Just this past April I made a trip down to Texas to say goodbye to my dear Auntie Marie. She had lived a full, hearty life. A life that was full of happiness, a caring heart and a true dedication to her Catholic faith.
It was on this same trip down, however, that I had an experience that would forever touch me, on the inside, at the heart.
I met a very unexpected person on that trip, at my aunts funeral. Her name was Emma. She arrived at my aunts wake and somehow she was drawn to me! She insisted that she sit next to me. She made pleasant conversation with me. She made SURE that she handed me her handmade rosary at the end of a group recitation of the Rosary.
You see, Emma makes handmade rosaries. Her mission, she told me, was to hand them out to all those who needed (or wanted) one. She had even made enough that night to hand out to each person in attendance at my aunts wake. Enough for all of us to recite the Rosary, one of my Auntie Marie's favorite things to do!
After the set of prayers, Emma disappeared, quietly. One of the last things she said to me was, "please, pray for me and my 5 daughters!" Surely, I agreed that I would.
The next day was the funeral mass at the church. As I arrived and walked up to the church a cousin of mine eagerly made his way to me. In hand was a large Ziploc bag. He told me that a lady had stopped by earlier, she had needed for me to have the bag and the contents in it. I looked over the bag and found that it was filled with more handmade rosaries and a large amount of information to make my own. Emma had left these items for me. For she felt in her heart that I would be a good candidate to pass this "mission" on to others as she had done for me!
I do keep Emma and her family in my prayers. I also have started to make my own handmade rosaries to pass along.
If anyone is interested in a free handmade rosary, or if you know of someone that may be, please just email me at junipercards@yahoo.com and I will get them to you at no charge.
God Bless!
