Over the past month, I have been approached (in three different unrelated settings) by someone asking for help to “pray in their own language”.

Leading up to this, about a year ago, a woman approached me after a daily mass. We were introduced through a mutual friend, and she told me she was seeking to serve in the clinic where I am employed. I asked “Maria” in what capacity she was seeking to be a part of our mission, and she said with a simple shrug, “to pray.”

Maria was from Mexico, but had lived all over the world with her husband and was (at least) bilingual with great cultural integration in other countries. She had been a part of two different apostolic movements in the church which gave her great grounding and foundation.

I immediately assumed the association for her asking me was because of some “Nights of Healing” we had hosted in our diocese the year before, we had bilingual intercessory prayer happening at these events, because one of the parishes was largely spanish-speaking. I also assumed a few other things about Maria’s interest in our clinic. I asked her if she would mind me taking time to approach our “boss lady” and see what that would look like. She wanted to volunteer, and I wasn’t sure with the HPPA act that would look like in a clinic if she wasn’t an employee.

Over the next few months, the founder of our clinic had her 7th baby and we, again, moved locations to an office space double the size. We had grown 300% each year, and just hit our fourth year anniversary. Our new office space has a very large chapel and we were over the moon about the possibilities. That being said, our discernment for Maria’s participation in the clinic had been much delayed, so I invited her to start shadowing me for a couple of days and see if my work as a “Prayer Partner” was attractive to her. Within two weeks Maria became a permanent employee, much to the joy of all of us who grow to love her more every week.

In this same time, the three different requests came to me via very different means. But like other incidents in my spirtual journey, God was gracious to me and communicated to me the “job” through different people speaking the same. exact. words.

“I would like to pray with someone in my own language.”

This was the sentence that came to me via three different directions in one month’s time, the same month our dear bi-lingual Maria joined the clinic.

Now because Maria is godly, she didn’t mind that these requests came from outside the clinic as well as from in. And she went on to explain to me how strongly this request resonated with her, having lived so many places in the world where her native language was not the norm. How lonely it feels not to be able to pray in your own language in communion with other people.

I could say God is gracious and He is always providing, but that wouldn’t be enough because as it became clear through much conversation with Maria, none of the assumptions I had made about her connections to find us were correct .

The way she came to be part of the clinic, and part of my life were more than “happy accidents”. God led us both to one another, and neither of us knew what He wanted for us. We took some time to discern, and as it unfurled we marveled at what misperceptions we both had before we knew what this would be.

She had thought our clinic was a different clinic in town that ministers to people in another capacity. I thougth she helped at the healing night. The misconceptions went on and on. We laughed and marveled and gave thanks to God that neither of us had a strong enough certainty about our misconceptions to make them the end result, but both had to trust in what He was asking.

Over all, I think what sticks out to me most about this situation is the statement “I would like to pray with someone in my own language.” Doesn’t this summarize the desire of our hearts for for God and His community of saints: to be known, loved, and understood in our own humanity, with all that we are and are not. We desire be loved, accepted and embraced as human beings by God, but through each other too.

My heart loves you Lord. You make all things new. You lead me to new understanding, and I am humbled that you lead me and I get to follow. Thank you for giving me community and help. I pray anyone reading this receives the great gift of being able to love and praise you, confide and be consoled by you through someone who speaks their language of not just words, but of the heart.