My Rosary Just Falls Off My Mirror on Ash Wednesday

February 6, 2008

Ash Wednesday always seems to be a special day for me. If you were go back and review all of the past Ash Wednesday papers I have written over the years you would see what I mean. This year was no exception.

I left the house to go to work this morning and when I arrived at St. Joseph’s I noticed it was open. As I parked I noticed there were two cars parked in front of the church and both had the license plate of 33.

I walked inside and was surprised to notice at that very instant Fr. Paul Murphy was exposing the Blessed Sacrament. I said a few prayers and left. Ray Sanders followed me out to tell me he got his old job back which was good news. I then started the car to leave for work and the time on the dash was 7:33.

I drove to Manassas and went straight to work. I was very busy most of the morning. I took my lunch break so I could attend the 12 noon mass at All Saint’s. I arrived and glanced at my watch as I walked in the door and it said XX:XX:33.

It was a very nice Ash Wednesday mass and Fr. Mendez was the priest. During mass we received the ashes. Mass ended and I returned to work. Later in the afternoon there was a meeting that took place near my desk. During this time two people asked me what the smudge was on my forehead. I told them. A little later I was filled with unexpected peace. I glanced at my watch and the time was 3:33.

Later in the day I completed all of my work. I glanced at my watch as I got up to leave for the day and the time was 5:13:33.

While I was driving I thought about the fact that it was Ash Wednesday and I had not yet prayed a rosary. I then thought I would wait until I got home and we would pray a family rosary. About ten minutes or so later the rosary that was hanging on my rear view mirror just unexpectedly fell down for absolutely no apparent reason. I glanced down and the odometer was the last instant of 1.3.

This caused me to feel like I was being asked to pray the rosary NOW. I prayed the Sorrowful mysteries of the rosary and completed it just as I arrived at St. Joseph’s. The time was 7:33 and the odometer was 33.

R_____ C___

February 22, 2008

1:13 Pm