My husband had a heart attack last fall.

He spent a very difficult six weeks with hopeful periods followed by major setbacks. Things were not going well. I still watched my 5-year old grandson on Wednesdays.

On the Wednesday before he died, I was at morning Mass with my grandson. I was feeling abandoned by God and could not understand why I felt so empty.

As the readings for Mass began, I opened my Magnificat to the day’s readings. The woman doing the first reading flipped back and forth through the pages, clearly not sure of her place. At length she began to read. It was not the passage that was in my Magnificat for that day, so I closed my prayer book and listened. To my amazement, she read 1 Corinthians 2:3-10. The passage declares:

“What eye has not seen, and ear has not heard, and what has not entered the human heart, what God has prepared for those who love him.”

I knew that God was speaking directly to me! After hearing God’s words of comfort, I knew he was with us and we would be all right.

—Kathy Strait