ANDREA | KAIROS GLOBAL | JANUARY 2022

Author:  Sijumon Abraham

Intro: Devout Catholic, Andrea has just recently joined her new job. Extremely demanding work, an ever-angry boss and an atheist colleague become her new reality. When she earns the respect and friendship of Michelle, her work buddy, Andrea reveals the story of her past.

As they prayed, Caroline's words faltered and tears streamed down her cheeks. Andrea, too, began to weep. They both felt the strong presence of Jesus.

‘Mom … I had thought of aborting the baby …’ Slowly, she unburdened her heart to her mother and Jesus.

‘Baby, you know that abortion is wrong. It is murder.’ Caroline spoke to her calmly.

‘I know... I know, Mama, but what else can I do? My studies, my dreams – all that I worked for will be lost!’ 

‘Andrea, leave all your worries to Jesus! He will be with you and guide you. Tomorrow before Holy Mass we can go for confession.’ Together, they prayed till late in the night, surrendering all their worries to Jesus.  

‘Your Frappuccino is melting!’ Michelle reminded.

‘Oh, right! I forgot the time; your father must be looking for you. We'll talk later, Michelle,’ Andrea said.

‘Sure, but tell me, does Jesus really exist? How can your mom talk to him?’

‘Of course he does!’ Andrea replied. ‘Jesus is real, he talks to everyone, but we need to learn to listen to him.’ 

‘Interesting! Maybe I'll come visit your church one day.’

‘Sure. You can come with me next Sunday. We can go for the evening Mass.’

‘Okay. Sounds good,’ Michelle replied.

‘Bye Michelle! Take care.’

‘You too.’

Michelle remained with her father till he was discharged from the hospital. When she returned to work on Wednesday, she was surprised to see her desk cleaned up.

‘That must be you?’ asked Michelle, indicating her well-ordered workstation.

Andrea smiled and said, ‘Hope you don't mind.’

‘Oh dear, thank you so much,’ said Michelle, taking Andrea’s hand gratefully.

‘By the way, my father was so happy to meet you. He said that your visit made him feel a lot better.’

‘That’s not my doing. It was Jesus,’ replied Andrea with a smile.

‘You know, Andrea, I can feel something different now; especially after Dad’s recovery,’ Michelle said softly. ‘And I really want to hear the rest of your story!’

Andrea smiled at her. 

That morning, Michelle busied herself with all the pending work that even Andrea was surprised at all that she managed to finish. During lunch break, at Michelle’s insistence, Andrea continued with her story.

‘Are you working today, Mamma?’ Andrea asked her mother.

‘No, sweetheart. I wanted to be with you.’

They were silent on the way to church. This gave Andrea time to reflect upon her spiritual state and prepare for a good confession. Unfortunately, when they reached church, the confessional was empty. Caroline continued to pray, believing that Jesus had a plan.

After Mass, Caroline went to the parish office and sought out a priest, ‘Father, my daughter would like to make a confession, do you have time?’

‘Oh, I have a house visit now. Could you wait in the adoration chapel and pray? I will be back in 30 minutes,’ Father replied.

‘Yes, Father, we will wait. Thank you!’ Caroline replied.

She brought Andrea to the adoration chapel. They sat down close to Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament and began to pray. Slowly Jesus began to speak to Andrea.

‘For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the Lord, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future’ Jeremiah 29:11.

The Bible verse she had learned in her school days kept echoing in her head. She looked at Jesus and cried bitterly. 

Caroline took Andrea’s hands in her own and said to her, ‘Children are a gift from the Lord; they are his reward Psalm 127:3’. Unable to control the freely falling tears, Andrea looked down; Caroline continued, ‘Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will take care of itself Matthew 6:34’.

‘Jesus, I do not want to kill my baby, can you help me?’ pleaded Andrea.

Caroline reached her hands out and enveloped Andrea in an embrace, ‘Jesus will be with you and I will take care of you and our baby’.

Andrea simply closed her eyes and wept.

‘I made a good confession that day,’ Andrea said, wiping away her tears. ‘That gave me the strength I needed against aborting the baby. And I gave birth to a baby boy.’ 

‘Wow!’ said Michelle, overwhelmed. ‘And what happened to your studies? Your dreams?’

‘I finished my studies while pregnant and took a year off to pursue my dreams.’

‘And the cycling competition? Were you ever able to compete in that?’ asked Michelle.

‘I did, yes. Not just the nationals but also the Southeast Asian championships. I was champion for a couple of years! I never dreamed it would happen, but it did. Praise God!’ 

‘That’s amazing! Southeast Asian cycling champion!’ Michelle gushed. ‘And your son? What does he do now?’

Realising that their lunch break had come to an end, Andrea said, ‘I think we are late. I will introduce him to you next Sunday.’

‘Great!’

‘And when you meet him, you can ask what he does yourself!’ Andrea said with a smile. 

 The next Sunday, Michelle texted Andrea: ‘When should I reach your church?’

‘Mass starts at 5 pm. If you can come a little early that would be nice.’

‘Ok sure, see you then!’

Michelle reached Good Shepherd Cathedral by 4:30 pm and was just about to reach for her phone to call Andrea, when she heard a voice behind her.  

‘Hey Michelle!’ Turning around, she saw Andrea and greeted her.

‘Where's your son?’ asked Michelle.

‘Oh, he's inside the church, you can meet him after Mass,’ Andrea replied. ‘Come on, let us meet Jesus.’ She took Michelle to the adoration chapel. 

‘Years back, Jesus spoke to me personally for the first time in this adoration chapel,’ Andrea said as she explained the chapel and the Blessed Sacrament to Michelle. The two walked in. It was empty except for another person, who was praying. 

Andrea knelt and bowed before the Blessed Sacrament, while Michelle simply sat down on a chair. She looked at the Blessed Sacrament for a while and looked around. She saw a Bible on a shelf close by and took it. Opening it at random, she began to read. As she did, one verse stood out to her; Michelle began to read it over and over.

‘For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life’ John 3:16.

They sat there for a while in silence. Michelle was surprised to see Andrea staring at the Blessed Sacrament without averting her gaze; the other person too was engrossed in intense prayer. 

After a while, when they came out, Michelle was surprised to see the other person walk towards them with a smile on his face. 

‘Michelle, meet my husband,’ said Andrea.

‘Hello,’ Michelle smiled warmly. 

‘Hi Michelle, I am Evan!’

‘Oh! Evan!’ Michelle's eyes widened.

‘I guess Andrea told you about me,’ Evan said, seeing the recognition on her face.

‘Yes! She has! Nice to meet you!’

‘Come on, Mass is about to start,’ Andrea said to them.

They sat down in the second row, keeping a safe distance from other people attending the service. It was all a new experience for Michelle. Holy Mass was celebrated by Father Michael, a young priest. During the homily, he spoke about God’s love for humanity and how each person was precious to him.

‘And that is why God sent his only begotten Son, Jesus into the world to save us. Whoever believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. My dear brothers and sisters, today our Father God is calling each one of you specially. He wants to draw you closer to him through Jesus, the way, the truth and the life.’ Father concluded his sermon.

Michelle remembered the Bible verse she had been thinking about in the adoration chapel. It was such a coincidence to her that the priest said the same thing. And she closed her eyes.

The Holy Mass was a new experience for Michelle. She felt an indescribable peace come upon her after Mass. When she saw the Father greeting parishioners in front of the church and blessing them, she walked up to him.

‘Hello Father, I am Michelle. This is my first time at a church service. I was very touched by your sermon,’ she said.

‘Hello Michelle, I am Father Michael. It’s a pleasure to meet you and I am sure you have chosen the right place to seek God.’

‘Thank you, Father, I hope to see you again.’

‘Certainly, God bless you, Michelle.’

Michelle turned and went to look for Andrea and Evan. 

‘Hi, sorry, thanks for waiting, I just wanted to thank Father Michael,’ Michelle apologised to Andrea. 

‘Oh, no problem,’ Andrea replied with a smile.

‘By the way, where's your son?’ asked Michelle.

‘Come!’ Andrea told her.

She followed as Andrea and Evan both walked back towards the church’s main entrance. The last of the parishioners had just walked away from him as Father Michael looked up and beamed.

‘Hi, Mom! Hi Dad!’ Father Michael said as he came and hugged them both.

Michelle stopped abruptly. She could not believe it!

‘Michelle, meet our son, Father Michael! He was ordained just a few months ago,’ Andrea said, pride unmistakable in her eyes. 

‘I... Wow! Father Michael is your son! That’s incredibly beautiful!’ Michelle's eyes were moist, and her words were broken, but she tried to express her happiness.

Later, as they were about to bid Father Michael goodbye, Michelle said, ‘Can I ask you all a question?’

‘Sure!’ They answered in unison.

‘How do I become a Catholic?’ Michelle asked with a smile.