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Recently, we had the privilege of accompanying Francine, our friend from the group, Fraternité du Pain, in her final journey to the Kingdom. Let me tell you something about her.
A terrible accident when she was two years old left Francine with some handicaps. Yet she was determined to live on her own, and she succeeded rather well with help from her family.
At our meetings with the Fraternité du Pain, when Francine shared in her monotonic voice, she was always frank, sometimes funny, and often wise. She had faith and was not shy about proclaiming it.
Within the last six months Francine was diagnosed with cancer and underwent two major surgeries. During this time of medical treatments and uncertainty, she discovered the duty of the moment which became an anchor for her in her anxiety.
She would often phone us after that for encouragement to live it out and to have confidence in God.
One day last August, when I was visiting her in a nursing home, Francine opened her heart and talked for an hour. Her life struck me as an example of the foolishness of the Gospel, which is so wise.
Francine said that when she was young, she dreamed about earning lots of money, getting a house, a nice car, etc., but her life did not end up that way.
The words of the Gospels were always her consolation, especially: Blessed are the poor, for theirs is the Kingdom of God (Lk 6:20). She did not understand how, but this word was somehow burned into her.
She said that one of her friends once lamented that she didn’t have enough money and dreamed of being rich. Francine answered her, “Our recompense will be on the other side”.
She talked about her suffering, which she said she accepted for her sins. She said that suffering is like a priest during confession, and she made the sign of the cross like a priest giving absolution.
She said she knew that this was so because she felt that suffering made her heart lighter and that her heart was filled with love.
She also talked about the mercy of God. Francine said that there was a time in her life when she was like Mary Magdalene, but each time she sinned she went to confession, and eventually she stopped committingthis particular sin.
She said that she thought of the thief on the cross, and how Jesus said to him, “This day you will be with me in Paradise” (Lk 23:43).
Last Friday, our friend Francine left us for “the other side.” May her recompense be great!
