I Have Seen Your Tears

“I have heard your prayer, I have seen your tears...” Isaiah 38:5

The prophet Isaiah lived in 8th century BC and he was sent to give voice to God’s word. Here in the 38th chapter, King Hezekiah is mortally ill. After the King cries out to God, the word of the Lord came to Isaiah to go to Hezekiah and tell him, “I have heard your prayer, I have seen your tears; behold, I will add fifteen years to your life.” And this righteous king was healed and lived to become father to his son Manasseh who succeeded him at 12 years old. 

We do not need prophets to tell us that God hears our prayers and sees our tears. We need only to see the proof in changed lives and answered prayers. There is Saint Monica who prayed for years for her profligate son. It seemed as if it was hopeless, but Saint Augustine made an about face and turned to God in ways that far exceeded his mother’s hopes and dreams for him. 

I enjoyed listening to Father Donald Calloway’s conversion story. He seemed like a hopeless case too. He was addicted to drugs, pornography, sex, had hair to his waist, got treated in a mental institution with no effect, drove around following hard metal bands, joined the Yakuza in Japan and got deported because of crimes involving hundreds of thousands of dollars of stolen goods. 

His mother LaChita Calloway would cry herself to sleep at night praying for him. She herself was converted to Catholicism because of one Filipino woman who would tell her about God. One night her son was alone in his room and to keep from killing himself he decided to read a book about the mother of Jesus. He got beguiled and did not stop until he finished the whole book overnight. In the morning, he told his mom with a lot of embarrassment that he needed to see a priest. But it was 6 in the morning! He then ran to the nearest chapel and there were Filipina women there inviting him to pray the rosary. He looked at them like they were crazy! But when he attended mass, and the priest raised the host and the chalice, he heard a voice from out of nowhere, say, “Worship.” From then on there was no turning back for him. 

His mother said in an interview, “The road for my son has been long, with many winding turns. But out of the darkness there was always the light of the Lord holding out His arms," Mrs. Calloway said. "We must always hope in the promises of Christ and His unfathomable mercy. Blessed be God forever!"