“I have shown you, dearest daughter, that in this life guilt is not atoned for by any suffering simply as suffering, but rather by suffering borne with desire, love, and contrition of heart. The value is not in the suffering but in the soul’s desire. Likewise, neither desire nor any other virtue has value or life except through my only-begotten Son, Christ crucified, since the soul has drawn love from him and in virtue follows his footsteps. In this way and in no other is suffering of value. “
Source: Catherine of Siena, The Dialogue
“Paradise regained – to walk in the garden, naked, unashamed, hand and hand with God just as He intended.” Source: Patty Palmer, OFS
Prayer to the Sacred Heart of Jesus
O most Sacred Heart of Jesus, fountain of every blessing, I adore you, I love you and with true sorrow for my sins, I offer You this poor heart of mine. Make me humble, patient, pure and wholly obedient to Your will. Grant, good Jesus, that I may live in You and for You.
Protect me in the midst of danger, comfort me in my afflictions, give me health of body, assistance in my temporal needs, Your blessing on all that I do, and the grace of a holy death. Amen.
Lord, grant that I may always allow myself to be guided by You, always follow Your plans, and perfectly accomplish Your Holy Will. Grant that in all things, great and small, today and all the days of my life, I may do whatever You require of me. Help me respond to the slightest prompting of Your Grace, so that I may be Your trustworthy instrument for Your honour. May Your Will be done in time and in eternity by me, in me, and through me. Amen.
Let Nothing Disturb You
Let nothing disturb you, let nothing frighten you, all things will pass away. God never changes; patience obtains all things, whoever has God lacks nothing. God alone suffices. Amen.
Lord, You are closer
Lord, you are closer to me than my own breath, nearer to me than my hands and feet. Amen.
To Redeem Lost Time
O My God! Source of all mercy! I acknowledge Your sovereign power. While recalling the wasted years that are past, I believe that You, Lord, can in an instant turn this loss to gain. Miserable as I am, yet I firmly believe that You can do all things. Please restore to me the time lost, giving me Your grace, both now and in the future, that I may appear before You in “wedding garments.” Amen
Thy Love For Me Is Strong
If Lord, Thy love for me is strong As this which binds me unto thee, What holds me from thee Lord so long, What holds thee Lord so long from me? O soul, what then desirest thou? Lord I would see thee, who thus choose thee.
What fears can yet assail thee now? All that I fear is but lose thee. Love’s whole possession I entreat, Lord make my soul thine own abode, And I will build a nest so sweet It may not be too poor for God.
A soul in God hidden from sin, What more desires for thee remain, Save but to love again, And all on flame with love within, Love on, and turn to love again.
A Love Song
Majestic sovereign, timeless wisdom, your kindness melts my hard, cold soul. Handsome lover, selfless giver, your beauty fills my dull, sad eyes. I am yours, you made me. I am yours, you called me. I am yours, you saved me. I am yours, you loved me. I will never leave your presence. Give me death, give me life. Give me sickness, give me health. Give me honour, give me shame. Give me weakness, give me strength. I will have whatever you give. Amen
Growing Older
Lord, You know better than I myself that I am growing older and will someday be old. Keep me from the fatal habit of thinking I must say something on every subject and on every occasion.
Release me from craving to straighten out everybody’s affairs. Make me thoughtful but not moody; helpful but not bossy.
With my vast store of wisdom, it seems a pity not to use it all; but You know, Lord, that I want a few friends at the end. Keep my mind free from the recital of endless details; give me wings to get to the point.
Seal my lips on my aches and pains; they are increasing, and love of rehearsing them is becoming sweeter as the years go by.
I dare not ask for improved memory, but for a growing humility and a lessening cock-sureness when my memory seems to clash with the memories of others. Teach me the glorious lesson that occasionally I may be mistaken.
Keep me reasonably sweet, for a sour old person is one of the crowning works of the devil. Give me the ability to see good things in unexpected places and talents in unexpected people; and give, O Lord, the grace to tell them so. Amen.
… St Teresa of Avila, Pray for Us …
To St Teresa of Avila
Lord, grant that I may always allow myself to be guided by You, always follow Your plans, and perfectly accomplish Your Holy Will. Grant that in all things, great and small, today and all the days of my life, I may do whatever You require of me. Help me respond to the slightest prompting of Your Grace, so that I may be Your trustworthy instrument for Your honour. May Your Will be done in time and in eternity by me, in me, and through me. Amen.
To St Teresa of Avila
O Saint Teresa, seraphic Virgin, beloved spouse of thy crucified Lord, thou who on earth didst burn with a love so intense toward thy God and my God, and now dost glow with a brighter and purer flame in paradise: obtain for me also, I beseech thee, a spark of that same holy fire which shall cause me to forget the world, all things created, and even myself; for thou didst ever avidly desire to see Him loved by all men. Grant that my every thought and desire and affection may be continually directed to doing the will of God, the supreme Good, whether I am in joy or in pain, for He is worthy to be loved and obeyed forever. Obtain for me this grace, thou who art so powerful with God; may I be all on fire, like thee, with the holy love of God. Amen. (By St Alphonsus de’Liguori)
Bobbye Maggio endured an eight-year journey as her husband battled dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. But endurance is not her full story – faith made it more.
Maggio, a longtime Bay St. Louis resident, recently shared her experiences and struggles.
“I met Henry in New Orleans in my senior year in nursing school and he was a junior in medical school,” Bobbye said. “We married when I graduated and then life began.”
Henry Maggio’s story of accomplishments is long and admirable. Degrees in pharmacy, medicine and psychiatry meant he had impacted thousands of lives. His drive and intellect were attributes looked up to, which made his descent into dementia especially sorrowful for the people who knew him.
“He was 77 years old before he had to ride in the back of a police car,” Bobbye recalled. “The ride came as a result of his wandering away in the middle of the night. It took almost three hours to find him. Then, there he was smiling, flashlight in hand, getting out of the patrol car.
“He was fully dressed, a slim man, in his polo shirt and jeans, looking absolutely normal and trying to explain where he had been. In his hand, he held an appointment card for his next visit to the dentist. Being a person who was hardly ever late, he wanted to make sure that he did not miss his appointment.”
Only one in four people with Alzheimer’s disease have been diagnosed, according to studies.
“The disease of dementia does not rush in with a marching band and balloons. Rather, it comes in as (poet Carl) Sandburg would say, ‘on little cat feet.’ Oh, there are sideways glimpses as the disease begins to bubble up from time to time, glimpses that a person can blame on the aging process or dismiss as ‘senior moments’ until the truth crashes in with absolute clarity and you can’t deny it anymore,” she said.
It was a speech – out of context and inappropriate – that Henry gave at a reunion for the Loyola pharmacy’s Class of 1957 that spurred Bobbye to attend Henry’s next physical exam and demand tests to be run. A month after a battery of exams, Bobbye’s suspicions were confirmed.
“I dreaded the diagnosis so much that my mind immediately, involuntarily, wondered what other terminal diagnosis might be better. Dementia is a long, steady march of decline and suffering for the patient and his or her loved ones. It is a cross no one would choose, but we, of course, do not get to choose – God is in charge.”
Bobbye is a convert to Catholicism, a decision she made at the age of 15 growing up in Jackson. She smiles as she tells of her spiritual growth over her 58-year marriage to Henry.
“That was just a beautiful season in my life of Henry and I working together with Bible studies and men’s groups and church groups and youth retreats and speaking at Catholic Youth Organization conventions. Henry did tremendous work with his faith and his practice and God just used us and that was a beautiful season, and then the decade of the disaster started in my life.”
“The day I was in my little house and I had to put bicycle chains on my door with padlocks from the inside because Henry ran away, I was having a little pity party saying, ‘Oh, here I am in my 70s, just distraught, and I’m trapped in this little house with a husband that cannot make a sentence.’ ”
“Then the Lord spoke to me and said, ‘I want you to look around and I want you to begin to see this little enclosed space that I put you in as an enclosed garden where I can speak to your heart and where you can learn things about yourself I need to reveal to you, and you can learn more about me that you need to know. I want you to not complain, not to have your little pity parties because everybody else is getting to go and do and be.’ ”
Bobbye said she realizes that the main lesson of that is that trial comes to everybody.
“Pain comes to everybody but He’s taught me, you’re not alone. You cannot be abandoned. So, I’m beginning to walk in a different light as far as Henry being gone now and I have time and I’m beginning to get back into things I think He wants me to do.
“I do try to do things in the community but by and large my push, my passion is trying to say to somebody, ‘I’m on the way to the Father’s house. Come and go with me.’”
Nearly a decade of endurance is behind Bobbye now and the hope is the sorrowful memories will fade and the memories of the man who accomplished so much in his life will remain strong and treasured.
Bobbye relates tenderly and with pride, “When he passed last year I can’t tell you how many people came out of the woodwork to say, ‘You don’t know me but I just want you to know your husband saved my life.’ ”
OPENING SONG: IN THE LORD
In the Lord I’ll be ever thankful, in the Lord I will rejoice!
Look to God, do not be afraid; lift up your voices, the Lord is near;
Lift up your voices, the Lord is near. (Repeat.)
PSALM: PSALM 121 (by reader)
I lift up my eyes to the hills.
From whence does my help come?
My help comes from the Lord,
who made heaven and earth.
He will not let your foot be moved,
he who keeps you will not slumber.
Behold, he who keeps Israel
will neither slumber nor sleep.
The Lord is your keeper;
the Lord is your shade
on your right hand.
The sun shall not smite you by day,
nor the moon by night.
The Lord will keep you from all evil;
he will keep your life.
The Lord will keep
your going out and your coming in
from this time forth and for ever more.
FIRST BIBLE READING: MATTHEW 5:1-12 (by reader)
Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down his disciples came to him. And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying:
Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.
Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall
be satisfied.
Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called sons of God.
Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs
is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are you when men revile you and persecute you and utter all
kinds of evil against you falsely on my account.
Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so men
persecuted the prophets who were before you.
SONG: HOW BLESSED ARE YOU
How blessed are you who are poor,
The Kingdom of God is yours,
How blessed are you who are poor,
The Kingdom of God is yours. (Repeat.)
SECOND BIBLE READING: GALATIANS 2:19B-20 (by reader)
I have been crucified with Christ; yet I live, no longer I, but Christ lives
in me; insofar as I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God
who has loved me and given himself up for me. Galatians 2:19b-20.
SONG: JESUS, REMEMBER ME
Jesus, remember me when you come into your Kingdom.
Jesus, remember me when you come into your Kingdom. (Repeat.)
LEADER: Jesus Christ, born in humility to raise up the humble, All sing: O, O, O, Adoramus te Domine
LEADER: You lived among us, healing the sick, proclaiming Good News to the poor and freedom to prisoners, All sing: O, O, O, Adoramus te Domine
LEADER: Jesus, you are kind and forgiving, you carry for us all that is more than we can bear, All sing: O, O, O, Adoramus te Domine
LEADER: Jesus, gentle and humble of heart, you call all who toil and are burdened, All sing: O, O, O, Adoramus te Domine
LEADER: You came to loose the chains of every captivity, friend of the poor, bread of hungry hearts, All sing: O, O, O, Adoramus te Domine
LEADER: You came into the world not to be served but to serve and give your life. All sing: O, O, O, Adoramus te Domine
LEADER: Jesus, by your resurrection from the dead you live forever, to walk with us on the road to your Father and our Father. All sing: O, O, O, Adoramus te Domine
INTERCESSIONS OF THE COMMUNITY
OUR FATHER
CONCLUDING PRAYER (by leader)
O Christ, you take upon yourself all our burdens
so that free of all that weighs us down,
we can constantly begin anew to walk with lightened step,
from worry towards trusting,
from the shadows towards the clear flowing water,
from our own will towards the vision of the coming Kingdom.
And then we know, though we had hardly dared hope it,
That you offer to make every human being a reflection of your face.
SONG: BLESS THE LORD
Bless the Lord, my soul, and bless God’s holy name.
Bless the Lord, my soul, who leads me into life. (Repeat.)
God has created me to do Him some definite service; He has committed some work to me which He has not committed to another. I have my mission—I never may know it in this life, but I shall be told it in the next. Somehow I am necessary for His purposes, as necessary in my place as an Archangel in his—if, indeed, I fail, He can raise another, as He could make the stones children of Abraham. Yet I have a part in this great work; I am a link in a chain, a bond of connexion between persons. He has not created me for naught. I shall do good, I shall do His work; I shall be an angel of peace, a preacher of truth in my own place, while not intending it, if I do but keep His commandments and serve Him in my calling.
The Way of the Soul's Desire 