A Single Prayer
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Blog Post #80
A story of Divine Intervention
This is Giovanni Renteria's story of hope.
It's also a story of how a single prayer changed everything.
When Giovanni was interning at Morgan Stanley in 1999, he "fell in love with the industry… It was the era of technology stocks, the market was on a tremendous run." After graduating in 2000, he gave law school a year before returning to Morgan Stanley.
"It was the best decision ever."
On the morning of September 11, 2001, he was attending a training seminar on the 64th floor in the South Tower of the World Trade Center.
"The session teaching us about charts for the market... ended a bit early and we had twenty minutes to get some coffee. We were told not to leave the building as they were pretty strict about being on time for the next session. But I wanted to take a look at what the city had to offer. I went downstairs with a couple of folks to get some coffee and walked out the turning doors.
"Somebody yelled get back in the building! That's when I started to see that there was debris coming down... some fell onto the building, some hit the folks behind us. A piece of the building or something just completely flattened a taxi cab across the street. That's when I knew it was a major issue. Everyone was panicking... just mass confusion.
"My roommate during the seminar said he heard a plane go through the building. I said, 'Alan, planes aren't allowed to fly that close to buildings. It had to be a generator, or a helicopter maybe, hitting the building.'
“I left everything upstairs in the seminar room, I mean my phone, my wallet. So, I told Alan I had to go upstairs and grab my personal belongings. And he said, 'No. No, don't do that. Don't do that.' I'm like, I'll be right back. Security said we're safe here in Tower 2...
"As I was going to the elevator, Alan pulled me aside and said, 'Look, do me a favor, please! If you're going upstairs, say a prayer with me.'
“I've known him for maybe 48 hours, and I didn't want to be rude, so I said okay. I was more concerned about my personal belongings and being late to the next class right at that moment. Alan grabbed my hand and said a prayer. I don't know what it was but something just completely changed my mind and I decided to stay.
"We knew something happened outside but inside it was calm. Security was very assertive that everything was fine but all of a sudden we started seeing a tremendous amount of folks running down stairs, panicking and running out of the building... That's when we decided we needed to get back to the hotel. I started running through the lobby towards the emergency exit and then, the entire floor started shaking.
“Once I was out of the building I stopped and I looked up and saw both Towers engulfed in fire at the top. The slow descent of all the paperwork from the two Towers made it look like it was snowing.
"Once across the street, a work van had its radio all the way up. I'm listening as I'm observing what's happening. The person on the radio stated that he thought it was a terrorist attack because an airliner went through each tower. It was astounding…
“Another comment made on the radio was that the jets had a significant amount of fuel in them. At that moment I decided that I needed to leave. I didn't know what to expect. I didn't know if the buildings were going to explode or melt down, but I just wanted to seek shelter.
"After the long hike back to the hotel on 55th street, I had an overwhelming feeling of sadness, of loss. Late that night, they briefed us that all of the 300 trainees were fine.
“Reflecting on the events of that day throughout the years, I realized that if I would have taken that elevator to retrieve my stuff, I believe I would have been in the elevator shaft when the second plane hit.
"Although one of the most difficult moments in the history of our country, yet at the same time it was a sign of hope: The way that the country rallied together was just incredible. New Yorkers were extremely supportive throughout the entire event. I would love to see the country, you know, act that united all the time.
"Sometimes friends and colleagues give me feedback saying, 'You're always in a good mood'. I tell them, you know, life is short. I'm blessed with a wonderful family, I've always worked at one firm, and life is good. But the real reason why I'm always optimistic? It's because I'm on borrowed time, and I shouldn't be.
Click to listen to Giovanni Renteria tell his “Story of Hope.”
Saint Francis of Assisi
Lord, make me an instrument of Your peace;
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
Where there is injury, pardon; Where there is doubt, faith;
Where there is despair, hope; Where there is darkness, light;
And where there is sadness, joy.
O Divine Master,
Grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console;
To be understood, as to understand; To be loved, as to love;
For it is in giving that we receive, it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
And it is in dying that we are born to Eternal Life.
Amen.
Ukrainian folklore characterizes pysanky as a symbolic, talismanic writing that invokes a higher Universal Power for help, while believing with faithful certainty that It will. The contemporary version of this characterization is a paper-and-pen journaling practice called prayer writing that develops a personal relationship with God.
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