On May 9, 2011 in the early evening I was preparing for the mini RCIA retreat and the phone rang. When I answered, I wasn’t sure if someone was there. Then I heard a weeping voice announce, “Grace Frances, this is Joanne.  Marilyn is dead.”  I said, “Dead, dead what happened.  I only spoke to her yesterday or, was it on Saturday?”  But the message was true.  Unbelievable as it was, there was no mistaking the sorrow in Joanne’s voice.  Not knowing what to think or do, I called Sr. Theresa, Sr. Bernadette, who wasn’t home yet, Pauline, Mary and asked her to tell the Sisters in Warwick and Saddle River.

When I finally settled down to take in this message, I had this experience: I felt I actually knew death, Marilyn’s death!  It wasn’t an experience I could dismiss since I kept thinking ‘now she knows!’  What was I thinking – ‘now she knows?’ I recalled all the times that she, Sr. Joanne and I would discuss something we read.  We often talked about meeting God and what it would be like.  There are so many wonderfully discussed things by theologians about the Living God that so moved us.  These thoughts brought smiles to my lips.

Then there were the thoughts of these past six or seven months.  The new Hope Community; of Marilyn in hospitalization for more than six weeks.  Sr. Marilyn had been home from the hospital for  4 ½ months and was discharged on Christmas Eve.  We planned a Christmas dinner brought in from a local restaurant that the Cabrini Sisters told us about.  We had a wonderful Christmas.

Srs. Tiziana and Marilyn Trowbridge joined us along with some others.  It was a wonderful day.  Marilyn looked so good considering all she had been through.  The members of Hope Community (Srs. Theresa, Bernadette, Mariapia, Associate Thomasina, Marilyn and I) had many wonderful community times together as we discussed our Chapter call – Compassion and Hope. We were planning to discuss the latest issue of “Conversations” at our meeting scheduled for May 13. Marilyn now knows!

Birthdays were celebrated together.  In fact we celebrated Theresa, Thomasina and Licia only the week before.  Easter was really special.  Four of us went to the Eucharistic Celebration at St. Francis Xavier Parish Church.  The Liturgy was absolutely a moment of Resurrection, followed by dinner at Marilyn’s with the same restaurant bringing our dinner.  Srs. Tiziana, Marilyn Trowbridge, Licia, Mary Jo and Teresita joined us for a wonderful afternoon and evening.

Our next celebration was to be Marilyn’s 75th birthday on May 22.  It was about this that Marilyn and I spoke on Saturday, May  7.  And now we have wonderful memories of a happy 4 ½ months we had together.  We lived the whole life of Christ from Christmas to Easter to the third week of Easter.  Marilyn was always smiling, cheerful, and peaceful during these months.  Yes, she had physical ups and downs.  Her last bout was trying to regulate a medicine she was on and yes, she was still recovering after surgery. But Marilyn was happy to be alive and enjoying beautiful days, loving friendships and her deepening relationship with God. That she went so fast (as it seems);  it seems she was so ready.  Perhaps that explains the quiet, peaceful joy of her presence these 4 ½ months.