When my mother reverently read the New Testament, and came to Matthew 5, she read the Beatitude, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” My Mom gasped. It was as if the Bible were speaking just to her. That’s it, she thought in despair, I will never see God. I know that I do not have a pure heart.

Then she quickly remembered the words of John the Baptist that the priest would quote at the Mass: “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” She knew, in a sudden flood of joy, that this Lamb was for her. He had come to take the sin of Matilde Palau.

My Mom wept, she told me later, as the Holy Spirit moved her. Her fears—I will never find peace with God, and I will never be forgiven—were overcome by that simple reminder: Behold the Lamb of God. Behold the Lamb of God. My Mom felt such peace and joy and love. Finally, she found rest, the very thing she had so fervently desired. I was in her womb when she was converted. Before I was born, she told me that she prayed, Lord, if it’s a boy, I want him to be a preacher of the Gospel. And, praise God, He has answered her prayer!

This is Luis Palau.