My Dear Mother Mary

It’s been three years since my son’s Godmother passed away at age 46, far exceeding her original life expectancy. She suffered from Cystic Fibrosis and succumbed on August 22, 2010.

She was a faithful Catholic (to say the least) that wrote prodigiously. All her final journal entries began with “Dear Mother Mary”. As a read them, I began to see the entries as a kind of Anti-Screwtape Letters. If you are familiar with the Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis, you will recall that each letter began with “My Dear Wormwood”, but those letters are sinister, these letters are the precise opposite.

She and her husband were planning a pilgrimage to the Holy Land in the summer of 2010, but the Lord prepared a final pilgrimage to holiness instead. Below is her final journal entry. Since the number three in scripture can be symbolic of “perfection”, I thought it fitting to share this exactly three years later on the Feast of the Assumption.

                                                                                                Sunday, Aug 15, 2010

                                                                                                Feast of the Assumption

Dear Mother Mary,

Happy Feast Day!  What a glorious moment that must have been to be reunited with your Abba, your spouse, your son.

Today was the day we were to begin our travels to the Holy Land.  Today was the day I wondered if I was going to end my pilgrimage on earth.  Even up to this afternoon’s CPT, I still felt unwell.

I was delighted that I seemed to figure out the Tobra was causing problems.  As more and more time passes since my last dose of it, I feel so much better, OK, I am still sick, but I can breathe again! The Dr. doubled my diuretic dose and that has helped a lot too I guess.

Somehow the Lord is allowing me to get back to normal(ish?). Many, many people are praying for us.  Was this recovery a gift from you Mother Mary to celebrate your feast day which is a celebration of God’s love and mercy?

My head is pounding though, so I think I need to bring this to a close.

Thank you that Father came by today and anointed me and listened to my confession.  What an awesome gift!  I received so much today!  Happy Feast Day!

                                                                                                                        Love,

                                                                                                                       Janice

 

The number seven in scripture is often symbolic of “completion”. Jan went home to the Lord seven days after writing this, on August 22, the Feast of the Queenship of Mary. These were the last words she ever wrote. What a fitting way to begin eternal life and what a fitting example to us about fostering a relationship with the Mother of God.

Happy Feast Day Dear Mother Mary!