August 29, 2010 From the archives…
They were married only five years ago, he for the first time at the age of 55. It was her second marriage and she was older than he. Other single women of the community commented, “We didn’t know he was looking.”
They were happy. He never knew life could be so full. She peeled away levels of his heart that he didn’t know existed. Even their rare moments of bickering seemed to bring out new reasons to love her and deeper levels of his humanness. Once he returned home from a meeting. “I miss you,” she said. “You’re away so much.” His heart was warmed to hear words that he never expected to hear. He backed off on his meetings.
Too soon — she became ill. It was serious. They had not shared the same Faith. Though she was always a religious person and came to Mass with him each Sunday, she never gave any sign of joining the Catholic Faith. Now, from her sick bed, she said to him, “I want to become a Catholic. Call a priest.”
The priest came to their home. She was very weak. The priest heard her confession. She made a profession of Faith and she was confirmed. She made her First Holy Communion from the bed visited each day by hospice care nurses. It was difficult for her to swallow. The priest broke the host in half and gave a particle each to her and her devoted husband at bedside. Final prayers were said and she was anointed. “May all who suffer pain, illness, or disease realize that they have been chosen to be saints and know that they are joined to Christ in his suffering for the salvation of the world.” It was her first and her last Communion. She died a few days later.
On the Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Jesus, the husband was kneeling in Adoration in the Cathedral. The priest joined him. After Benediction he asked, “You think of her often?” Tears rolled down the husband’s face as he answered, “This was her Feast Day, the Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Jesus. She received only once! I’ll always celebrate this day as her Feast Day!”