Though Suffering, She Was Selfless

Nearly four years ago, Jay Hastings, of Bartlett, Tenn., organized what has become a growing group of Divine Mercy devotees who ensure that the Chaplet of The Divine Mercy is being prayed every hour of the day. The 24-hour Chaplet members now consist of nearly 400 people from across the United States, as well as from Mexico, Canada, the Philippines, Bolivia, Costa Rica, Belize, India, and Iraq, who are assigned an hour each day in which to pray.

They pray for three things: the promotion of the Divine Mercy devotion; the sick and dying in the hour that you pray; and people about to commit mortal sin.

The following is the second in a series of stories Jay will share about his group's ministry:


By Jay Hastings

Diagnosis: Breast Cancer.

Her name was Lynn. We received a request to pray for her. We immediately put her in our Divine Mercy Prayer Journal. Our 24-Hour Chaplet of The Divine Mercy pray-ers pray continuously every hour every day for those in need. Armed with a 1st-class relic of St Faustina, we offered a Chaplet for healing for her at 3 p.m., the Hour of Great Mercy.

But before we prayed, we received another request. A young mother named Jennifer, 24, was diagnosed with cancer and was told she had only two months to live. She did not have a relationship with God, and her family was in turmoil.

Upon hearing of this, we talked with Lynn about Jennifer. Lynn, responding to God's graces, chose not to become self-absorbed by her own illness. Instead, she realized that Jennifer was worse off than she was. So Lynn, in an act of mercy, decided to offer up her many sufferings for Jennifer so that Jennifer could find God in her life before she died. A truly selfless act considering that Lynn could possibly be facing the same situation sometime in the future.

Lynn held the relic of St Faustina. We prayed the Chaplet that day at 3 p.m. for the healings of both women. We continued to pray for them each hour of the day in our 24-Hour Chaplet prayer group.

Time moved on. Jennifer did pass away two months later. We heard she found her way back to God before she died - an answer to our prayers!

As for Lynn, she has undergone treatment and has had recovery from her breast cancer, though her doctors are keeping a close eye on her.

It all makes me think - two lives intersected, one seemingly lost and in peril, the other called by God, through her own intimate relationship with Him, to use this gift of suffering through His Chaplet of The Divine Mercy to help save a soul. Both women now, I'm sure, have a closer walk with Him.

God can make a flowering of good come from even bad situations if we are open to His inspirations. That day it was about saving Jennifer's soul. In the act of mercy and the power of the Chaplet, lives were changed.

To join the 24-Hour Chaplet, contact Jay Hastings via e-mail, pj7772@msn.com or via phone, 901-438-7772.

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