A Mass for mothers - Mafalda Malavisi

My mother, Elpi, was born on 26 April 1913 into a practising Greek Orthodox family and embraced Catholicism when she married my father, Domenico Fortuna. She had a strong devotion to Our Lady and the Rosary, St Therese of Lisieux and St Joan of Arc. Mum often recounted how she attributed the life of my brother Con to both saints.

In 1939, while Mum was pregnant, she was admitted to the hospital in Jaffa, Palestine, with hypertension and life-threatening complications. The doctors considered terminating the life of the baby, but Mum pleaded with them to wait a little longer. That night she dreamt she saw both St Therese and St Joan of Arc, who was on horseback. Mum remembered being swept up on the horse by St Joan of Arc and experienced a sense of healing. The next morning to the amazement of the doctors, her condition had stabilised and there was no longer any need to terminate the life of her baby.

Shortly after Mother’s Day in 1980, my mother was struck down with a series of minor strokes. She was admitted to hospital where a few hours later she suffered a major stroke leaving her completely paralysed and in intensive care. She was conscious but only able to move her eyelids.
Mum must have felt extremely frustrated as she could hear but was unable to speak. By blinking her eyelids, she was able to engage in limited communication. The doctors’ prognosis was not good and they held little hope for her recovery.

Later, in June, after having returned from a visit to the hospital  I saw a copy of the Catholic paper, The Advocate, on our dining table. I opened it and read a notice for a Mother’s Mass to be held on 13 July , the nearest Sunday to the Feast of Our Lady of Mt Carmel. It was inviting petitions to be sent for mothers who had died or who were still living. I immediately wrote a cheque and sent this with Mum’s name to the church of Our Lady of Mt Carmel in Middle Park, Melbourne. I prayed that ,through the intercession of Our Lady, the good Lord would take her gently and give her rest.

At 2.3O am on 13 July, on the day of the Mother’s Mass, the hospital rang to inform us that Mum had died peacefully.
Since then, each year I’ve continued to send Mum’s name for the Mother’s Mass, and we make a pilgrimage to the church in Middle Park. We’ve been enrolled in the brown scapular and I promised Our Lady that I would wear a scapular medal for the rest of my life.