• November 12, 2021, Today’s Holy Rosary, YouTube.com/TheRosaryNetwork • Audio Podcast of this Rosary • In Memoriam of Maria Blanca: Testimonials Our family continues collecting condolences fifteen days after the passing of Maria Blanca. A former dean at a prestigious university told us yesterday, "I learned that Maria Blanca died purified, and I'm sure she will continue taking care of you all from Heaven as she did when she was on Earth." Other people do not react with such faith. A close family member said, "I've never prayed that much in my life, and the result cannot be more discouraging. My doubts have increased." Both reactions make sense. However, only through prayer, we will discern the truth of Jesus Christ. The senses cheat us, and therefore we cannot rely just on empirical observation of reality. We need the grace to accept the will of God and graciously take our cross. And to obtain the grace we need to keep knocking until our requests are answered. Ave Maria! Jesus, I Trust In You! + Mikel A. | TheRosaryNetwork.org, New York
• November 5, 2021, Today’s Holy Rosary, YouTube.com/TheRosaryNetwork • Audio Podcast of this Rosary • In Memoriam of Maria Blanca: Testimonials We try to find answers on Earth but we fail. The Devil wants to discourage us and separate us from the love of Jesus and Mary. The Christian life is based on accepting the cross and offering our suffering to purify ourselves and repair the offenses of others to God. After the struggle in this valley of tears will come to the glory of the Resurrection. My holy wife Maria Blanca, who died on October 28, said to me during her last days that we needed to learn to see the world through the lens of the faith. In yesterday’s reading (Rom 14:7-12), St. Paul said: "None of us lives for oneself, and no one dies for oneself. For if we live, we live for the Lord, and if we die, we die for the Lord." We certainly need a lot of wisdom to understand that we don’t live for ourselves but for others. Yesterday, I talked to one of the chaplains of La Paz Hospital, where Maria Blanca died, and he said: "When we, the priests, were visiting your wife, we were feeling the presence of the Holy Spirit in that ICU room." Ave Maria! Jesus, I Trust In You! Holy Souls in Purgatory, Pray For Us! + Mikel A. | TheRosaryNetwork.org, New York [The picture above was taken on July 14, 1990, in Astorga's Cathedral, on the wedding day of Mikel and Maria Blanca]
• November 4, 2021, Today’s Holy Rosary, YouTube.com/TheRosaryNetwork • Audio Podcast of this Rosary • In Memoriam of Maria Blanca: Testimonials Today, November 4, Memorial Day of St. Charles Borromeo, my lovely wife, Maria Blanca, would celebrate her birthday, 62 years old. A week ago, just hours before she died, a nurse told us that, because of the birthday, my daughters would be allowed to share more time at the ICU with her mom. We were ecstatic. Since October 11, I was the only one authorized to stay for hours at the ICU. That day, Maria Blanca was offered psychological care in a desperate attempt by the doctors to manage her extreme pain. Maria Blanca was clearly disturbed by that offer, and she loudly claimed that she just wanted to see her husband. Doctors accepted the request. During three weeks, there was apparently medical progress. Maria Blanca was saying to me: “You are saving me.” I was picturing her at home by the end of November. She just wanted to sleep in her bed and cook vegetables at home. God had different plans, and our earthly, limited projects would be abruptly canceled. It seems that Jesus and Mary wanted us in another role. We read today (Lk 15:1-10) that Jesus reveals that one single sinner who repents and converts causes big joy in Heaven. As baptized Christians, we all have received the apostolic mandate of spreading the Word. Is Maria Blanca’s sudden departure an invitation to work more seriously in the mission to help convert souls through the Rosary? One thing is clear: the prayerful life and passion at the ICU of my holy wife are already producing tangible fruits. We will stay tuned to discern the Divine Will. Ave Maria! Jesus, I Trust In You! All Saints, Pray For Us! + Mikel A. | TheRosaryNetwork.org, New York
• November 3, 2021, Today’s Holy Rosary, YouTube.com/TheRosaryNetwork • Audio Podcast of this Rosary • In Memoriam of Maria Blanca: Testimonials Maria Blanca was taking Holy Communion every day at the ICU. It was a tiny portion of the holy form, less than five millimeters because she couldn’t swallow. Her mouth and eyes were covered by sores, while her body was burned. My holy wife lived always for her family and friends, and in the last year, she doubled down in her commitment to Christ. When she entered the hospital, on August 25, after eight months of chemo sessions, she told my family: “I put myself at the foot of the cross.” She put her life in the hands of Jesus and Mary. She never complained, to the amazement of doctors and nurses. They said they never saw a patient like her. When I jokingly said to Maria Blanca that “I don’t know anyone who has attracted so many prayers.” She replied: “Que cosas dices,” (“The things you say.”). Despite her intense pain in the last four weeks at the ICU, she was happy and grateful. “What is happening to us is very good. It’s putting us closer.” My answer was: “Do you realize that what you say is very weird for almost everyone?” “Only with the eyes of faith you can understand it,” she explained to me. Ave Maria! Jesus, I Trust In You! All Saints and All Souls, Pray For Us! + Mikel A. | TheRosaryNetwork.org, New York
• November 2, 2021, Today’s Holy Rosary, YouTube.com/TheRosaryNetwork • Audio Podcast of this Rosary We observe on this day, November 2, All Souls, Día de Los Fieles Difuntos, the commemoration of all the faithful departed. Yesterday, we rejoiced with the Saints who entered the glory of Heaven. Today, we pray for all those who are in the purifying suffering of Purgatory, awaiting the day when they will join the company of saints. Since my holy wife died last Thursday, Oct 28, at least five faithful priests said to our family that Maria Blanca is in Heaven interceding for us. Many other lay members shared the same thought. I want to believe that. When Maria Blanca was at the ICU with her body painfully burned we talked about purgatory and Heaven. She said to me, convinced, that she would go to purgatory. I replied, funny: “If after your particular passion, you go there, you will stay there for only two minutes.” As you might guess, I had no idea. The divine mercy is incomprehensible. There is one certain thing, though: our prayers accelerate the path of souls to Heaven. In exchange, holy souls pray for our salvation on earth. Maria Blanca, pray for us, as you did when you were at La Paz hospital. You lived for others. You were the center of our family life. Now we need to live without this center. May God want for us to purify ourselves with our pain. Ave Maria! Jesus, I Trust In You! All Saints and All Souls, Pray For Us! + Mikel A. | TheRosaryNetwork.org, New York
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