“One fewer pasqueflower”

A testimony by Romulo Tae-Ho Lee, Seoul, Korea

I sometimes pick flowers in the field or on the mountain, but there is one flower that I never pick.  It is pasqueflower, called “Grandma Flower”in Korea.  It is a decent-looking flower with a light purple color.  It is quite large and heavy for such a small plant.  Its stem is weak and seems to struggle to sustain the weight of the flower.  This flower reminds me of our grandmothers, who spent all their energy raising their children and whose backs are bent like this flower.

Cecilia Lim, who lives in Naju, is like this flower.  She has had a difficult life raising her children until they got married.  But, instead of relying on them, she lives alone in a rented room.  She was not very worried about her bent back, as she thought that it comes naturally with age.  But she was suffering much pain because of arthritis in her knees.  She visited many hospitals and took many medicines, but pains continued.  Her younger brother bought her an expensive medicine for 250,000 won (about US$200), but even this did not work.

Grandma Cecilia finally heard about the Chapel in Naju and began visiting it in February 1992, simultaneously discontinuing all her medication.  She thought again and again, “The 250,000 won could have been offered to God.” 

From that time on, Grandma Cecilia frequently offered Masses for the souls in Purgatory and for others still living with money that could have been spent on medicine.  She came to every Holy Hour prayer meeting on Thursdays and overnight prayer meeting on First Saturdays.  For four months, she prayed during every visit to Naju, “I was so sinful that I deserved hell, but this sinner received the forgiveness of sins through Baptism and the Lord’s Precious Blood.  Please give me the graces for conversion.”  In her fifth month of pilgrimage to Naju, she suddenly saw flames of fire descending to her like lightning during an overnight prayer meeting.  She felt that her whole body was becoming hot like a ball of fire.  After the prayer meeting, she went home and listened to recordings of the messages.  Suddenly, she felt her aching leg becoming hot and the pains disappearing completely.  She also saw an image of a serpent being trampled to death and cut into pieces.  At the same time, the sinusitis which she had suffered from for 20 years was gone.  Two chronic illnesses were healed at the same time.

After receiving the grace of healing, Grandma Cecilia began helping others zealously.  She helped an old man who was paralyzed and also was suffering from Alzheimer’s disease.  When she washed his clothes stained with urine and feces, the odor was unbearable.  But when she prayed, “Lord and Blessed Mother, thank you so much for letting me do this,” the bad odor was replaced with a fragrance.  Grandma Cecilia offered some money in the Chapel in the name of the old man.  Amazingly the next day, his mental condition became normal, ate meals well, and went to the bathroom by himself.

Grandma Cecilia still had a badly bent back.  Because of this, she was not able to carry heavy items.  This was something that could not be solved by surgery.  Every day during Lent in 1994, she prayed before the Blessed Mother’s statue in the Chapel, “Jesus! Blessed Mother!  Please save the poor sinners who fill the world.  Please take care of our deserted poor neighbors.  And, if there are some leftover graces, please straighten my back as You healed my leg.”  Toward the end of Lent, her body suddenly began shaking and her shoulders and sides began aching.  It was difficult to continue praying, but she kept on meditating on Jesus Christ’s sufferings and praying.  On Easter Sunday, her badly-bent back became straightened.  There is now one fewer pasqueflower.