His favorite saying whenever he discussed such matters with his parishioners was “I have made a deal with God. I do His will on earth. And He takes care of the worries!”
He often prayed silently whenever a project or event was planned in the Parish and he offered the whole matter to God saying “Let it develop and work out according to your will oh Lord!”
One evening, during a Prayer Meeting at the Parish Hall, when all participants offered prayers and petitions for healings and other personal needs, Father Ignatius said:
“Let us pray for the success of the Young Peoples Retreat this weekend.
“The Youth Leaders and I are taking a few youngsters on Saturday morning to a Monastery in the countryside. It is run by Franciscan Monks.
“We hope to leave early on Saturday morning and the children will bring with them a packed lunch.
“Praise God we’ve already acquired two mini-vans donated for the weekend by one of our parishioners and the two Youth Leaders will drive them with all of the children. I will follow behind in my car carrying any luggage that will not fit in the vans.
“When we get there we hope to hold an open-air Mass in the grounds of the Monastery. Followed by a short Retreat and Prayers led by two of the Monks.
“We also hope to have a barbecue and the children will do all the cooking and preparations for the meal. Supervised of course! This will help them to work together and to take on responsibility for various tasks.
“We hope to return back here after Mass and breakfast on Sunday morning.
“We have everything organized, except for the food for Saturday night and Sunday breakfast.
“So please pray that the children enjoy the experience and are blessed spiritually as a result of this Retreat as they prepare for their Confirmation in two weeks’ time.”
At the end of the Prayer Meeting the priest was approached by two Americans from a nearby military base who had visited that evening for the first time as guests of one of the regular parishioners.
They asked Father Ignatius how many children he was taking on the retreat.
“Oh … about twenty or so …” replied the priest.
“Is that all?” they replied, “feeding them should be no problem!”
They offered to provide all food for the Saturday evening barbecue and the Sunday morning breakfast for children and adults alike.
And true to their word, on the day in question, they followed the convoy in their own van filled with food and the necessary equipment to ensure a successful barbecue. They stayed in a nearby hotel for the night and returned to the Monastery on Sunday morning to collect their utensils and equipments and go home.
Father Ignatius thanked the Lord for providing once again.
Based on a true story.
