The other day I was asked to spend an hour with Maria Teresa, our little Maria Teresa, who has Down syndrome and is fifty-seven years old. She is slowly preparing her journey to go close to Jesus. But she still asks much of us — trust, patience, effort, and hope — so that we can keep her with us as long as possible, according to Jesus's desire.
This morning, then — an hour was not enough just to give her breakfast — I had the privilege of being called to spend this time with her. Sip by sip, smile by smile, I tried to help her love life, to give her the desire to eat. I saw at once that I should not rush her; I should not stand; I should sit down.
Isn't this prayer? Not to hurry. To sit. To kneel. I began to say Hail Marys to her. Now and then I would sing them; sometimes I whispered them, and I had the impression that with this method, the spoonfuls went down more easily. It takes time to say an Ave; the time it takes for her to swallow a spoonful also takes time, and together we spent some time. I was content, and it seemed to me she was too.
So to pray, sometimes, is simply to find simple gestures and put soul into them, and together to let yourself be looked at by Christ.
- Fr. Andrea Roberti, 1999
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