Angels Among Us

This is a blog about home and garden to be sure, but I also promise stories about faith, family and friends. Today's post combines both faith and friends, so sit back with a cup of what gets you through the day and read on. It's the kind of story that will give believers goose bumps.  It's the kind of story that makes you think.

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I've known Regina since college when we both attended Molloy College,  a Catholic college on Long Island.  My passions were English literature, writing and horseback riding; Regina's passions were English literature, writing and witticisms. Many an 8 a.m. lit class was made more delightful by Regina's constant presence in the seat next to me as she cracked jokes and exchanged hilarious comments with the professor on Dante's Inferno, for example .  We even worked together briefly when I got her a job interview with the publisher I worked for; we both wrote advertising copy, recorded voice mail scripts, and handled all the customer service problems together.

So you know that when I tell you Regina is an honest person, you know that I speak from experience and knowledge. She's given to practical jokes; this summer her favorite ploy was to change her birth date on her Facebook account so that her friends and students were constantly wishing her happy birthday.  But when it comes to her beliefs, she doesn't play practical jokes.  She's probably one of the most devoted and devout people I know, someone who defends the faith and teaches it daily not just to her six children but to all the students flowing in and out of her high school classes. Regina teaches English literature and Roman Catholic theology.  And ever the glutton for punishment, she volunteers to lead the Bible school during the summer.

It is here that I pick up our tale of what she believes was an encounter with an angel.

This July she took her Bible study students on a trip to attend a conference and religious retreat in Ohio.  With 10 youngsters and another adult chaperon in tow, the group made its way home from the retreat and decided to stop in Berkeley Springs, West Virginia, to have a bite to eat on their way back to northern Virginia.  They were browsing the menu for an Italian restaurant through the plate glass window when a strange little woman appeared. Regina describes her as Hispanic but said her nationality was hard to place. So was her accent.

What was even odder, though was that the woman was walking backwards towards them on the street.

Here is where I will let Regina pick up the tale:

"The dark haired lady pointed to the menu and said "Food, no good." She then tried to direct us to the  second on the street and she said, "it's Catholic" (which they thought was a peculiar commentary on a restaurant). . .. .well, as some of you may know, I happen to BE a practicing Catholic. . .who happens to be with 10 other people, who, as chance would have also have been known to attend Mass on days other than on Sunday. . .who, as luck would have it. . .had just attended a seminar/retreat called "Defending the Faith" conference..."

Regina and the group decided to go to Maria's Garden Inn, a bed and breakfast and restaurant that the strange dark haired lady pointed to and said "It's Catholic."  The dark haired lady led them to the restaurant - still walking backwards.

Regina was surprised to find that the restaurant wasn't just a restaurant, but a museum dedicated to relics of the Virgin Mary - and the owners are particularly devoted to Our Lady of Guadalupe. Apparently, people have reported healing and many grace-filled moments in the restaurant but Regina tells me nothing miraculous happened, except an excellent meal and a lovely place to relax and eat.


She inquired about the rates for holding events at the restaurant thinking it would be a great place to bring her high school students on future religious retreats.  The group returned to Virginia without anything special happening.

A week later, the restaurant owner telephoned  Regina to speak with her further about group events. The lady asked a question many business owners ask: "How did you hear about us?" Regina told Peg, the owner, about the peculiar dark haired woman who approached them on the street and led them to her door. 


"Did the dark haired lady who recommended the place walk backwards, by any chance, and disappear quite suddenly?" Peg asked.


Regina was startled by the question.  Yes, she said, the lady had walked backwards.  And when she asked the group whether any of them had seen where the lady had walked off to, no one had. She'd really vanished into thin air. She hasn't realized before how quickly the woman had appeared and disappeared.

Regina said, "According to Peg (the owner of the restaurant and a deeply devout Catholic) who claims she has had numerous encounters with angels . .whenever an angel brings someone to her restaurant. . .they always walk backwards. . .and then disappear. . . I can't say that the short woman disappeared, but it what struck me as odd, even as she was leading us was that she was walking backwards. . .so there you have it: Make your own judgments."

The rest of her conversation with Peg was private, but Regina says that talking to Peg has been a grace filled moment in her life and one filled with God's spirit.

So believe what you want. I find it interesting that when I went to the Maria Garden Inn's website, they post a lot about their devotion to Our Lady of Guadalupe....and the little dark haired lady who walked backwards and pointed them to the restaurant appeared to be Hispanic. Our Lady of Guadalupe's miracle in the 1500's is said to have converted the Aztec people to Christianity. 

Who knows who the dark haired lady was? Was she one of those Aztec people from long ago, sent to help others find grace in Our Lady's presence?  Was it just a coincidence and they met a really weird woman?

All my friend knows is that the strange little woman walking backwards surprised her with what might be an angelic encounter and a grace-filled moment.

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So that is Regina's tale, as she relayed through her Facebook account to me and her students and friends. It's up to you to decide what you think about it!