This was the last book I did in the Monastery. It is available on Amazon either as a Paperback or Kindle. All paperback sales go to support the monastery while the Sisters have graciously allowed Kindle sales to go to me.
The Abusive Collection
by Jo Ann Mason – Temple, Texas
As a corporate credit manager, I have many accounts to manage and collect. Several years ago, one construction account became extremely difficult to handle. Its debt was a large six figures, and the company kept making excuses for not paying. Finally, it got to the point where they started making threats that they were not going to pay at all.
My last call with the man I had to deal with was horrible. He got loud, angry, and verbally abusive. The next day I was supposed to meet with him in person, and even though the prospect of seeing him was not pleasant, I went ahead and followed up with the arrangements because it was my job.
That evening I could not get rid of the sickening feeling in my stomach. I was so nervous and upset that I could hardly eat or think of anything else. I spent a lot of time in prayer asking for the guidance of the Holy Spirit to help me. Over and over, I rehearsed the details in my mind, what I needed to say, and what I needed to accomplish.
Because this account was so big, a lot hung in the balance. It wasn’t just my job that was at stake here, but the future of the whole company. A lot of people were depending on me and I certainly did not feel up to the task.
Finally, I felt the nudge of the Holy Spirit urging me to call my pastor and ask him to pray for the meeting the next day. I described the whole situation to him, how I had been working with this client for several months, and how it was getting worse and worse as time went on. I am sure he could tell from my voice just how upset I was.
Father agreed to pray, and I immediately felt somewhat better. I knew he took prayer very seriously and was a very powerful prayer warrior.
The next day I drove to the meeting, nervously praying a rosary on the trip.
When the meeting began, the man was there with approximately eight other people from various companies involved in the project. He started in right away making very inappropriate remarks and comments.
But suddenly, unexplainably, I felt God’s presence. A feeling of peace and calm overcame me. A quiet confidence seemed to well up from within me. With every statement that was hurled at me, I knew exactly what to say and how to respond. Slowly the mood around the room began to change.
The meeting continued for about forty-five minutes, and when we reached the end, the man who had been so adamant about not paying looked at me and said, “Come by my office and I will have my secretary cut you a check for ninety percent. I almost fell out of my chair with joy!
I left the meeting practically walking on air. As I drove to the office to collect the money, you can be sure I was thanking God every inch of the way. I called my husband and asked him to find our pastor and tell him I knew he had to be praying because I could feel God’s presence so real and powerful in that meeting. I told him what the result was. He was as surprised and amazed as I was!
He started to laugh, and told me that our pastor had already called to see how things went. He told my husband that just before the time I had given him, he felt strongly led to get two other people and make a holy hour before the Blessed Sacrament for this cause!
Even as I write this today, I have goose bumps remembering how powerfully God heard and responded to our prayers. I continue to be filled with gratitude for my busy pastor who took the time out of his packed-full day and the two other prayer partners who went with him to spend a holy hour before the Lord for me.
This pastor soon began perpetual adoration in our parish and it is still going strongly today, “Thanks be to God!”