There is a famous quote from legendary Irish poet Oscar Wilde that with age comes wisdom. In the case of 76-year-old Sister Mary Johnice Rzadkiewicz, director of the Response to Love Center in Buffalo, New York, this wisdom was combined with an unexpected feat of strength powered by prayer.
The Buffalo News reported that on Saturday, January 14, Sister Johnice heard a disturbance outside after competing her hour of prayer. When she opened the front door, she noticed a ladder in front of the doorway.
To her shock, two robbers had climbed on top of the roof to steal what they thought were copper pipes.
What happened next is true testament to the power of will and faith. Sister Johnice managed to summon all the strength in her 76-year-old body and threw the ladder down, leaving the thieves stranded on the roof.
WATCH (go to the :50 mark where she grabs the ladder):
Sister Johnice told The Buffalo News she did some praying at the time she took down the ladder.
The robbers then jumped off the roof and ran in opposite directions while Sister Johnice prayed they would not get hurt.
Even had the thieves succeeded in stealing the pipes on the roof, they would have been in for a total shock afterwards. The pipes were actually aluminum rather than copper, making them much less valuable.
Sister Johnice says the thieves chose a route of “evil” but is praying for the two stupid “thugs” everyday. She also says she will be keeping the ladder she knocked down.
From The Buffalo News:
“They could have come here for food or clothing. They could have come for a kind word, some guidance, but they chose a different route,” she said. “That is not of God, that is evil. I just wish I could meet them.”
She’s keeping the ladder, calling it Jacob’s ladder, after the story in the Bible about Jacob dreaming about a ladder stretching from heaven to earth. The center never had a ladder large enough to reach the roof, she said.
And, Sister Johnice said, “Every day I’ve been praying for these two thugs.”