Mamie's Fervour
Before seeing whether or not Mamie was fervent and in what sense she was, we should clarify our concepts.
Fervour is the spirit, devotion or enthusiasm and interest that is invested in a practice, a sentiment or an activity. Christianity has defined devotion, which is a synonym of fervour, as the fidelity to the service of God through personal and liturgical prayer.
The word is commonly used to designate the practices of piety and the zeal with which they are performed: to do one’s devotions. It also designates the person who is sincerely committed to prayer and to the service of God, as St. Francis de Sales indicates in “The Introduction to the Devout Life”. Some, like the French writer Molière, have attacked false devotion from a position that could not exactly be described as that of a believer, presenting devotion as something marked by hypocrisy and falsehood. However, the concept of devotion has not lost its relevance. Sometimes it is applied to particular aspects of the spiritual life. For example: the devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, to the Cross of Christ, to the Eucharist, to the Blessed Virgin Mary...
In the Bible we are told of the great fervour of King David who danced and sang before the Ark of the Alliance: “David and all the house of Israel danced before Yahweh with all their strength, with singing and with citharas, harps, tambourines, sistrums and cymbals.” (2 Sam. 6, 59.)
Was Mamie a fervent, devout person?...
Devotion and its form of expression depend on the psychological makeup of each person and on the graces they have received. Not all people react in the same way to similar realities.
Mamie liked to place herself among the front benches in the liturgical functions, not to be seen by people or to give herself importance, but rather so that she wouldn’t be distracted and could concentrate on the sacred rites, following the gestures and words of the priest. Also, she was a little deaf, and as time went by her deafness worsened, and she was a foreigner, which increased the difficulty in understanding the words. She loved the liturgy. And she didn’t want to miss a single moment of being in God’s presence through faith. This was why she never liked to arrive late. And when the time approached to set out for Church, she would immediately get ready, put on her coat and her headscarf, pick up her handbag, tie her shoes - later on, more often than not, someone had to tie them for her because as she got older it became impossible for her - and head off with plenty of time to spare.
Sister Inmaculada, missionary of the Servant Sisters of the Home of the Mother in Ecuador, accompanied her many times. I myself was parish priest of Rielves (Toledo) for five years, and in that period Mamie couldn’t come with me because I had other priestly obligations to perform after Mass. She spared no effort or expense in order not to miss Mass. She used to go to San Julián, the church run by the Jesuit Fathers in Toledo. And she had to take a taxi. She and the young Inmaculada Doncel used to go to Mass together.
In the church, in the first bench, recollected and in silence, she would concentrate on her preparation so that the Lord would fill her with his love. She couldn’t stand people talking in church. Or wasting their time.
The fruit of her prayer during those celebrations of the Eucharist was a progressive identification with the One who visited her in his Word and in the Sacrament. She became more and more modest, humble, patient, grateful. To such an extent that those of us who knew her couldn’t get enough of the personal charm that radiated from her soul so full of God. She knew how to be a complete mother, in spiritual tension, like the strong woman of the Bible. She possessed a great harmony of infused gifts, and the depth of her counsels was not a simple derivation of a powerful intellect.
The mystery of her radiant personality proceeded from her union with God, from her fervour, from the promptness with which she devoted herself to the opus Dei, that is, to prayer. Her constant dialogue with God, who is love, gave her a new capacity. She always recognised that “God had made her like that”, but it is equally true that she cultivated and responded with generosity to the graces that she had received from Him. Her fervour gave her a simplicity and a quiet serenity that reflected the face of Christ. In her was fulfilled the ejaculatory prayer, “Lord, may those who look at me, see You”.
