This couple spent their honeymoon helping Mother Teresa’s nuns

Last updated on: September 10, 2016 at 10:02 pm by CNA Daily News

This couple spent their honeymoon helping Mother Teresa’s nuns 2016-09-10T22:02:00+00:00 CNA Daily News

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Rome, Italy, Sep 10, 2016 / 04:02 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Among the thousands of people who came to Rome to participate in the canonization of Mother Teresa of Calcutta, were Lourdes and Chema: two Spaniards who have always been close to the saint and the Missionaries of Charity, whom they dedicated their honeymoon to help serve.

“We spent four summers helping the Missionaries of Charity. The first summer we went to a home for the mentally ill in Romania. Chema was in one house and I was in the other,” Lourdes told CNA.

“We lived their daily life with the sisters, their life of prayer and their outside work in the homes. Every Saturday for example they went to a psychiatrist to get help for the patients,” she recalled.

“The next year we went to Ethiopia to a home they have in the capital with a thousand sick and dying people where they had different sections: adults, children, women.”

“We went to participate in their spirituality and also to help those children with a childhood development program they taught us prior in Madrid” and “the truth is it was a very special summer,” the young mother of four emphasized, who was in Rome with her eldest son who is four.

“Every day we had Mass early in the morning and then each person went to their place of work, then we gave them (the children) their food until it was time for then to take their nap and then we went to lunch ourselves. Then we gave them their therapy again, played with them and we went to the exposition of the Blessed Sacrament they had every day,” Chema said.

Lourdes could not keep from smiling remembering that “it was very funny because at nine in the evening the sisters let out several watch dogs for security and we all had to be in our place.”

“Daily life was very hard, but the first year has the greatest impact on you. In Romania we helped with seriously ill adults, and in Ethiopia with the children, which was easier. We saw terrible illnesses and a lot of suffering.”

Chema noted that “the missionaries always had a smile on their faces, they never complained and they were constantly working. We never saw them idle. They were very affectionate with us.”

But perhaps what most stands out in their story is that the devoted several days of their honeymoon after getting hitched to help the Missionaries of Charity instead of continuing to travel. “We got married in 2009, that summer we were also in Ethiopia, we decided to also spend our honeymoon helping the Missionaries of Charity and we spent five days together with them of the fifteen we traveled. They were very grateful because we also brought them a very nice donation from the school where I work in Madrid.”

Chema said that “what gets a lot of people's attention is that we spent five days of our honeymoon doing that because that's not normal.” “We did it as an expression of gratitude and because we knew that when had children it would be really hard to go back there. We had spent several very wonderful summers such that we wanted to do it again,” Lourdes said, at which she was moved to tears.

Europe

Previous Post

September 10, 2016

It's Jesus who radically sets us free, Pope Francis says

Next Post

September 11, 2016 The brutal, powerful 9/11 stories of Catholic priests

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Americas Asia - Pacific Europe Middle East - Africa Uncategorized US Vatican

Select a Month November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

I made a rash vow that cost me my only child after a military victory. Who am I?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Gideon Jephthah Samson Barak