Zofia’s Faith and God’s Mercy

By Nhi, on mission in Brooklyn

This month my community sister, Maria,  and one of our former volunteers, Kristine, who speaks Russian and understands a little bit of Polish, visited some of our friends: Zofia and her husband Filip.
They both were very happy to have someone outside the family that they could communicate with because they did not speak English very well. Maria and Kristine understood that at some point in his life, Filip went away from his faith and no longer prayed or went to Mass. Zofia was very sad, but always prays for him every day when she goes to Mass, when she recites the rosary, and when she prays her devotions. She carries the faith of her husband, of her children and she entrusts them to God and Mary. At the end of that visit, Maria asked Filip “Can you please pray for me and my mission?” He was surprised by that offering from Maria, but after a few minutes he smiled and said yes. We like to believe that somehow that yes was the key that opened his heart to God’s Mercy. Like Don Luigi Giussani said in one of his books that “The miracle of mercy is the desire to change. And this implies acceptance…”

A few days after their visit, Filip passed away peacefully in his sleep.

I was at the funeral Mass with Maria at the Polish parish where Zofia attends Sunday Mass. Their children and grandchildren are musicians. They played music for his funeral Mass. At the beginning of Mass, there was beautiful music mingled with the light that shone through the stained glass windows above the altar of the church. It looked like heaven was open to welcome him.