Stories & Petitions

Our Glorious Trip To The Shrine of Infant Jesus Of Prague
Date: August 2002

Early Part of January, Ashley, my oldest daughter, who is now 14 years of age, was diagnosed with a rare form of brain tumor.  She had an open skull surgery in February and went through a series of chemotherapy and radiation treatments.

My husband and I were very upset, worried, and scared of what was going to happen to Ashley.  I was completely devastated.  It was so hard for me to accept that my daughter had cancer, and to see her fighting for her life was the most painful and unbearable moment in my life.  I remembered losing 20 pounds due to tremendous stress.  I cried every day and night. I felt very empty and powerless.

One night, I couldn't sleep and was shaking. I got up and went to the living room. Suddenly, I noticed the statue of the Infant Jesus. I went closer to HIM. I looked at HIS face and suddenly realized that I was lost, like in the story of the prodigal's son. Right there, I knelt down and cried. I prayed and asked for healing and I made a promise that I will take Ashley to HIS shrine in Prague and to HIS blessed mother Mary's shrine in Lourdes. I didn't even have the slightest idea where the shrine of the Infant Jesus was at that moment.

Time flew by, and after six months of Ashley's painful ordeal, I started planning for our trip to Prague and Lourdes. I went on the Internet hoping I could find the website of the shrine but it was to no avail. Even my travel agent had a hard time looking for their website, but until one morning, my travel agent sent me an email regarding the History of the Infant Jesus. I read the article and was really fascinated about the history and all HIS miraculous works. There I found out the name of the church was actually our Lady of Victorious Church located in Karmelitska, Prague. I was so happy and excited that I immediately picked up the phone and called up the church without knowing the time difference between California and Czech Republic. A lady answered the phone in Czech, but didn't understand English. She transferred the phone to another lady. While talking to this lady, I found out that she was a doctor. I was puzzled and asked myself what a doctor was doing inside the church at night, answering the phone. I thought I must have dialed the wrong number. I asked for a priest and I was connected to Fr. Peter. Somehow, we had a bad connection. I lost him and I called back again. This time it was Fr. Jerome who answered the phone. I told him that I was planning to visit the shrine with Ashley but I had no knowledge of where it was located, and how to get to the church.

During our conversation, I mentioned to Fr. Jerome that I was interested in donating fabrics for the Infant Jesus. He said at that time, the Infant Jesus has already 115 clothes, donated from all over the world, but if I really insisted, they would accept the ready-made cloths, but not fabric. I told him that I don't know how to sew and If I knew, I don't know the measurements of the Infant Jesus. He put me on hold and gave me the number of this lady who lived in Vancouver. He told me to call this lady named Susan Hauck. He said that she would help me. My conversation with Fr. Jerome ended right there. I called up Susan right away and left her a message. She called me back and right then and there, our friendship started to bloom. Somehow I felt like there was a sort of connection between Susan and me, and it was as if we have known each other for so long. We spoke every day and became very close friends, although we've never seen each other yet, but hopefully soon. It was Susan who guided me all along on the way to Prague. Through Susan, I met Nita who lived in Prague and was also a devotee of the Infant Jesus. Susan made the arrangements with Nita and Fr. Jerome to help Ashley and me. She even asked Fr. Jerome to say a special mass intended for Ashley when we arrived there.

With the help of Nita and Fr. Jerome, Ashley and I made it to Prague on August 10. Fr. Jerome officiated the mass for Ashley on August 11 at 7:15 pm. I was a little nervous that evening. Ashley and I had to sit down in front of the altar. It was supposed to be a private mass but somehow, tourists kept coming in. Fr. Jerome went ahead and prepared the mass. His homily was about a young girl named Danielle, who lived in Vancouver and in the same boat as Ashley. There wasn't a single dried eyes in the church at that moment. When Fr. Jerome asked Ashley to stand up for blessings, tears rolled his face. After the mass, Fr. Jerome made an announcement that he would let Ashley climb upon a chair and step up on the altar to touch the Infant Jesus. I was touched, and I immediately broke up into tears. I got up to get my camera, but I was struggling to take pictures. I realized it was broken and panicked. I went back to the pews and prayed really hard to the Infant Jesus to let me take a picture of Ashley. I was really worried that she would be coming down pretty soon. I saw Ashley's digital camera but I don't know how to use it. I grabbed it right away and was able to operate the camera without knowing how I did it. Luckily, I was able to take 3 good pictures of Ashley. One was when she was touching the Infant Jesus and the other one was after she came down from the altar.

Ashley and I were truly blessed and extremely grateful for everything. I knew in my heart that it was the Infant Jesus who blessed and touched Ashley that evening. That was the most memorable and unforgettable experience both Ashley and I had. We really had wonderful time in Prague. The Shrine if the Infant Jesus became like a second home for us. We felt kind of strong, magical force in there. No doubt in my mind that the Infant Jesus had HIS own way showing HIS miraculous works and was surely able to reach out and touch so many lives. I recently started my devotion to the Infant Jesus. Right now, the statue of the Infant Jesus is going from house to house for a 9-day novena. We will continue to promote this devotion and make it known to people how much HE loves us. Like HE always says: "Ask and you shall receive, seek and you shall find, knock and it shall be opened unto you. The more you honor me, the more I will bless you."

Return to Story Menu