Father Rizzo
It was 1995. I was travelling from Atlanta in Georgia to the state of Alabama. I was going to visit Mother Angelica who has the same surname that I have – Rizzo. She wanted us to meet for that reason! It was quite a long distance to travel, and on the way there I stopped at a little roadside diner for a meal. The waitress was hustling about the café clearing the tables and, after a little while, she came over and took my order. I noticed that she was pregnant. After I had finished my meal, I went up to pay for it, and then I went over to the waitress and gave her a tip. As I gave it to her, I said “Here – this is for you.” I then pulled out a twenty dollar note from my wallet, and as I gave it her I said “And this is for the beautiful child that you have inside of you.” She looked at me, took the twenty dollars, and got tears in her eyes. She then ran away into a room at the back of the café. I wondered why she was so upset.
I left the café, and went to my car which was parked out the back. As I was about to get in, I was surprised to see the waitress approaching me, crying. She said to me “Father, I just want you to know that when I finished work today, I was going to go and have an abortion. I thought that I wouldn’t be able to take care of this child. But after what you said to me, and giving me this tip, I have decided to keep my child.”
I was gobsmacked. I must say that tears came to my eyes as well.
Owing to the grace of God and Divine providence, the waitress and I crossed paths, and a life was saved. It was without doubt the best $20 I have ever spent!
People have asked me what inspired me to give the waitress the $20? I can give no explanation for it – all I can say is that I felt inspired to do it.
Whose prayers were responsible for such an outpouring of God’s grace at that particular moment? We will not know for certain in this life, but perhaps it was thanks to the prayers of the nuns I was on my way to visit, or thanks to the prayers of one of the many people who say the ‘Spiritual Adoption’ prayer every day. It is a prayer I would like to encourage you to pray:
Jesus my Lord, through the intercession of Mary Your Mother, who bore You so lovingly, and of St Joseph, strong man of faith who protected You both, I pray to You for the life of the unborn child who is in danger of abortion, the one I have spiritually adopted. Please give to the parents of this particular child the grace and courage to bring it to the life You have destined for him or her. Amen.
“Grandpa … I Don’t Want You To Go To Hell”
At Christmas time, we can think of those words of Scripture: A child shall lead them. A child, in its innocence, can touch hearts in a way that no adult can.
I can remember years ago when I was stationed in Post Falls, Idaho – one of the states bordering Canada – receiving a phone call from a gentleman saying “Father, will you please come and speak to my father? We have been praying for his conversion. He has never been baptised, and he is near death. Can you please come and see what you can do?” His granddaughter, Jennifer, had also been talking to him, trying to convince him to become a Catholic, but he kept on resisting. Jennifer pleaded with him “Gee Grandpa, I wish you would get baptised before you die, because I don’t want you to go to Hell.”
I got into my car and made the one-and-a-half-hour journey, praying the rosary for him on the way. I arrived, and was taken to the elderly gentleman lying in bed. I went over to him, and I started speaking about the Catholic faith. He looked at me, smiled a bit, but didn’t have much of a reaction. I said “Sir, would you be interested in becoming a Catholic? May I have the opportunity of baptising you?” The man said nothing. I said “Sir, I would really be interested in baptising you and helping you. You are going to die soon, and I would like to help you prepare for death.” He said brusquely “I don’t want to hear it from you – I want to hear it from Jennifer.”
I gladly called Jennifer into the room! She encouraged him, saying “Please listen to Fr Rizzo, Grandpa. Please listen to what he has to say.” I was amazed at the effect Jennifer’s words had on him – they made him much more docile and receptive. Making the most of this opportunity, I said to him “I would like to talk to you about the Apostles’ Creed, which summarises our Catholic faith.” We went through the Creed and I explained it to him, phrase by phrase. I then asked him “Sir, would you like to be baptised?” His heart hardened once again, and he replied gruffly “Give me ONE good reason why I should be baptised.” I took out the crucifix from my pocket and showed it to him, put it to his lips for him to kiss – which he did – and I said “I will give you FIVE good reasons why you should be baptised.” I pointed to the five wounds of Christ upon the crucifix. I let him stay with the crucifix for some time. Tears came to his eyes.
And yes – he wanted to be baptised. With his family present, and to their great delight, I baptised him. Jennifer was absolutely beaming – she could not have been happier.
Since he had never been baptised before, all his sins were forgiven with that baptism, so there was no need for him to make his confession. At the same time, though, I encouraged him to make an act of contrition, expressing his sorrow for his sins. I then gave him the Sacrament of Confirmation, as that would elevate his state of glory in Heaven. He lovingly accepted that Sacrament too. I gave him the Anointing of the Sick, and after that I gave him his first Holy Communion, which proved to be his last – his Viaticum, a Latin word meaning ‘food for the journey’, the journey to Heaven.
A few days later, on the feast of the Immaculate Conception, he died a holy death.
“A child shall lead them….”