“I kid you not…”

a story about ANGER

Below is the story of a young man whose temperament was forever changed by his visit to the Shrine of Our Lady of Good Help. The story as his mother recounted it follows the vignette.

She could sense her son behind her. In the silence, she could faintly hear him breathing. He stood stiff at the bottom of the steps where the sunlight faded. Inside the oratory, rows of candles flicked a blue glow against the walls. Laura and her husband knelt with their children before a statue of the Virgin Mary adorned with white lilies—all but one of her seven children. Her eldest son hadn’t entered the room. 

Laura slowly turned to glimpse him in the periphery of her vision. His jaw was firm, arms crossed. If he saw her looking, he would surely never come in. She fixed her gaze on Mary's face lit up under a golden crown of stars.

Blessed Mother, change his heart. 

He was a teenager, but that wasn’t it. All his life, the boy had wrestled with his temper. He threw things and stomped off when he was angry. Once, when a game didn’t go his way, he whipped a croquet mallet, nearly hitting the priest who had come for dinner. He was getting older now, getting stronger. He’d never hit anyone, but...

If he can’t get this under control, what will his future be like? Blessed Mary, please change his heart.

Laura heard a shuffle and felt the atmosphere in the room change. Glancing back, she saw his grey and orange hiking shoes step over the threshold. She shared a discreet smile with her husband who was praying too. For years, her husband had been unable to connect with their son. She hadn’t planned this family trip hoping her son would be healed, but now she prayed again for him.

Blessed Mary, heal his anger. Change his heart.

Her son inched closer. Eyes closed, Laura imagined the look on her youngest daughter's face the last time her son had raged. It tore at her heart. His siblings never knew what would set him off. Sure, they antagonized him sometimes, but he was the one who always took it past normal sibling rivalry. 

Mary, hear my prayers. Help my son. Help my family.

Her son took another step, and this time, he didn’t stop. He knelt at the other end of the pew. Head bowed, face serene, he prayed. Laura beamed, but bowed her head low, trying to hide her excitement. After a short time, the family ascended the stairs into daylight.

Laura’s other children were astonished. Her troubled son was giddy! Talkative and smiling, he had been changed. In the gift shop, he started planning altar service hours with his brother and bought a medal for the head server at their church. 

The new mood stuck. Laura never asked her son what had happened down there in the crypt, but he became her most agreeable child. He went off to Catholic college and now works construction alongside his father each summer.

Laura believes in the powerful assistance of Our Lady of Good Help.

Laura from Illinois

“My son is the first boy in our family with four older sisters. For most of his life he's been mothered by 5 of us. As he grew, we knew he had a bit of a temper, but as he reached his teen years, he seemed to be having a harder time controlling it. Quite frequently he would throw things and stomp off when he would get upset. You just never wanted to get him mad because you weren't quite sure what he was going to do. He never hit anyone, but I wasn't sure if that was around the next corner or not. As he got older, he also got stronger, so I was beginning to fear for his future if he could not control his temper.

“When I planned this out, it wasn't necessarily for the specific hope that he would be healed of his anger. That only popped into my head when we went into the basement area where the apparitions occurred. I noticed that he would not enter the room with us. He stood very stiff in the doorway. I pointed that out to my husband and we both knelt down to pray. I begged the Blessed Mother to change his heart. He held fast for quite some time. He might have moved into the room a foot, but that was it. We prayed some more. He moved a few more feet. After some time of us praying, he moved into the room and knelt down to pray. 

“I kid you not, he was giddy with joy. We went into the gift shop next and he was talking to his brother about all his plans for their altar serving at church. He bought a St. Joseph medal on a chain for the head server to wear. He was so full of joy we all were in awe. And since that day in July 2015, he has never looked back. He became the most agreeable child I have.”

“I cannot believe that the boy that caused me so much grief for 15 years is the happy 19 year old he is today.”