pair of socks, and being too cranky to root around for them, I took the box of sox and dumped the whole thing on the bed. There at the bottom of the box was a piece of paper that I could see in big bold letters, without my glasses, that said “I will be your best friend.” I felt completely better after I saw that. Coincidentally, the first reading for Mass (latin) that day was “Look on me Lord and have pity…” That surprised me. (The paper was from a scarf I had bought a year or so before and it had ended up in the sock box!.)