Local Hero’s Prayer Saves Stranger’s Life

My favorite story of 2023 was about John Petrovich, a true local hero whose act of prayer ended up saving a stranger’s life. The incident took place when John was out for a jog and noticed an ambulance parked in a driveway. As a habit from his childhood, he decided to say a prayer for those in need whenever he sees an ambulance or hears a police siren. Blessing himself, he recited a Hail Mary for the person inside.

A week later, as John was jogging down the same street, a woman approached him and exclaimed, ‘You saved my life!’ She proceeded to tell him how she had blacked out and was on the brink of death. However, while she was unconscious in the hospital, she had a vision of Jesus, who assured her that everything would be fine because someone had prayed for her. In her vision, Jesus held John’s face on the palm of his hand, and she was overwhelmed with gratitude for the stranger who had intervened through prayer.

This extraordinary incident perfectly exemplifies the power of earnest prayer in Jesus’ words, ‘If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, “Move from here to there,” and it will move.’ Just one Hail Mary, uttered with genuine faith, had the power to save a life. It makes us contemplate the immense power derived from praying an entire Rosary’s worth of 50 Hail Marys. Reflecting on this experience, John Petrovich expressed his desire to emphasize the importance of praying for others and their needs before ourselves.