Finding a New Family

Marie has alway been on call for me.

By: Pat Yongue

The doorbell rang, and I hurried to answer. I was expecting my parish priest, who was coming in response to my request for the Anointing of the Sick and the Eucharist. When I opened the door, I saw that he had not come alone. I soon found myself wondering about the visitor he had brought. Who is this woman? Her smile filling the room, she extended her hand and introduced herself as Marie Lovett.

Then she sat down on a corner of the sofa and leaned forward toward me in my recliner. We chatted, and she asked about my condition. Marie’s warmth, her genuine concern, and even her body language made me aware of the Holy Spirit’s presence.

“Call Me.” It was a welcome discovery, for on that late summer day of 2003, I was feeling very low. I am a woman in my mid-fifties who has battled a genetic autoimmune disorder since childhood. For years, I didn’t know what was causing my disabilities. My illness baffled many physicians in major “cutting edge” teaching and research facilities. Did I have multiple sclerosis? Crohn’s disease? Leukemia? No one seemed to know. Once I was even classed as a “psychiatric case”—this despite the fact that I consistently had distinctive, measurable symptoms that I could not have…

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