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We celebrate the life of Sr. Mary Attilia,
From Sr. Marie Paul's presentation at the Wake-- In thinking over Sr. Attilia's life, both before and while I knew her, the one phrase that particularly stands out for me is "spiritual mother." First of all, she loved her family so much. Sr. Attilia was the oldest girl of 14 children, and three of her sisters have told me that she became like a second mother to them. She would get up early in the morning, go down to the cellar and wash the laundry by hand so that her mother wouldn't have to do it. She dropped out of school at a young age so that she could help out at home. I'm from a large family myself, and I have no idea how she managed over the years to stay in such close contact with each member of her family, but she did. Her nephew Joe told me that she truly was the spiritual leader of her family. Sr. Attilia loved her family deeply and stayed close to them, always offering her love and support and reminding them of a faithful God who loves them. The proof of her love has poured in during these days-through the numerous phone calls, cards and faxes from her brothers and sisters, cousins, nieces and nephews. She was a spiritual mother in the community, too. A few years ago, she shared this with a few of the sisters: "With God's help and my cooperation, I can be numbered among the Pauline apostles of Christ, and make my own the three great loves...Christ, the Church and humanity." She entered in the early, difficult days of the foundation of our province and shared in the hard work and poverty of the sisters; after finishing high school and obtaining a master's degree in sociology, she taught the younger sisters; she served as superior in three communities; she tirelessly dedicated herself to each person she served in the apostolate, down to the last detail: We all remember when Sr. Attilia took it on herself to follow up with all the "special orders"-books that were out of print or hard to find. Sr. Attilia would scour the house looking for that one copy of the book to give to the person who needed it. That's how much she cared. And when she was no longer able to give of herself through our active apostolate-something that cost her greatly--she asked Sr. Christopher and myself to be with her in her final days, to remind her of God's merciful love and to remind her to offer herself for everyone. In her typically gracious manner, she asked Sr. Christopher and me to thank everyone who cared for her during her last days: "Please make sure that everyone knows that I am ever grateful to God for those who have assisted me--Priests, Sisters, Nurses, Doctors; and may our Lord and Master bless you in every way." What has impressed me most over these past years and especially the past eight months: I have witnessed someone human, someone like me, who shared some of my quirks and was yet so loveable, who allowed God to work in her, and gradually entrusted herself completely to the Divine Master. Her peaceful, serene journey to the Father testified to how completely she surrendered herself to God. The last "real conversation" we had with Sr. Attilia was on her second-to-last day at the hospital, less than two weeks ago. Sr. Christopher came in to see her, and instead of looking at Sr. Christopher, she kept looking off to the side, instead of right at her. Finally Sr. Attilia said, "I think the Father is calling me." Sr. Christopher was caught off-guard, and asked her, "What Father?", and she leaned forward because Sr. Attilia had spoken so softly. As she looked into her eyes, Sr. Attilia whispered, "Can't you see? Can't you see?" I truly believe that, like the faithful virgins, Sr. Attilia was radiantly ready to go to the Father. I found an unusual but I daresay very true definition of a saint in an essay by Frederick Buechner that seems to fit Sr. Attilia: "...A saint is a life-giver. I hadn't known that. A saint is a human being with the same hang-ups and dark secrets and abysses as the rest of us. But if a saint touches your life, you come alive in a new way..." Thank you, Sr. Attilia, for all the ways you have touched our lives,
allowing God to work through you, giving us life in new ways! We
will never be the same, having known you and shared our lives with
you, and having been loved by you. An anecdote shared by Sr. Joan Paula: Because of Sr. Attilia's various muscle problems she did not generally get through her meals quickly, so as part of the evening kitchen clean up crew, we always had the honor of sending her to bed with a good night wish. So, with friendly banter we would say this little poem about the bed bugs which always got a rise out of Sr. Attilia. And she would respond, "That's not the right way to say it! It goes like this: Good night Sr. Attilia - you didn't think I was listening did you? I was with Sr. Attilia just an hour and half before she entered the Lord's sight. I offered this little prayer out loud as I said good bye to her. Sr. Attilia I'd like to offer you a new version of this poem: Good night.
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