January 11-12, 2003

I went to mass this morning and prayed the rosary (Joyful) afterwards. I finished the rosary at 9:13. I then drove to 7-11 to get some coffee for S.C.C and when I arrived home the time was 9:33. Lately I have been considering and praying about selling parts of my Civil War collection. I need to prepare for the possibility of loosing my job along with many others in the coming months due to bad management of the company. At one time SWIFT was a great place to work, now it is like a rudderless ship managed and motivated by greed. SWIFT has recently published articles on “The Dreams of a Cashless Socity” and considers itself at the forefront of this eventual, futuristic goal of world financial electronic management. Automation is also responsible for people loosing their jobs.

I told S.C.C that I was going to ride to Fredricksburg to see my friend Nicky who has a Civil War relic shop. When I got there his girlfriend, Karen said he was in South Carolina at a show. I was going to go back home but since I was close I though I would stop at St. Mary’s and pray another rosary. When I arrived at St. Mary’s there was a priest and about 15 or 20 children and a few other adults in silent prayer. I started praying the Sorrowful Mysteries and had the thought that I should pray the Chaplet of Devine Mercy after the rosary. That was my plan. When I started the 2nd decade of the rosary the priest started leading the Chaplet of Devine Mercy. I stopped my rosary and joined in the Chaplet with them. When it was over the priest looked over at me and said “I am sorry for disturbing your prayer” I told him that he did not disturb me at all. I then picked up with my rosary exactly where I had left off. When I finished the rosary I looked at my watch and the time was 1:13:13.

When I left St. Mary’s I decided to drive over to Orange and visit another Civil War relic friend and let him know that I might be selling off part of my collection. While I was on the way I suddenly was overwhelmed with the desire to pray the rosary again. It just so happened that at that very instant I was at the intersection of Rt. 3 and Ely’s Ford Rd. which is where St. Patrick’s is located. I pulled into St. Patrick’s and as I was walking into the church I looked at my watch and the time was 1:33. I prayed the Glorious mysteries. When I finished the rosary I continued my trip to Orange and talked to R.E. Neville about the possibility of selling parts of my collection. When we finished talking, I drove home and arrived there at 3:33.

I did a few things around the house and S.C.C said she wanted to go to 6 PM mass. We got ready and arrived at church at 5:33. When we walked in the church I noticed that David Guinn was serving on the altar. As I sat there watching him I was moved by his reverence as he genuflected towards the Tabernacle as he lighted the candles. Over the next few seconds I had a clear replay in my mind of all of the unlikely events in his life that have led him to where he is now. I thought about his childhood and his first visit to St. Joseph’s. I relived his baptism in my mind and remembered his eagerness for it and how precious it is to him now. I do believe he will become a priest. Against all odds he’s got what it takes and I knew where he got it and who he got it from. There can be no other answer. Suddenly I knew I had to go to Emmitsburg tonight and finish my rosary with the Mysteries of Light at St. Joseph’s.

After mass S.C.C and I drove home, C.R.C. was spending the night at my sisters house. I drove back into town to get some things for S.C.C from 7-11 before I left. When I got home S.C.C told me that Bob G had called and that his daughter in-law had been killed in a car accident in Fairfax. When S.C.C told me this I looked up and the time on the bedroom clock was 8:13. That clock runs a few minutes fast to help get C.R.C. to school on time. I got in my truck and pulled out of my driveway to go to Emmitsburg and the time was still 8:13. When I arrived at the entrance of the Grotto the odometer was 33.3. I arrived at St. Joseph’s and started the rosary as I walked around the church on the sidewalk that runs along the street. At the very instant I started the first decade of the Mysteries of Light which is the Baptism Of Jesus in the Jordan I was suddenly overwhelmed with peace. I could not help it, I looked at my watch and the time was 10:33. It was another frigid night. When I finished the rosary I walked over to the Ott House to get a cup of coffee but they had a live band and it was so crowded that I just gave up and went back to the truck. As I was leaving to go home I had not traveled more than 6 inches when the odometer switched to 1.3. When I arrived at the entrance to the Grotto the odometer was 3.3. I drove home and pulled in the driveway at 1:13.

Sunday January 12

The next morning when I woke up I don’t know what overcame me but I was very rude to S.C.C and it made me feel very bad. Later in the morning I drove to church to teach CCD and arrived there at 9:33. After CCD I rode to St. Peter’s in Little Washington because I wanted to go to confession before I took the Eucharist to anyone because of the event with S.C.C this morning. I arrived at St. Peter’s and looked at my watch as I approached Fr. Porporski to ask to go to confession. The time was 11:33:33. I went to confession and then went in the church to pray my penance. After I finished my penance I continued with my daily rosary and when I finished and was leaving the clock on the dash said 12:13. A few seconds later I noticed my watch and the time was 12:13:13.

As I was driving back home I had a very sudden, out of nowhere thought that I should offer to drive Bob and Barbara Gray to Dawn’s funeral. At that very instant I looked up and the time on the dash was 12:33. I drove to "Parish Church" to pick up the Eucharist for Bob, Mary Ann and Agnes and at the very instant I opened the Tabernacle I noticed my watch said XX:XX:13. As I was driving to Bob’s house I was again hit with the strong thought that I should offer to drive them to the funeral. I felt compelled to look at my watch and it said XX:XX13. When I arrived at their house they were both very sad but handling it well. I made the offer to drive them to the funeral and they accepted. I gave Bob the Eucharist and as I walked out the front door I looked at my watch and the time was exactly 1:13:00. As I was walking to my truck Bob’s daughter Vivian arrived and gave me a nice Christmas present for bringing the Eucharist each week to her dad.

I then drove to Our Father’s House to take the Eucharist to Mary Ann Carta and Agnes Corradi. While I was there I noticed that my wedding band was missing. After I had given the Eucharist to both of them I left and when I returned to my truck the time was 2:13. I drove back to "Parish Church" to return the pix and I prayed another rosary and tried to think of where I could have lost my wedding ring. I drove home and told S.C.C that I lost it. The only explanation I could think of was the possibility that maybe because of the cold the ring could have fallen off of my finger as I was praying the rosary outside of St. Joseph’s last night. I called Jim O’Brien and asked him to walk over and look around the sidewalk area while there was still daylight. I got in my truck and took my flashlight and drove back to St. Joseph’s to look for my ring. After I arrived I spent about and hour searching and praying that I would find it. I did not find the ring. When I left I drove over to see Sister Genevieve because she just got out of the hospital. We talked for a little while and when I left I rode back to St. Joseph’s to say a quick prayer that somehow I will get my ring back. I arrived at St. Joseph’s at 8:13. When I got home I told S.C.C that I had not found the ring. I walked downstairs and turned on the computer to check my e-mail. When the computer started it displayed a randomly selected background picture on the screen of Our Lady of Emmitsburg and the time displayed on the computer was 10:13. The e-mail that I received was the message.