A mother is the person we call on from our earliest childhood, to overcome any difficulty. There is no one who has not experienced trials and complications throughout their life that only a mother’s good heart has been able to understand and resolve.
The stories presented in this issue show us Dona Lucilia as a mother who watches over her children in any situation: from problems with sleeping at night to the cure of a chronic illness.
As she departed for Brazil, Ligia was carrying two crosses that afflicted her and gave her reason to fear the journey
Therefore, let us take a look at the solicitude of this extremely good mother and ask that she also welcome us among her children in need.
A trip marked by pain
Mrs. Ligia María Rojas, from Costa Rica, recounts two favours obtained by Our Lady of Mount Carmel, thanks also to the intercession of Dona Lucilia, who liberally answered her prayers.
A Cooperator of the Heralds of the Gospel in her country, Ligia came to Brazil in July 2022 to take part in the international congress held every year. However, she carried two crosses that afflicted her spirit and made her fear the journey. Let us follow her story:
“I had a serious lesion in my right foot, due to poor blood circulation problems, from which I have suffered since 2000. It had already been treated on several occasions; after treatment the wound would close, but only to reopen. When I told the doctor I was travelling to Brazil, he tried to dissuade me, because a flight of several hours at high altitude was dangerous for anyone in my condition. However, I told him that everything was ready and that I was going to make the trip, assuming all responsibility for anything that might happen.
“On the eve of my departure, the nurse placed a dressing on my wound and instructed me not to remove it while I was abroad.
“Aware of the risk of travelling and the possible impact it could have on me, I asked Dona Lucilia, our mother, to intercede for me. During the time of the flight, I prayed to her and to Our Lady that everything would go well during the trip and on my return home.”
A spiritual cure…
Ligia arrived in Brazil feeling well, and was able to follow the programme of the group of Cooperators in São Paulo. During her visit to the Mount Carmel House – of the female branch – she felt the help of Dona Lucilia and, through her intercession, that of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, healing her of a deep interior sorrow she felt.
Entering the church, she was overcome with emotion. She immediately made a plea: “Dona Lucilia, my mother, please do not leave me!” She turned towards the altar, where there was a statue of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, looked at it and said to herself: “I do not want to go back the way I came.”
A rose dislodged from the arrangement and fell onto the altar; through Dona Lucilia’s intercession, Ligia’s physical and spiritual cure began
She continues: “At that moment, my request was exclusively spiritual. For a long time, I have been carrying a sorrow in my heart. Specifically, since 2016 – when I took the consecration course according to the method of St. Louis-Marie Grignion de Montfort – I had been meditating on the depths of evil that exist in every human person. I tried several times to talk to a priest about this, but none of them understood my situation, or perhaps I could not explain well what I was experiencing.”
Overwhelmed by anguish, Ligia beseeched Our Lady of Mount Carmel to help her and her family, and cried until she felt relieved. She then noticed that a rose from the floral arrangement adorning the statue had dislodged and fallen onto the altar, and she asked a Sister who was there for the rose. Handing it to her, the sister said: “The Virgin Mary has great things in store for you.”
…and another that was physical
Deeply moved, Ligia visited other churches and houses of the Heralds that day. She continues:
“The next day, July 21, when the congress was starting, I remembered the doctor’s instructions and, as I felt pain in my foot, I asked Our Lady to grant me the grace to return to Costa Rica without having to seek medical help. I took a rose petal and placed it among the bandages. Trusting in Our Lady, I left for the inaugural session of the congress and felt no more discomfort.
“On Saturday, I had another surprise: I met a Herald priest who had not been able to see me when he was in Costa Rica, but who was then willing to talk to me, taking advantage of a break between the congress sessions. It was a marvellous opportunity! However, when I wanted to tell him about what was causing me such bitterness, I realized that the Virgin had already taken away all my long-held sadness: I had nothing more to say, the inner pain had disappeared.
“On Sunday afternoon, I started to feel a piercing sensation in my foot. That night, I wanted to remove the bandage, but was afraid to do so. On Monday, I bought the necessary material to make a new dressing. When I removed the bandage, however, I noticed with surprise that the open wound was dry. The surface was reddened, but there was no seepage of fluid.
“When I returned to Costa Rica, my family and friends noticed something different about me. In fact, during the trip I had been cured of two ailments: that of my heart and that of poor blood circulation, from which I had suffered for twenty-two years. My doctor confirmed the ‘miracle’ after examining my leg and confirming that the wound had closed and healed.”
This is how Ligia concludes her account:
“I am now healthy, a year after everything that happened. Since then, I have been infinitely grateful to Dona Lucilia and Our Lady for having allowed the rose to fall, for having inspired me to put the petal in the gauze, and for their mediation so that God could manifest His glory and heal me physically and spiritually.”
Nightmares and preternatural action
There are certain trials that accompany us from childhood and can only be overcome with supernatural help.
Perhaps nothing is more difficult for a child than facing the fear of the dark and the assaults of nightmares. What for some may be something insignificant, for others becomes a cause for real dread. This was the case of Susan Alzamora, from Peru, for whom Dona Lucilia became a luminous consolation.
The nightmares were becoming so frequent that Susan dreaded the coming of nightfall; then that she remembered Dona Lucilia
“Ever since I was a child,” she says, “I had nightmares and a great fear of the dark. So much so that there were nights when I felt that I had no choice but to sleep in my parents’ bedroom, and I could only fall asleep feeling protected by them. My mother taught me that after every nightmare or unpleasant dream, the first thing I should do was pray. In turn, my father’s words of comfort were: ‘Stay calm, we are with you, don’t be afraid.’
“Over the years, the nightmares became more intense, they left me immobilized, I felt like something was crushing my chest. The only thing I could do was open my eyes, I could not move. I mentioned it to a lady who helped us at home, and she said to me: ‘Little scaredy-cat, when this happens to you, shout at them and insult them, and you will see how they will leave you alone.’ I followed her suggestion, but to no avail. Time passed and there was no improvement. When I woke up, I felt tired, exhausted and weak.
“When I finished university, I decided to continue my studies in Lima, where I could also work. At one point, I thought this change would help me a lot, but there was still no positive progress. The nightmares, better known as sleep paralysis, continued.
“A few months later I was invited to take the course of consecration to Our Lady, and I signed up. In contact with the Heralds, I learned about Dona Lucilia, but on that occasion I did not ask for her intercession.”
After a prayer to Dona Lucilia, the nightmares ended
Providence has its time to intervene, and it often does so just as difficulties are reaching their peak. This is what happened to Susan.
She continues: “At the beginning of this year, the nightmares became so frequent that I dreaded nightfall. Then I remembered that a very kind lady had given me a picture of Dona Lucilia, with a rose petal taken from her tomb. I placed it on my chest, saying: ‘Dona Lucilia, my mother, help me to rest, protect me in my dreams and defend me from every evil.’
“At that moment, I felt the same peace, the same protection that I felt when, as a little girl, my parents watched over me during my sleep. I was then able to rest peacefully and, since that night, I have slept protected by Dona Lucilia’s prayer-card. I never go to bed without having her prayer-card on my chest and asking for her protection.”
In this way, Dona Lucilia became for Susan someone who, from Heaven, watches over her rest. What good mother would not do that for her child?
From antipathy to devotion… a unique intervention
From the city of Cuenca, Ecuador, Mrs. Marisol Espinoza sent us an account of a beautiful intervention by Dona Lucilia in her family, with that gentle action that overcomes antipathy, breaks down the most obstinate barriers in the depths of hearts and unites souls around the living flame of faith. Let us see what she wrote:
“I have been attending Masses and the activities of the Heralds of the Gospel in Cuenca for nine or ten years, since my children have participated in their apostolate on several occasions.
“I have been a devotee of Dona Lucilia ever since, but my husband did not share my devotion. On the contrary, when I invoked her with an aspiration after each mystery of the Holy Rosary, he would say: ‘Who is that lady? Why do you pray to her so much?’ And he would mock my piety, make jokes or say something sarcastic.
“One day, in my room, I was listening to the Heralds’ programme on YouTube, Good Night with Mary, in which they were talking about a ‘miracle’ worked through Dona Lucilia’s intercession to help a person with their financial needs. At that moment, my husband, who was also there and listening, said: ‘Let’s say a novena in honour of Dona Lucilia.’ I could not believe what he was saying, since he always made fun of my devotion…”
Prompt and abundant aid
Marisol recounts: “We then began a novena to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, asking for the intercession of Dona Lucilia, who was very devoted to Him. A week earlier, my husband had gone to the bank to ask about a credit card loan for our daughter’s first year of university. While there he found that the maximum limit of the loan was not enough for these expenses. We were somewhat concerned.
The prompt help received in a financial difficulty broke down the barriers that hindered his devotion to that kind lady
“The day after we started the novena to the Sacred Heart through Dona Lucilia, we went back to the bank to take out the loan and, contrary to what they had told us the week before, they gave us much more than the aforementioned maximum limit. My husband immediately said to me: ‘Dona Lucilia’s “miracle” is incredible!’”
Marisol ends her account by expressing her gratitude to her benefactress:
“From then on, my husband has not stopped praying novenas to Dona Lucilia and to Our Lady. As soon as he finishes one, he starts another… which he had never done before. For me, Dona Lucilia is already a saint, and we want her to be recognized as such all over the world, so that she can intercede for everyone. That is why I am eager to share the favours she has bestowed on us.” ◊
Thank you. I will ask for her prayers.