S
SanRafael1102
Guest
A few years back, a mother of 5 from a farming family in the Texas Panhandle passed away. Now, just like people from any part of the world, dying is a normal part of rural life–the only difference being that in a small farm town, everybody shows up at the funeral Mass, and several of the Protestants in town will even show up to the rosary the evening before out of respect for the person.
Now, about this woman. She was of German Catholic descent; she raised her children exceptionally strong in the faith; they made Mass every weekend, day of obligation, and several feasts that aren’t DoO; etc. When her daughters reached the age to play JH and HS Basketball, she held them out until the coach/school changed the length of the girls’ teams shorts (because they were quite too short. She ran our parish’s Catholic education, and is the only reason that any of a generation of our town’s youth even remained in the Church.
She was only 47 when she passed. A few years prior she was discovered to have cancer. She began aggressive chemotherapy, and aggressive prayer. She continued making every basketball game, every music program, every event, every Mass, etc., even as you could see the disease and the chemo taking its toll. Eventually it came out that her cancer was completely chemo resistant. The months (maybe years) of therapy had been doing nothing but making her decline faster.
I saw her the day before she passed, she was up at the school to pick up one of her children, and she was pretty thin, but she still looked very cheerful and very much alive. After she passed, the stories of her deathbed hours were touching. She became completely delusional, and was barely conscious. Her family (her siblings and parents) were astounded to find that she and her husband had no Will prepared, because they still were hoping for a miracle. In her final moments, she came completely back to her senses, and called all of her children to her bedside. She talked to them each, and told them that they were not allowed to lose the faith or leave the Church. They were not allowed to blame God, and they had to take care of dad, because she knew that it would hurt him when she passed. Then she passed peacefully.
It was bizarre to see her at the open-casket Mass. After just seeing her the day before, she looked so old. It was as if her willpower and faith had held the physical ramifications of her disease at bay. Once her soul departed, the full extent of the cancer became visible. It was a testament to her faithfulness and life.
In the days after the funeral, the community was in flux. The Parish was obviously concerned that our Church community may have been dealt a mortal blow. The women have been quoted as saying that didn’t know who would teach their children’s religious education classes. Then something miraculous happened. The parishioners began taking to her example. The phrase “What would (name) do in this situation?” became common. The parish grew from this example, more parents became involved, more people started attending or running for parish council. She had passed, but she still kept working in our parish.
Now, I keep finding myself wondering, Is she a Saint? Is she in Heaven? How would one inquire into opening a cause? Is there any point to doing so with such a localized individual or is usually better known people who have their causes opened?
Thoughts?
~Pax
Now, about this woman. She was of German Catholic descent; she raised her children exceptionally strong in the faith; they made Mass every weekend, day of obligation, and several feasts that aren’t DoO; etc. When her daughters reached the age to play JH and HS Basketball, she held them out until the coach/school changed the length of the girls’ teams shorts (because they were quite too short. She ran our parish’s Catholic education, and is the only reason that any of a generation of our town’s youth even remained in the Church.
She was only 47 when she passed. A few years prior she was discovered to have cancer. She began aggressive chemotherapy, and aggressive prayer. She continued making every basketball game, every music program, every event, every Mass, etc., even as you could see the disease and the chemo taking its toll. Eventually it came out that her cancer was completely chemo resistant. The months (maybe years) of therapy had been doing nothing but making her decline faster.
I saw her the day before she passed, she was up at the school to pick up one of her children, and she was pretty thin, but she still looked very cheerful and very much alive. After she passed, the stories of her deathbed hours were touching. She became completely delusional, and was barely conscious. Her family (her siblings and parents) were astounded to find that she and her husband had no Will prepared, because they still were hoping for a miracle. In her final moments, she came completely back to her senses, and called all of her children to her bedside. She talked to them each, and told them that they were not allowed to lose the faith or leave the Church. They were not allowed to blame God, and they had to take care of dad, because she knew that it would hurt him when she passed. Then she passed peacefully.
It was bizarre to see her at the open-casket Mass. After just seeing her the day before, she looked so old. It was as if her willpower and faith had held the physical ramifications of her disease at bay. Once her soul departed, the full extent of the cancer became visible. It was a testament to her faithfulness and life.
In the days after the funeral, the community was in flux. The Parish was obviously concerned that our Church community may have been dealt a mortal blow. The women have been quoted as saying that didn’t know who would teach their children’s religious education classes. Then something miraculous happened. The parishioners began taking to her example. The phrase “What would (name) do in this situation?” became common. The parish grew from this example, more parents became involved, more people started attending or running for parish council. She had passed, but she still kept working in our parish.
Now, I keep finding myself wondering, Is she a Saint? Is she in Heaven? How would one inquire into opening a cause? Is there any point to doing so with such a localized individual or is usually better known people who have their causes opened?
Thoughts?
~Pax