It is all about trust in God’s plan, something they learned to do since first meeting in high school nearly 45 years ago. A few months into dating, my grandad discovered that Mary and Jim had more in common than just being fellow parishioners; they unknowingly received their First Communion and Confirmation together! When the time came to discern marriage, it only made sense to add one more Sacrament to the list. My parents were married in 1984 and have five children. They were hooked Fast forward to 2020. The pandemic which turned everyone’s world upside down caused them to take stock of what God wanted of them. They watched the “Divine Mercy in the Second Greatest Story Ever Told” and renewed their trust in God’s plan for them. Soon after, they began watching Fr. Chris Alar’s “Explaining the Faith” series on YouTube. The video they watched first was “Best Marian apparitions: Einsiedeln, Walsingham, Ransom.” They were hooked and began sharing it with all our family. Along with the podcasts and live-streaming content from the Marian Fathers at the National Shrine, they are now devoted to saying the Chaplet of Divine Mercy daily. “The Divine Mercy message has changed our lives in ways we never expected,” my mom says. “We had seen ourselves retiring and living in the same house we purchased over 32 years ago. However, at Easter of 2021, we both had the same feeling, an interior calling of sorts, to live a more peacefilled life. The next week, we contacted an agent and trusted in the Lord to find us the perfect plot of land. He not only gave us what we asked for but gave us much more. Our next-door neighbor is Jesus! He is waiting for you to TRUST Him.” My parents recognized that the Lord may even ask for a favor in return and bless more people through it. For Christmas of 2020, they gifted me a framed Divine Mercy Image. I fell in love with it and knew that I needed it in my home. I asked for nothing else that year. Bucket list item Over the course of the next two years, my parents witnessed my love for Jesus and the Catholic faith blossom. So much so, that I checked off a bucket list item, visiting the National Shrine of The Divine Mercy last fall. There I stumbled upon Fr. Alar, who not only gave me a tour, but asked if I would be interested in working for the Marians. After prayerful discernment, I left an incredible position in Naples, Florida and never looked back! The content that our Marian Fathers produce via literature, the Internet, in person, and on television was instrumental in leading my family and me to the Divine Mercy message. Your support is vital to our mission! Visit Marian.org/give to find out the many ways in which you can help spread the Divine Mercy message! My parents, Jim and Mary Kennedy, spend their days working on their recently- purchased land in a small town in East Texas, making trails, building a house, and volunteering at their next-door parish. These two native Houstonians recently decided to |retire from jobs in education at one of the first charter schools in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. One may be wondering how two people who always lived in large cities could leave it all behind without a second thought. IT’S ALL ABOUT TRUST Outstanding Helpers Jacqueline (Jacqui) Kennedy is a donor relations officer for the Marian Fathers. Contact her at (413) 298-1390; [email protected]; or Association of Marian Helpers, Stockbridge, MA 01263. Visit Marian.org/give to learn more. Marian Helper • Summer 2023 • Marian.org 31
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MjI2Mw==