'Hi Stefano, I Finally Found You'

The miraculous conversion of a young Communist who hated Christ

From the Divine Liturgy at the Russian cathedral in Budapest this morning

A blessed Lord’s Day to ye who observe. I just returned home from the Divine Liturgy, which was for some reason extraordinarily rich at the Russian cathedral parish this morning. Nothing different about it, but today was special, probably because I was especially receptive to the graces always present. Or maybe it was because I carried in my head the miracle story that I’m about to tell you below, which had arrived overnight via e-mail. It’s a tale about an angry young man, tormented by strange and dark visions as a boy, maturing into a political radical who hated God and cursed His name, but who later had a portentous encounter in a church with the patron saint of impossible causes, and then a meeting on the street with an angel — yes, an angel — who brought him good news that changed everything. Everything!

I read a book yesterday, The Dawn Of Christianity: People And Gods In A Time of Magic and Miracles, by Robert Knapp, an academic historian of the ancient world who talked about how miracles and wonders launched early Christianity. What happened to Stefano that day on the streets of Rome is the kind of thing that happened at the dawn of the faith that drew people to the Lord. It’s why I’m writing this book: to wake up people who are lost and confused by the dying of the light of our civilization, and convince them to open their eyes to the signs all around them, pointing the way out of the dark wood.

But first, let me tell you a little bit about church this morning.