A young man called Stuart started joining us in prayer much to his mother’s concern since Stuart was not a Catholic and his mother disapproved of his joining us in prayer. Stuart was person I mentioned earlier who was teaching at Twickenham preparatory school.
He had a problem with excess water in his lower limbs which caused inflammation of his legs and he confided in us that his mother had taken him to a spiritualist healer who had ‘prayed’ for him. In prayer it turned out that Stuart had nearly drowned when very young.
Stuart turned up one day with a young lady called Katheryn Williams who was a Seventh Day Adventist. He said he had met her outside the church and decided to bring her over to us. As Catherine walked into our living room, she introduced herself and told me she was not a Catholic. Without thinking, the words, “You will be a nun one day,” came out of my mouth. She looked disbelievingly at me, and I too was surprised at what I had said but it was such a conviction I had to give it voice.
Katheryn never joined us in prayer but spent time with us and took our new baby, Francis, for walks in the pram along the towpath. It was not till 20 or more years later that we caught up with Katheryn again.