I have told this story before on here but I can't find the thread. I thought that members wouldn't mind me re-telling it on this first Sunday of Advent. I read this as a first hand account in an English magazine maybe 15 years ago. I don't recall the lady's name but she was a fairly well-known writer on current affairs. The author had been raised a Catholic and attended a Catholic boarding school run by nuns. She left school a convinced Catholic but, less than a year after going to university, she became embarrassed by her beliefs and abandoned them as childish and incredible. She worked but wrote in her spare time and eventually became a successful full-time writer. She rarely thought about God or the religion that she had given up. One Christmas Eve, she was in London doing last minute shopping. She happened to pass a Catholic church and saw that there were lights inside and that people were going in and out. She went in out of nostalgia and saw that there were several dozen people inside waiting outside several confessionals (it must have been a long time ago!). She went to the front of the Church where there was a crib. There was a kneeler in front of the crib and she knelt down. She didn't pray but she thought how silly these people were to believe that Jesus was in a 'box' on the altar and the men in the confessionals could forgive their sins in the name of God. Then she thought that perhaps she was being unkind and that maybe these people were happier than she was and perhaps it wasn't such a bad thing to believe these strange things if it brought them comfort. She went to leave and, when passing one of the confessionals, a woman stepped out and unseen hands from behind pushed her into the confessional, pushed her down on the kneeler and closed the door behind her. (She never mentioned Padre Pio, but that robust approach with non-believers was certainly his 'style'!) She made a heartfelt and tearful confession and left the church a convinced believer once again. Talking of Christmas Eve conversions. The famous evangelist, Marino Restrepo, had his own miracle conversion starting on that day, though his took a while longer. He is a great promoter of the novena beginning on December 16 and ending, before the crib on Christmas Eve to which he attributes his own miracle conversion. If you haven't seen his story see below (well worth watching). The novena to which he attributes his conversion is available at http://www.medjugorjelive.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=22955 (sorry it's a Medjugorje themed site, if you are not a believer in the apparitions but I couldn't find the novena anywhere else). If you just want the bare facts, start at 1:29 and watch for about five/ten minutes.
I am a big fan of Marino. His conversion story is powerful. His other talks are excellent as well. Lately he is angry about "gringos" attacking Pope Francis and he says some harsh things but his personal witness is is so moving. I love the story about the writer. God is amazingly merciful. We think we just happened to walk into a Church but then a miracle! We don't see the battalions of Angel's fighting to get us there.
Marino Restrepo's conversion is one of the most powerful i have heard. It gives me chills. His mother was a devout Catholic mother and prayed for him right up to her death. It was after her death that this experience happened. Her prayets were so beautifully answered.
