The rosary is such a powerful prayer. I have been amazed again and again by the incredible outpouring of grace it causes.
We decided to say the rosary with my mom. Her condition was very advanced at this point. She was slumped over in a wheelchair all the time, staring blankly into space. It was not even clear if she could actually see, she was so unresponsive. She made no eye contact. There was no indication that Mom was actually in there, if you know what I mean.
We took her into a little chapel and I turned her chair so that I could watch her. Several of my children were with us, including Elizabeth, my youngest, who had never known her grandmother when she was well. We started the rosary.
My mother almost immediately started to respond. She opened her eyes more. She straightened her back and shoulders, even leaning forward a little. She looked around the room, moving her eyes as well as her head as if to say, "Who is saying the rosary with me?" I was so astonished I could hardly keep vocalizing the prayers.
Then, the woman who had not spoken in many years started to move her lips!! She could not articulate anything but she was trying. As she did this Elizabeth, who was about 5 or 6 at the time, gave her grandma a hug over the side of the wheelchair. My mom... leaned over and puckered her lips in an obvious attempt to kiss Lizzie on the head. In tears, I told Lizzie what had just happened. Then Liz started crying, and said, "I always wanted Grandma to kiss me.
You just can't tell what is going on inside a person with Alzheimer's Disease. For us, this was a clear indication that there was much more there than what one might guess. It was a miracle.
You just can't tell what is going on inside a person with Alzheimer's Disease. For us, this was a clear indication that there was much more there than what one might guess. It was a miracle.
And another example of the incredible power of the rosary.
7 comments:
No Rosemary, it WAS a miracle! What a beautiful memory for you and your daughter. Judy M.
What a precious treasure you were given at that moment! Blessed mother smiled I am sure. Thank you for sharing this.--Denise
Oh the power of the Rosary! Beautiful story Rosemary.
That's a beautiful story, Rosemary.
A priest from an old parish of ours told of similar experiences. When he would go to the bedside of a dying or seriously ill person, he'd ask the family to join him in a prayer. Sometimes, the family would object on the grounds that their loved one "didn't know what was going on." But as soon as the person would hear the familiar words of the "Our Father" or "Hail Mary," they'd surprise everyone by momentary alertness.
I sincerely hope that I'm still around when science does more to "unlock" the mind of Alzheimer's patients. I agree that there is more going on that one would guess.
Ah, perhaps these prayers rote memorized from our cribs are more than just words we mumble hastily to get them done, but are actually gifts from God and closer links between His divinity and our souls than we guess. After all, both prayers are in the Bible - God's Word which was made flesh.
This will give me much to ponder during my next rosary. And possible all future rosaries. Thanks for sharing this.
Judy, you're right. It was a miracle.
Denise, it was indeed a treasure. It was a flash of light amid the darkness of the disease.
There is something very unfathomable about the rosary. You can just feel its power and, for everyone, it goes beyond words and rational thought, doesn't it.
I remember a scene from one of the St Jude Media books where the character wanted to make his confession. It was set in a time when priests would be few and far between in the Church. The only priest to be found was an very aged one with advanced signs of dementia. He also sat much as your grandmother did in an old rocker. The man made the decision to begin his confession anyway. As he told his sins he got no reponse but when he came to the end and said "this is all I can remember father" the old priest suddenly lifted one hand and in Latin said the words of absolution from memory while making the sign of the cross.
This may have been only a fictional account but it does give us the same idea that the mind and soul are never completely out of touch with reality around them.
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