Visions of a Better Life

John Daraban shares his testimony of being a soul so far gone to the point of extreme hopelessness, led back onto the path of Christ through visions at St. Lawrence, an appearance from the Blessed Mother and Solanus Casey.

Show notes:

(00:10) The narrator gives a preface to the story being shared on the Detroit Stories podcast, accrediting the production and hard work all to John Daraban, who will be sharing his testimony.

(2:02) John describes what his home life and faith life looked like in his early upbringing. From his brother’s diverging interests of the faith to sharing his break up with a high school sweetheart, he walks the listeners through the history of his early years.

(04:29) The narrator tells how John’s brother Rick begins to turn his life around for his son, Cody. Tragically, John gets into a devastating car accident, losing his brother Rick, and begins to cling to destructive coping mechanisms. This leads to the destruction of a mentally, physically and spiritually healthy life.

(06:14) As the drugs began to take over, John’s soul became more and more lost. He began tirelessly searching for something to give meaning to his life, but looking in the wrong places--the bottom of a bottle, or the next high. He quickly began to lose everything, submitting to self-induced homelessness as his addiction habits became more demanding.

(08:09) The narrator introduces an intense spiritual experience John has one freezing night spent homeless. John’s life was spared that night and he had a vision that he was inside of St. Lawerence’s church. Although he had never been there or even knew how to get there, his heart yearned to find a way and live “to be more.”

(10:54) John’s first impactful spiritual experience led him to desire sobriety, struggling to control his addictions in AA for three to five years. He needed something greater to help him overcome these struggles. One night spent at his parents’ home, The Blessed Mother appeared to him saying, “Your mother cannot lose another son.” From that moment, he never touched drugs or alcohol again.

(15: 58) Sober John was doing better, but still was struggling to return to church, until one day, Fr. Solanus Casey appeared to him in a dream saying, “Come find me.” Shortly after, John saw Fr. Solanus, the monk he dreamt of, appeared on TV and decided to venture out to his center in Detroit.

(17:47) The narrator shares that the John that entered the doors of the Fr. Solanus Casey center church for the very first time was seldom seen outside church after. He elaborates on John’s life going forward and how he strives to live his life “All for Jesus.”