“During her last illness” – attests Sister Fabruzzo – “[St. Bakhita] suffered atrocious pain and anguish, without a single complaint, maintaining a serene and cheerful countenance.
She said that the suffering caused by illness is more meritorious than any voluntary mortification. […] For me, it continues to remain a mystery as to how Mother Josephine was able to remain so serene, in control of her nerves, the same as always…
She faced death with a joyful spirit, and until the end of her life she said that death carries us to God. And when someone pondered that the most frightening thing was God’s judgement, she replied: ‘Do now what you would like to have done at that moment: our judgement is what we do now.’”[…]
In her last days, a nun who needed to return to her occupations after spending some time in the saint’s room, said to her as she left, with the intention of suggesting a theme for meditation in her sufferings: “Mother Josephine, I leave you here on your Calvary.” Bakhita replied: “Not on Calvary. I am on Mount Tabor.” Then the nun, perhaps imagining she was correcting a faulty knowledge of Scripture, explained to her: “You will go to Tabor later. While suffering, you are on Calvary.” And the answer was the same: “No, no, I am on Tabor.” […]
“Mother Josephine, do you feel no pain, no vexation?” someone asked, impressed by her extraordinary resignation. Her answer was a great life lesson: “Yes, I feel it. But when nature desires something, I say: Be still, my body; you are always served like a queen, be content with what you have for this evening. Tomorrow we will see… Thus I go on, and little by little, the pain and the desire are quieted. I think about the pains of Jesus and Mary, and I no longer listen to nature.”
ZANINI, Roberto Italo.
“Bakhita”. Milano:
San Paolo, 2000, p.123-125
