Miracle on the Hudson - the untold story

Dearest Ones,

Since I am always on the alert for anything that helps my faith become stronger, I thought this amazing account would interest you, too. A banker on a business trip in New York City, Fred Berretta, had just checked into his hotel bedroom. He had about 20 minutes down time before he had to meet his partners. For some reason he decided to clean out his briefcase, something he hadn't done in a long time. As he emptied it out, he came across a booklet he had stuffed into a pocket years ago on praying the Chaplet of Divine Mercy. He recalls having prayed it a few times years ago. But by Jan. 15, 2009, it was a good intention forgotten. Only two weeks before, Fred had made a New Year's resolution to try to get into better spiritual shape. Here in the hotel room was an opportunity to fulfill it. So he followed along in the booklet and prayed the chaplet, a powerful prayer Our Lord gave to a Polish nun, St. Faustina in the 1930s. He was among the 155 people to board a jet airliner, Flight 1549, at LaGuardia Airport bound for Charlotte, NC his home town. Ninety seconds after takeoff, the jet hit a flock of geese, knocking out both engines. The aircraft was out of reach from any airfield. Everything became strangely quiet. Fred cinched his seatbelt. His left hand clutched the armrest, his heart racing. He thought about his family - his wife and four young children. He thought about God, about death, about trust, about an extraordinary promise made by Jesus that he read the previous day in the booklet. "Prepare for impact." the pilot said. What was the promise? Suddenly it came to him, the last words he read before heading off to his meeting. Jesus said to St. Faustina, "This is the hour of great mercy. In this hour, I will refuse nothing to the soul that makes a request of Me in memory of My Passion and Death." Fred looked at his watch. It was 3:30, the Hour of Great Mercy! "I prayed with every fiber of emotion and sincerity I could find," Fred recalled, "God, please be merciful and save us." You've probably heard about the crash landing of Flight 1549 in the Hudson River onJan. 15, 2009. No one was seriously injured. News anchors quickly called it the "Miracle on the Hudson." In the history of aviation no jet airliner has ever made an emergency landing on water without causalities. The story made you gasp, and be thankful for the heroes, for the pilot and crew, who allowed God to work through them. Thankful that a guy like Fred Berretta, 41, would live to walk through the door of his home once again, hug his wife and children and make sure they knew he loved them. On the morning of Jan. 15, Fred found himself in the unusual position of having some free time on a business trip. It was noon, so he stopped in St. Patrick's Cathedral for 12 noon Mass. Afterwards, he went to a gift shop to find something to read. He bought "7 Secrets of the Eucharist" which gives a greater understanding of the mystery of the Eucharist. Fred also purchased a scapular. Fred explained what happened next, "I got into a cab and went to the airport. My flight was delayed 15 minutes, so I sat there and started reading my book. I was really taken by it. I boarded the plane and continued to read. Just as we were rolling out for takeoff, I put the book away and closed my eyes and began to reflect on what I had read. Then I heard the impact, the explosion." As soon as Fred, a private pilot himself, realized both engines were not functioning, he became tense, like everyone else. He heard cries from the cabin. "All I could do was pray," he said. He realized the jet had become a 73-ton glider sinking fast above one of the nation's most densely populated regions. It would touch down soon. The chances for survival were almost nil. He thought about his death and how hard it would be on his family. He thought about all the things that had kept him from growing deeper in his faith. He didn't have much trust in God. He once trusted that money would solve all his problems but during the last year, the bottom fell out of the economy and much of his life's savings were gone. He described himself as a "half-hearted Catholic," which led to his New Year's resolution, which led him to praying the chaplet in a hotel room. Suddenly, Fred realized it was the Hour of Great Mercy and he would probably be dead in a matter of seconds. He trusted, truly, for the first time. He was in shock but he also felt a deep peace. God had allowed him to find the Divine Mercy booklet in his briefcase. He prayed for God's mercy. Then he prayed two Hail Mary's, one Our Father and made it halfway through the St. Michael prayer, when the plane hit the water and lay there bobbing like a toy in a kiddy pool. "Under the most precarious situations I could ever imagine," Fred says, "God taught me what true peace is - it's found in accepting God's will. That we must try our best in this life, but not sweat the small stuff, and hand control over to God." Another thing to mention, a couple weeks before the flight, Fred had prayed the Rosary for the first time in years. You can find out how to pray the Chaplet by going to Google. It only takes 7 minutes to pray this powerful prayer. I try to say it several times a day, especially at 3:00 pm. The chaplet is prayed on an ordinary rosary.

I hope this helps you to see the "God-experiences" in your every day lives. For all those still doubtful, just trust and listen. You'll be pleasantly surprised.

How wonderful is God's mercy,
Sister Francelle