Hajja Salesjana July-September 2020

28 H AJJA S ALESJANA future. She wanted them to feel supported. Her testimony teaches us that although we may not be prepared for difficult trials such as these, staying close to God gives us life and helps us live these moments of suffering “with less despair”, as does this believing woman who knows that love knows no limits and that it is important to hold onto the Cross, especially at times like these. Two days before her husband’s death, she sent this message: “I am grateful for the very many messages of support and prayer. This gives me life, as does knowing that there are many people praying for him. If, in the end, he is not cured, it is because there is a greater good that will come of it. It is something very hard, very difficult, but also, at the same time, God grants you the ability to see the love of others and of how He loves us. And that is a very huge thing. “The love made tangible in the union that exists in the family, in the messages of support from other people, in the friends who pray for each other, in the dedication of the doctors who accompany our patients is what allows us to look at reality with different eyes. It transforms us into witnesses of something superior and greater than ourselves so we may go out to meet others.” This wife and her family received the news that her husband passed away and they became closer than ever. They continue to breathe in that love with the confidence that they are not alone. Only from a heart that loves deeply can she say: “He has gone to Heaven, with Jesus. I trust God, who gives me strength and peace.” Thus ends this testimony. Perhaps other people will experience despair at similar losses. There will also be those who will not understand that you can react as did this wife and mother. We have to accept that each person is unique and unrepeatable. In this case, faith has transcended and overcome the loss of a loved one (no matter how great are the pain and the emptiness caused by the loss). Don Bosco always reminded us that if we have confidence in Mary Help of Christians we will see what miracles are. Our natural, quick and immediate tendency is to think that it is a miracle only when there is a cure from cancer or a similar disease, but what this wife and mother and their five children experienced in their hearts is also a true miracle – a miracle of living faith. LET US NOT lose this faith or the hope that characterizes us . May the Help of Christians, our Mother, continue to lead us by the hand for what was said to one and to all, still remains true today: “ Woman, here is your son; son, here is your Mother .” (Jn. 19: 26-27)