TESTIMONY: GOD HAD A DIFFERENT PLAN FOR ME

A Marian Helper is someone dedicated to continue Christ's action of self-giving for the building up of His Body "until we become the perfect Man, fully mature with the fullness of Christ himself" (Ep 4:13), where "God lives among human beings" and "makes his home among them" (Rev 21:3). The following is the story of one Marian Helper:


By Scott Scaria

I came from Kerala, India, to the United States in 1967 with only $3 in my pocket. I did not know anyone here. I came with the intention of going to college, then making money, both of which I did.

After I finished college, I borrowed some money and bought a small grocery store. Business was going well. Within 15 years I had bought three grocery stores, one liquor store and two houses in the richest state in the United States: Connecticut.

By this time my spiritual life had suffered greatly. I had always been a good Catholic. I went to church everyday and said many rosaries everyday.

But as I grew older, my desire turned away from God and toward material wealth. I dreamed of becoming a millionaire before I became 40 years old. Money had changed my whole outlook.

I found that it was difficult for me to be an honest businessman while also making a lot of money. My goal was to be a millionaire, so I found myself becoming a dishonest businessman; I figured the ends justified the means. It was so hard for me to go to Confession because I had to be sorry for my sins. I also had to promise God that I would not sin again. I knew I would only be lying to God, and I didn't want to lie to Him. I wanted to be honest with Him. So, finally, I stopped going to Confession and stopped receiving Holy Communion. Finally, I gave up on all my prayers.

Clearly, I was a confused man. But one thing I did was never miss Mass on Sundays for any reason. And no matter how tired I was, I said three Hail Mary's in honor of the Blessed Mother every morning in an attempt to keep my body and soul pure from sin. I would pray, "If God will let me enjoy life when I am young, I will make a good life when I am old, or before I die. I will come back to You."

Remember the character of legend, Robin Hood? He advocated stealing from the rich and giving to the poor, but my policy was to steal from the poor and give to the rich to invest for me. I put high prices on the products I sold, and I had no sympathy for the poor people. I invested money in the stock market, real estate, etc. Financially, life was going well.

But God had a different plan for me. Slowly my business began to fail. Finally, I lost everything — including my family and my friends. I lost almost a million dollars, and I had to go through a painful divorce.

I was so depressed and helpless. I went to bars and strip clubs in search of happiness, but I never got any peace or happiness in such places.

During this time, an acquaintance told me about a charismatic prayer meeting. I had never heard about charismatic prayer groups, and I had no idea what they were like. One evening, instead of going to the bar, I decided to go to the prayer group. They were singing and praising God. I had never experienced anything like this before. It did not impress me much, but there I met the leader of the group. She was a very nice, holy lady, and she was so nice to me.

I kept going every week, and this prayer group prayed for me. It brought me peace and joy.

One day another person gave me a video tape from the Marians called Divine Mercy, No Escape, the story of the young Polish nun, Sr. Faustina, chosen by God to share His message of mercy with the world. I had never heard about Divine Mercy. I was so curious to find out what it was, so I went home and watched it. It struck me so hard! Tears began to flow. I felt that the Holy Spirit and the Divine Mercy of Jesus had already given me the grace of a complete conversion. I cried a lot and made a promise to God: "No more sins again! No more bars or drinking!"

I began to go to church every day. I also began to go to confession again. I heard about a chapel near my home where the Blessed Sacrament was exposed seven days a week, 24 hours a day. I began to go to this chapel every day and spend many hours there. My life completely changed. I experienced many graces. I have had great peace and joy in my heart.

Jesus told St. Faustina how the graces of His mercy are dependent upon our trust. The more we trust in Jesus, the more we receive. I trusted in Jesus completely, and He took care of everything.

Now I spend most of my time at the chapel. I don't care about money or worldly things. I work only three days a week and try to spread devotion to The Divine Mercy. If I wanted to, I could work plenty of hours of over time and get rich again. But I refuse. I want to spend that time with Jesus. Money does not give me real peace or joy.

Now, I have nothing to worry about. Jesus takes care of everything. During my troubled times, friends came and went. But Jesus never forgets us.

I have experienced so many miracles in my life. Here's one I'd like to share:

In 1931, Jesus told St. Faustina to paint the Image of The Divine Mercy. He told her: "I promise that the soul that will venerate this image will not perish."

Three years ago, I was was working nights at a newspaper company. When I came home from work, at 5 a.m. in the morning, I found the house I was renting was on fire. The damage was so bad, I had to move out. I did not know what to do. I had only a couple of dollars in my pocket. But I did not worry. I went to the chapel where the Blessed Sacrament was exposed and gave my heart to Jesus. I trusted in Jesus, and I knew Jesus would not abandon me. I knew that all of this would be for Jesus' glory.

At about 10 a.m., I went back to the house. The fire officials granted me five minutes to go inside to see if there was any of my belongings I could salvage. I went to my room, and to my surprise everything was safe and sound, untouched by the fire. Even my clothes did not smell of smoke. I had kept a large Divine Mercy image in my room. Jesus proved to me the promise He made to St. Faustina.

I went back to the chapel and thanked Jesus.

Now I had become a homeless person. I had no idea what to do or where to go. But I trusted in Jesus. He told St. Faustina: "The graces of My mercy are drawn by means of one vessel only, and that is — trust" (Diary, 1578), and I knew that He would take care of everything.

I could not afford to go to a motel so I called the Red Cross, and they put me in a motel that day. Then, that evening, one person from my prayer group heard about the fire and called me. He said he had a three-family house, and one floor was empty. He said I could have that place to stay, rent free. I thanked Jesus.

About four years ago when I was in front of the Blessed Sacrament, Jesus inspired me to organize a Divine Mercy conference. I had no idea how to organize one. I never did any kind of public things like that in my life. But Jesus inspired me to not worry and to trust in Him. "Do what you can and I will do the rest" Jesus said in my heart.

Soon, three ladies walked into the chapel. When they finished their prayers I told them about the inspiration from Jesus. They were from various parts of the state, and they told me they were all devoted to The Divine Mercy. They said they would help me, and within six weeks I organized my first Divine Mercy conference in Connecticut. The conference drew 500 people!

Ever since that time, my mission — like that of the Marians — has been to spread devotion to The Divine Mercy. Jesus arranges everything for me. Now I travel all over America to organize Divine Mercy conferences. I also organize spiritual trips to such places as Poland, Medjugorje, Italy, Ireland, and Greece.

Jesus brought me back from my homeless state. He gave me this great opportunity to meet so many people whose lives have changed because of Divine Mercy.

Jesus, I trust in You!

What is a Marian Helper, and how can you become one? Read all about it at http://marian.org/amh/welcome.php