If I must scream it from the rooftops I will do so... don't hold me back as so many out in the world of our Catholic faith believe that there is not one saint within the Church that suffered infertility. Really, I'm not upset I just don't want my sisters and brothers in Christ to believe that there is no one out there for them to request help and understanding. :-)
I need to be the one to speak up and say this is untrue! I can't help it. This issue has been on my heart since secondary infertility struck our family. I went to prayer, I sought Jesus in the desert, I cried my eyes out until there were no more tears left. What I found is that Our Lord was leading me to a place of understanding, and that is that none of us are alone in our sufferings, no matter what our struggle, frustration or cross.
The subject of infertility and why we don't have more in the way of teachings is because it is such a delicate issue, between husband, wife and God. No one has wanted to touch it. No one has understood because none of us would share things in the past, it was a taboo, something no one wanted to talk about. It is now becoming something of the past because God wants us to have an understanding of one another, a compassion, a love, a mercy. Need I say more?
We are not alone in this cross of infertility as you can see through the blogging family of faithful sisters. I would like to remind you of one saint in the making and that is Ven. Maria Luisa Josefa of the Most Blessed Sacrament. She was the founder of a Carmelite community of sisters. Oh, I know you're thinking she was a nun, ha... but before that she was married to a doctor. Read more of the story below and you'll find out more...
Why do I do any of this? A call to ministry, why would anyone care this much? Because years ago, I was the one that sat in the pew at Church. I felt so alone, ashamed and no where to turn. Somehow, through time and prayer I came to understand that God was calling me to hear him and be there for others who are suffering with infertility and loss. Not because I know everything but as a secular Carmelite I was called to listen and to let you know always that the Church cares for YOU. That you are prayed for and that YOU are never ALONE. That is why I've always said this ministry is for YOU and about YOU and YOUR need to be heard, comforted and cared for.
Please know that it is our duty as faithful Catholics to ask these souls below for intercession and this will help them reach the crowning of sainthood in the Church. I want to see fertility miracles coming in through these two woman below. Let's make it happen!
Another infertile "saint":
Elisabeth Leseur
God bless you!
With Love & Prayers,
Therese, OCDS
Hannah's Tears
Intercessor (one of many)
*I am now stepping down from my pulpit, thanks for listening to me ramble. :-)
Maria Luisa Josefa
of
the Most Blessed Sacrament
The life of Mother Maria Luisa Josefa of the Most Blessed Sacrament is no ordinary story. It is a story filled with that complete trust in God which makes life a daring adventure, the kind of adventure one encounters when one dares to love God above all things and to place one's life completely in His hands. It is a story where trust in God and obedience to His manifest designs bursts forth into great sanctity. Mother Luisita is a model of holiness in the single, married, widowed and religious state.
Maria Luisa de la Pena was born in Atotonilco el Alto, Jalisco Mexico on June 21, 1866, the first surviving of fourteen children. Although she felt drawn to the religious life, at the age of fifteen in obedience to her parents, she married Doctor Pascual Rojas, a prominent physician who was twice her age. Their life together was happy, a mutual growing in love of God and neighbor. God did not grant them children. They trusted and decided together that the poor would be their children. They built the little Hospital of the Sacred Heart to serve those less fortunate. After fourteen years of married life Maria Luisa was left a widow. On his deathbed, Doctor Rojas told her that he had no doubt what she would do after he had died - she would serve God as a religious.
Eight years later Maria Luisa entered the Cloistered Carmelites and became immersed in the spirituality of Carmel. After seven months she was asked by the Archbishop to return to her work at the hospital which needed her guidance. Again she trusted God's manifest designs. Along with the hospital she opened a school and orphanage. Many others attracted by her charisma began to join her. The Archbishop re-appeared and told her that she would have to join an existing religious Congregation. Obediently she left all her works behind and joined the Sister Servants of the Blessed Sacrament. Four years later the Archbishop asked her to return she was needed at the hospital and with the children. She obeyed. More women joined her. This time the Archbishop himself suggested that she found a Religious Congregation and the Carmelite Sisters of the Sacred Heart were established on February 2, 1921. Her charism "to unite the spirit of Carmel to the active apostolate unfolded.
Six years later, a dangerous and terrifying adventure - religious persecution in her beloved Mexico. Dressed in disguise, she came to the United States as a homeless refugee. She trusted. God rewarded her confidence and her work became established in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. More adventure followed. In 1929 she returned to Mexico and continued the work she had begun there, as well as guiding, visiting and directing the Sisters in California. She spent the remainder of her life in hiding, ill and living in extreme poverty, often without sufficient food.
On February 11, 1937 God called His faithful servant home to Himself - an eternal adventure. In the Year of the Great Jubilee, after extensive study of her life and writings, the Church declared that she lived a life of heroic virtue and her cause toward sainthood is in progress.
Prayer For the Beatification of Venerable Mother María Luisa Josefa of the Most Blessed Sacrament
O Jesus in the Holy Eucharist, King and center of all hearts!
Look with merciful love on the petitions we present to You
through the intercession of Your servant, Mother Maria Luisa
Josefa of the Most Blessed Sacrament.
(Pause and request your petition)
We humbly beseech You to glorify her who was always such a
fervent lover of Your Sacred Heart by granting us these favors
if they are for Your greater honor and glory. Amen.
(Written by Mother Margarita María,O.C.D. and approved by
Cardinal Timothy Manning August 28, 1981.)
Graces obtained through Mother Luisita's intercession may be reported to :
Superior General
Carmelite Sisters of the Most Sacred Heart of Los Angeles
920 East Alhambra Road
Alhambra, California 91801
(626) 289-1353
Resource: http://www.carmelitesistersocd.com
