4 Marian Helper • Summer 2023 • Marian.org They had been attending Mass together for a while now, usually arriving late, always sitting in the back. Now, as the faithful filed up for Holy Communion, Tasya wanted to know why Leo never followed them. ‘It’s a Sacrament’ Early in their relationship, the couple had been pressured by family to break up on account of their religious differences — she was a Muslim, he a lapsed Catholic — but instead, they had become engaged in 2014. No wedding date was set, but one day in 2017, Tasya had suddenly asked Leo whether he would want to get married in the Catholic Church. Leo said yes. “Then,” Tasya replied, “we should start going.” Now, Leo explained to her in a whisper, “It’s not a cookie. It’s a Sacrament, and you’re not supposed to receive it if you’re in mortal sin.” “Oh,” said Tasya. “How do you get rid of that?” “I have to go to Confession.” “Then you should go.” Leo knew she was right. “This is the Holy Spirit,” he thought, “speaking through Tasya to me.” He told her he would go soon. But he didn’t. Addiction struggles Leo had never meant to turn away from God. He and Human love and Divine Mercy Marian Helpers in Action “Leo, why don’t you go up and get the ‘cookie’?” Tasya whispered to her fiancé, Leo Marinak, in the back pew of St. John the Evangelist Church in Agawam, Massachusetts. By Marian Friedrichs
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MjI2Mw==