My first encounter with the friars was in 1995, a year after my husband, Greg, died. I needed a place for a retreat to think about God’s plan for the future. With a short notice, early in the evening, my sister, who also lost her husband, and I were welcomed into the Center by friar Angelo Catania. Since then, I have spent private retreats here at the Mount. Through the years, this place has not only been my spiritual home but a physical home. I am always welcome here.
In 2020, I retired from medical practice. That was another death, albeit a small one. It was a loss of my way of life spanning more than 40 years. Needless to say, it was rough. The Provincial at that time, friar Wayne Hellmann, offered me a job as a volunteer medical consultant for the friars (with their consent).
Ministering to the friars is an enlightening experience. I learned how to accept Sister Death, as St. Francis called her, with grace, equanimity and full trust in God’s mercy.
I learned humility in the obedience of the friars to their Provincial, despite their [occasional] misgivings.
They live as a community of men with different personalities. Sick people are hard to deal with sometimes, and sick friars are no exception. Yet the friars are consistently kind and patient.
There is poverty in wealth but abundance in joy. They are joyful mendicants. I don’t hear them talk about their needs.
They have been my traveling companions. During these trips they introduced me to saints unheard of by me.
I marveled at the beauty of God’s creation in the mountains of Bavaria, in the sunsets in Santa Fe, and in the White Sands dunes of New Mexico. It makes me reflect on Laudato Si!, the care of the Common Earth, an encyclical by Pope Francis.
I had a glimpse of social injustice that beset our world today. The Holy Cross Retreat Center in Mesilla Park, New Mexico is a sanctuary for displaced families. I have visited and spoken to homeless youth in Posada Guadalupe in San Antonio, TX. These places are run by the Franciscan Friars. Fratelli Tutti, another encyclical of Pope Francis, proclaims that we are all brothers and sisters—one family in God.
Maybe being an honorary member of the Franciscan Province of Our Lady of Consolation is that fulfillment of my promise to God as a young girl that I would become religious if He healed my mother—with a bonus—no vows of poverty, obedience, or chastity. To quote St. Francis, “For it is giving that we receive.” I have received more than I gave, and what they have given me is PRICELESS.
These are the words Dr. Veza shared the day she was made an Honorary Member of our Province. In the warmth of welcome, the shared journey of faith, and the unwavering recognition of human dignity, Dr. Veza’s experiences echo the spirit of Nostra Aetate. In “our time,” as that document calls this age, the Gospel calls us to encounter the other with respect, compassion, and fraternity. For Dr. Veza, those encounters with the friars have been not only moments of grace—but a lifelong reminder that, in God’s family, no one is a stranger.
