Mamie and Physical Poverty
I remember how Mamie used to exclaim: “How poor I am, how poor I am! God has taken everything from me”. But she didn’t say it by way of a complaint.
From the material point of view she didn’t have any possessions. She gave everything for apostolic work, she spent the little she had in carrying out the missions that Our Lady commended to her, especially in favour of her priest sons.
At the end of her life the Lord took everything from her, including her health. She became almost totally deaf, almost totally blind. Her movements were restricted. She spent most of the time in her armchair except for the times when, with short steps and with the help of others, she could make it to the balcony to take some air.
And she would repeat: “How poor I am! God has taken everything from me”.
She also said to me, half crying: “I am no longer any use to you, my son”. Because she knew that the quickness of intelligence and of hand that she once had, had diminished to such a point that she couldn’t even receive my telephone messages, either because she couldn’t understand what the people were saying or because she couldn’t write them down. This made her suffer.
I often consoled her saying: “Yes, Mamie, you are very useful to me”. And it was true, because Mamie’s presence in the house was an immense treasure of love.
She herself would suddenly pull herself back from this negative thinking and say: “But how rich I am, how rich I am in love”. And on saying this her face would light up because she knew how much God loved her. She knew how much she was loved by the Virgin Mary, by the angels and the saints. Then her spirit would fly in love towards God our Lord in an act of total trust. And she was ready once more to do everything that the Lord wanted and awaited of her. She would say with love: “Lord, you can do with me whatever You want, I’m here for as long as You want me to be”.
Mamie’s physical deterioration was notable in her last years, and she prepared herself at the beginning of every day to be immolated with Jesus Christ Our Lord for the good of the Church.
She had an amazing sweetness. Those who saw her experienced admiration rather than compassion because her life was truly holy.
