I get many requests for help for various problems including failing marriages, problems with kids, addictions, bad medical reports, deaths and sickness, suicide prevention or dealing with grief for those not prevented, and so on. I do my best but realize I’m not a trained psychologist or psychiatrist. Through the years, however, I have received many letters of thanks for helping and many times turning lives around. My solutions are God-centered.
I take no credit for anything and give all the praise and glory to God. My advice is quite simple really and readily available to anyone. First and foremost, I urge them to pray, but not just a quick one-sentence prayer, but deep prayers best performed in solitude. I pray for people in such a manner and have seen remarkable results. Combined with prayer I have faith that God is hearing me and considering my cries for help with the utmost attentiveness. That does not ensure a yes, but I am not easily dissuaded and pray and pray and pray pleading with Him to intervene.
The second thing I do is ask them to read and search God’s Holy Word to find their solutions. I sincerely believe that all the answers to our questions lie within its pages. I have never had a problem that I could not find the answer that I needed in the Bible. This is not to say that the “Why” questions are answered. Some things remain a mystery, but I have accepted and have complete faith that God has His reasons. I received the following letter from a reader just yesterday and it is a prime example:
“Bob – You’ve helped me in the past with prayer. Just asking for prayers for a brutal murder that took place Monday morning. The 2 victims are an elderly woman that was a personal assistant to an elderly retired Catholic priest which had suffered a stroke and was for the most part handicapped. The cause of death is not fully known yet but it’s possible they were burned alive. I know the lady well. It also appears the victims were randomly targeted by an individual that had just been released from prison 3 months prior after 31 years in prison for forcible rape. This is in an area of low crime, very low, Covington, LA. I have a lot more details but won’t elaborate as I know this email is long enough. The story leaves a lot out. Thanks for all you’ve done to serve the Lord.”
He sent me a link to the newspaper article and in part, it is as follows:
Slain Covington priest and pastoral associate feared dead were ‘pure friends in faith’
Community mourns; one man arrested in connection with brutal double homicide
A St. Tammany Parish School bus passes in front of the home of Ruth Prats, a retired pastoral associate and director of ministries at St. Peter Catholic Church, where a rosary bead, a statue of Mary, and flowers were left on her front porch in Covington on Tuesday, November 29, 2022. (Photo by Chris Granger | The Times-Picayune | The New Orleans Advocate)
BY MICHELLE HUNTER and JONI HESS | Staff writers
Nov 29, 2022 – 6:00 pm
The massive stroke that the Rev. Otis Young Jr. suffered in mid-2020 occurred during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic when travel and hospital visits were restricted. But Ruth Prats, the longtime pastoral associate at St. Peter Catholic Church in Covington where Young was a priest, volunteered to keep his worried, out-of-town family informed about his condition and recovery.
“She was the only person my entire family had to let us know how he was doing,” said Young’s niece, Katherine Elfer, 33, of Maryland.
Friends say Prats, 73, continued to care for Young, 71, through his rehabilitation, serving as a caretaker and chauffeur. She took him to his doctor’s appointments, wrote for him until he regained the use of his hands and drove him to hear confessions from homebound parishioners so that he could continue his ministry.
“They were such good friends, really pure friends in faith,” Elfer said.
But on Tuesday, the worst was confirmed: Young was identified as one of the two bodies that were found burned beyond recognition behind a downtown Covington business on Monday morning. An autopsy determined he died of sharp and blunt force trauma, the St. Tammany Parish Coroner’s Office said.
Meanwhile, Covington police said Antonio Tyson, 49, has been arrested in connection with the case. Tyson, who was released from state prison just three months ago after serving 30 years for rape, was booked with two counts of first-degree murder, two counts of second-degree kidnapping, obstruction of justice, and illegal possession of a stolen vehicle, police said. He is being held in the Covington jail without bond on the murder charges, according to court records.
I have already begun to pray for the families and the community that loved these two partners in faith. What good could come out of this? Well, they are both with Jesus in heaven and nothing is better than that. As to why it happened to such righteous and faithful people, all we can do is speculate. But we do know that Satan is a murderer and somehow, he was able to influence this messed up man to commit these murders. According to the Bible, vengeance is mine says the Lord I shall repay. I have faith He will very capably handle that situation and my focus is on God having compassion on those affected by this barbaric murderer.
Ecclesiastes 3:11
God makes everything happen at the right time. Yet none of us can ever fully understand all he has done, and he puts questions in our minds about the past and the future. I know the best thing we can do is to always enjoy life, because God’s gift to us is happiness . . .