An unmarried teenager gives her newborn baby up for adoption, and as the years pass, she longs to help this child.
āThe worst part was, there was literally nothing I could ⦠do for her, sheād just gone.ā
This line is spoken by a character named Hilary, a young researcher working at an institute for brain science, in āThe Hard Problem,ā a play by Tom Stoppard that was reviewed recently in The Wall Street Journal.
Hilary struggles with the puzzle of human consciousness, which she believes canāt be explained by brain scans and other physical facts.
When asked about her definition of God, she says that, in order to tell right from wrong, āYou need something for it to be true, some kind of overall moral intelligence, otherwise weāre just marking our own homework.ā
Her faith helps her stop fretting about the welfare of a child she believes sheāll never meet again.
You see, she discovers there is indeed something she can do ā which is praying every night for the little girl, asking God to look after her.
This insight impressed me, since I believe prayer can mysteriously change the hearts of people we havenāt seen in decades.
We can still pray for childhood friends, ex-sweethearts, folks who were once our colleagues at work.
Hilaryās little girl may never know about her motherās prayers, at least not in this life ā but St. Paul reminds us that āEye has not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, what God has prepared for those who love him.ā
This quote is often interpreted as pointing to the unimaginable beauty and joy awaiting the faithful in heaven.
But it might also mean that in heaven weāll hear about the many fervent prayers that changed our lives.
As in the case of Hilaryās child, we may learn that people from our past ā a former teacher or coach or someone from an old neighborhood ā have been putting in a good word with the Lord for us.
Of course, we can also petition God for strangers ā someone we see walking down the road who looks downtrodden and sad. Someone we meet on an airplane whoās struggling with a serious health issue.
I have been deeply moved by the many readers whoāve written to me over the past three years to assure me of their prayers.
Often, when I give a talk to a church group, someone will approach me afterward to say sheās been faithfully praying for me. These prayers for healing have made a huge difference for me.
On the day my late husband was received into the Catholic Church, four sisters from the Missionaries of Charity, whom weād known for years, were so happy for him.
On their simple blackboard in their peaceful chapel in The Gift of Grace Home were the words, āPray for Jef.ā
The sisters are re-assigned every few years, so the ones currently serving in the home are different from those who knew my husband.
However, when I told the sisters he had died, the words āPray for Jefā returned to the blackboard, which meant prayers for the repose of his soul became part of their daily liturgy.
In the Lordās Prayer, we say, āThy will be done on earth as it is in heaven,ā and since God is love, he wills whatever is best for each of us.
This doesnāt mean an existence totally free from suffering and sadness, but rather a life that keeps us sharply aware that heaven exists ā and is our true destination.
A woman like Hilary may pray her entire life for the baby she gave up for adoption.
And who knows? Since all things are possible with God, perhaps her child will one day start praying for the mom sheās never met on earth ā but will meet in heaven.
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