Mary, Lend Me Your Heart

By Sarah H., on mission in Ecuador

Sra. Consuela has been a friend of the missionaries since our arrival in Ecuador 25 years ago, and she offers an incredibly concrete example of following in the footsteps of Mary. She has known each and every missionary and prays each day for missionaries past, current, and future. Even before my arrival, she had been praying for me… what a welcome! She thanked me for my yes to go on mission and encouraged me to continue giving my “fiat” like Mary each and every day. I never could have imagined the difficulty that surrounded her own “fiat.”

The next time I saw Sra. Consuela, it was at her house after she had asked us to come visit her son Gabriel, who had recently returned from the hospital and was in an incredibly difficult state. He battles with the effects not only of schizophrenia but also dementia, among other health problems. Sra. Consuela herself is fairly elderly and it’s not easy for her to care for Gabriel. Even still, each day she chooses to pick up this cross of compassion as best she can. Upon seeing Gabriel’s situation, my heart was filled with great sorrow. I had never experienced anything like that. Gabriel recounted that he felt his parents had abandoned him in the hospital. He kept repeating the words “My parents have abandoned me”. Although the remark was likely unintentional due to his mental illness, you could see that it deeply pierced Sra. Consuela’s heart. She left Gabriel’s room to return to the kitchen where we found her crying. I couldn’t help but connect the situation with the words our Lord uttered from the cross… “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me” (John). I was completely unsure of how to respond. “Mary, lend me your heart”. I looked to Sarah (my teammate) as she received Sra. Consuela into her arms, tears still streaming down her face. In this moment, not only was it Sra. Consuela who participated in the suffering of her son, but it was Sarah and me as well. I looked to Mama Mary and she taught me how to respond in love. She showed me my teammate Sarah’s response and taught me how to love more and more in the moment. With the situation hardly resolved, Sra. Consuela thanked us for coming, calling us her angels. We made plans to accompany them to the hospital the following week and said our goodbyes.  

The next week, we accompanied Sra. Consuela, her husband, and Gabriel to the hospital where they hoped to sort out his medicine. While in the waiting room, my teammate Sarah and I prayed the rosary silently. Once again, I was unsure of how to respond. How can I love in this situation? I again encountered the heart of Mary as my eyes landed upon a statue. It portrayed the famous Pieta… but rather than the crucified body of Jesus, it was with the child Jesus draped in Our Lady’s arms. Although this wasn’t a clear answer of how I could help, it was a reminder that I was called to stay, called to remain.  The statue didn’t portray a contradiction but rather a presence…a presence that whispers “I am here. I am available. Whatever you need, Lord.” The weight of this uneasy situation is not mine to bear…nor is it Gabriel’s or Sra. Consuela’s. Jesus desires to hold our sufferings. He desires to hold us. “Come to me, all you who are weary and carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest… for my yoke is easy, and my burden is light” (Matthew 11:28-30).