Home of the Mother

Mamie and Bishop José Guerra Campos

After Mamie´s death, which occured on the fourth of August 1994, I inherited all the books of a religious nature which she possessed in her library. They are not an excessive number. The majority are in French, given that she was a French- Belgian. Regarding Blessed John XXIII; The Childhood of the Cross, Catechism of Unbelievers, The Day in which Christ Died, The Crucified, The Young Person on the Cross, A Light on the Way,The Night deprived of Stars, In the Heart of the Masses, St Catherine of Siena, St Bernadette, etc. However she also had some other titles in Spanish, and among them a book by Bishop José Guerra Campos entitled “The Eighth Day” in which are gathered his programmes on Spanish Television which were emitted every day from the 17 th of April, 1972.

By casuality I took to read the keen observations and profound meditations of a Bishop who was for us a true father and shepherd. This small book is dedicated affectionately to Mamie with this personal dedication: “To my Elizabeth Van Treuttens, in communion of faith and hope, asking the Lord to make your service of Jesus, joyful and fruitful, under the maternal protection of Holy Mary, Mother of the Church and in apostolic cooperation with all her brothers and 'sons'.” Signed: + José Guerra Campos. Bishop of Cuenca 13-7-73.

Certainly I am filled with memories of joy, in remembering them both, because it surprised me that the Bishop put the word sons in quotation marks. He didn´t ignore the maternal and spiritual function that Mamie had.

When Mamie died she had 99 spiritual sons and among them some Bishops. The same Bishop José Guerra Campos was a spiritual son of Mamie. In the year 1975, therefore before this dedication, I went with Mamie to visit Bishop José who welcomed us with a paternal heart and asked us if we would pray the Angelus with him, as we used to do in our house. We knelt down and the three of us prayed to the Holy Virgin.

The years passed and Mamie now elderly, in a wheelchair, with gangrene in her foot, went together with all the members of the Home of the Mother, to celebrate Holy Week in the Monastery of St. Michael of the Victories in Priego (Cuenca), and to the Chrism Mass which was celebrated by the Bishop. At the end of the Mass, Mamie wanted to go and greet him in order to thank him for all that he had done for the Home. We waited at the door of the sacristy and after having attended to other people inside the sacristy, he came out. On meeting Mamie, she said to him”My son I want to thank you for all you have done for us” I said to him “My Lord, she has gangrene in her foot and she is offering it all for her sons”. Those of us who where surrounding her, a good number, given that we where over two hundred people, were able to hear how he responded: “Whenever a work is born, the Lord chooses a victim soul to offer him/herself for it. And this is yourself. Continue being faithful to your task”.

A current of the spirit united these two great souls.

By Fr. Rafael Alonso Reymundo