By Fr. Rafael Alonso

I remember Mamie seated in her arm-chair praying. She always prayed, even when she was doing other tasks. You could tell that her soul was united to God. She was right there with Him. Not for a moment did she let herself be separated from Him.

The Apostolate of the Sick had printed a holy card with a prayer that she thought was beautiful. The prayer was titled: “Prayer for living the end of one’s life,” or something of the like.
She read it to me with great joy, saying, “Listen, my son. What a beautiful prayer this is!”

She longed “to be released and be with Christ.” She had told me this many times. Her sentiment was sincere, totally sincere. Somehow she knew that the heavenly goods are far superior to the goods of this world. However, this was not something she desired as a way of freeing herself from suffering. Suffering was her daily bread, and she accepted it with an amazing spirit.

She had already lived a great while with the suffering that afflicted her at the end of her life. It was one suffering amongst her many others: diabetes. I do not know that much, but I think that age is a risk factor and she was already quite aduanced in age when they discovered this disease in her.

Mamie did not enjoy going to the doctor, nor did she have a liking for medicine. She had an unusual capacity for withstanding pain and this is what she preferred. She applied this in eating habits as well: she would rather not eat than eat something that did not taste good. She only did so when she wanted to practice penance. With the doctors, she always did the same.

Mamie’s eyesight began to worsen and she needed different glasses. It was also time for me to update mine. I invited her to come with me for the eye examination. She accepted, since she wanted to continue being useful to the rest of humanity. That was when they discovered the diabetes that had already caused her to experience a dramatic loss of eyesight.

From that moment on, she had to begin receiving injections of insulin. I myself would do the blood analysis to check the sugar level and then give her the shot in the arm.

Her patience and serenity were always noticeable, but this stood out most when it was discovered that one of her feet had been infected with gangrene. The suffering intensified. She never ceased to suffer, until the end.

All of those who knew her can testify to the fact that as she grew closer to the end of her life, she became more and more spiritual and her desire “to be released and be with Christ” increased. The prayer that she said for help to live the end of her life, was a consolation.

In the mornings, when she awoke, this was her prayer: “Good morning, Lord. Good morning, dear mother. Good morning, St. Joseph. Good morning, Saint Teresa...” This was how she greeted the saints and angels.

©HM Magazine No.134 - January/February 2007