Red Roses and Heavenly Hearts by Marian Casillas, Ed.D.
Red Roses and Heavenly Hearts by Marian Casillas, Ed.D.
His family is silently standing around his hospital bed.
José Sr.: I have a request from all of my children. As you all know every year on our wedding anniversary and on each of our children’s birthdays I would give your mother a dozen red roses with an ornament decoration of a red heart in remembrance of our first text. She had just told me that her favorite Saint was Saint Thérèse the Little Flower and I texted her a red rose 🌹 emoji and she texted me back a red heart ❤️ emoji. Now after I’m gone I would like for all of you to continue the tradition, except for Father Jesús and Sister Angela because they have taken a vow of poverty. I would like you Father to give your mother a spiritual bouquet of a dozen Masses for her intentions and Sister Angela I would like you to give your mother a spiritual bouquet of a dozen Rosaries for her intentions.
Some with tears streaming down their faces and others with eyes glistening with a mixture of sorrow and joy they all were saying “Yes” and nodding their heads in agreement to their father’s wishes.
José Sr.: Now I want Father Jesús to hear my Confession, give me Viaticum, and the Sacrament of Anointing of the Sick.
Everyone departs the room for Confession and returns for the Sacrament of Anointing of the Sick.
Noelle thinks to herself that to have had two (2) great loves in her life is beyond being blessed.
Now she will devote her life to the Greatest Love of her life, Our Lord and Our God. Her vocation was to be a wife and mother, her husband has died and all her children are grown-up with lives of their own. She was first attracted to religious life as a young girl, but she discerned that was not her calling from God, and now she finds herself again wanting to give her life to God but this time as contemplative nun.
Every time her red roses and red hearts from each child on their birthday is delivered to the monastery she quickly gets two flower vases and puts six roses in each vase with greenery and baby’s breath and places them on each side of the tabernacle.
On her wedding anniversary the monastery is filled with the perfume of roses due to the fact that there are five dozen bouquets. She keeps one bouquet and gives the others to surrounding nursing homes so that the residents can enjoy their beauty and fragrance.
The red heart ornaments are placed in the collection box to be taken to
their orphanage in México.
Every year Sister Noelle of the Nativity of Jesus and her daughter Sister Angela of Our Eucharistic Lord travel by train to the orphanage to deliver donated items. It is a pilgrimage that they both look forward to going each year. Each year a different child of Sister Noelle and sibling of Sister Angela make the trip and accompany them to deliver donated items to the children living at the orphanage.
This year it is MarÃa’s turn. Since her twin brother Jesús went on to be ordained a priest everyone thought she would go on to be a consecrated religious woman, but such was not the case, it was Angela who became a Sister to the surprise of everyone.
Traveling with a Nun, who’s her mother, and a Sister, who’s her sister, people probably think MarÃa is a postulant.
Manuel Misterios, a volunteer at the orphanage, comes to pick them and their baggage up at the train station.
He introduces himself in perfect English.
José and Noelle thought it was important for their children to speak both English and Spanish, so all three (3) of them introduce themselves in English, and add a few words in Spanish to let him know they are comfortable communicating in both languages.
MarÃa sits in the front seat and Sisters Noelle of the Nativity of Jesus and Angela of Our Eucharistic Lord sit in the back seat.
Since this is MarÃa’s first time to visit the orphanage, they thought she should have the front row seat to see the sights along the way.
They make Manuel aware of this and he’s more than glad to be her unofficial tour guide.
Manuel loves to talk and MarÃa loves to listen.
Throughout the ride from the train station to the orphanage Manuel is pointing out all the places he thinks are important and interesting.
Sisters Noelle and Angela notice that Manuel keeps turning to look at MarÃa sitting in the passenger seat as he’s driving and pointing out the sights, and they both turn and look at each other and smile like schoolgirls wondering if he might have a crush on her.
Even though he appears to be a responsible young man and he’s not driving erratically they’re concerned he keeps taking his eyes off the road and looking at MarÃa. They realize he’s probably smitten with her and don’t want to ruin the moment so Sister Noelle softly whispers, “Saint Christopher, pray for us,” and Sister Angela says underneath their breath, “Saint Michael the Archangel, protect us”.
The children at the orphanage welcome them with homemade signs and streamers.
MarÃa is taking all of this in with astonishment and admiration. Everyone is hugging each other and Manuel and MarÃa lightly, gently, barely hug. Everyone’s excited and there’s energy and excitement.
She didn’t know what to expect, she was a bit apprehensive about the trip, but this was a new and important family tradition that she wanted to be a part of.
She’d never seen anything like this; a small, simple building on the outside, but inside with the biggest heart full of love and the biggest soul full of spiritual blessings.
MarÃa inquires of Manuel if he lives here. He informs her that he lives with his adoptive parents in town, but he comes to the orphanage to help out with whatever is needed, and today they needed someone to pick both of them and their luggage from the train station. She surmises since he mentioned about his “adoptive parents” that he might have once been an orphan living here and it’s payback time for him, doing for others what was once done for him.
Since MarÃa has a big, loving family she can’t imagine what it must be like not having parents or siblings. She silently thanks God for her loving parents and brothers and sisters, and all her extended family.
Everyone sits down to have supper and the religious Sisters sit at their assigned table with two (2) added chairs for their fellow religious guests, the children sit at the children’s table and that leaves Manuel an MarÃa standing and wondering where they will sit.
An older boy gives up his seat for MarÃa to sit and he nudges another older boy to give up his seat for Manuel to sit.
Both MarÃa and Manuel graciously accept their courteous gesture, and the boys go to the kitchen to eat.
MarÃa had always thought in her head that she wanted to be married and have children, now she is certain in her heart that this is her God-given vocation.
Father José administers the Sacrament of Matrimony. Being the oldest brother José Jr. gives the bride away, and the triplets Michaela, Gabriela, and Raphaela are her maids-of-honor.
After the Nuptial Mass there’s an adoption ceremony for Pedro and Pablo, who once gave their seats to who will now be their parents. This is how God chose to reward them for their selfless and sacrificial act.
Every year Manuel, MarÃa, Pedro, and Pablo welcome Sister MarÃa Noelle, Sister Angela and a different member of their family to the orphanage.
The ultra-sound picture shows a girl will soon be joining the Misterios family and the extended De La Paz family.
Pedro and Pablo are ecstatic to soon be big brothers to their baby sister.