Divine Mercy brought to nursing home residents

By Christina Galeone
CFP Correspondent

As a teen, Mary Higgins read St. Faustina's Diary. Through it, she said, Jesus touched her heart so much that she briefly considered a religious vocation, and it kindled in her an immense love for him. But after marrying and becoming a teacher and an adjunct professor, old wounds and resentments kept her from experiencing that love as she once did.
"But thanks be to God, in late 2013, Jesus reignited the fire of love for him in my heart and showered his mercy on me," she recalled. She added, "I could again love Jesus and feel his love. After being shown such mercy, I wanted to share the Divine Mercy message with others."
After starting a Divine Mercy cenacle at Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish in Holyoke that didn't garner the participation she had hoped for, she was inspired to volunteer at Soldiers' Home, in the same city, where she began her Divine Mercy to Seniors Ministry in 2016.
She's now expanding the successful ministry. And with tremendous enthusiasm, the ministry's first Divine Mercy prayer group in the Diocese of Worcester was launched in January at Quabbin Valley Healthcare in Athol.
The prayer group is led by Carol Ambrozy and Modie Coolidge, volunteers from Our Lady Immaculate Parish in Athol, who were trained and are given support and ministry guidance by Mrs. Higgins. The nursing home residents who are interested in participating in the group attend the weekly meetings as often as they wish. With Kim Maclean, another volunteer who's hoping to lead a ministry prayer group in Baldwinville, assisting them, Mrs. Ambrozy and Mrs. Coolidge begin each meeting by reading a Bible verse. Then, they read a passage from St. Faustina's Diary. About 10 people attend the meeting. The group then offers their prayer intentions in a group prayer. Afterwards, they conclude by praying the Divine Mercy Chaplet together.        
The prayer group is meaningful to Mrs. Ambrozy for multiple reasons. Not only does she feel a connection to the residents because her own mom had been in hospice there, but she also has a strong devotion to Divine Mercy. She prays the chaplet nearly every day around 3 p.m. when her church's chapel is open. She particularly loves the towering Divine Mercy image that was placed in the chapel by Father Mateus Souza, the parish's former pastor that is on leave.    
"It's just the most beautiful, beautiful thing; you just want to be in the chapel all the time," she beamed. Noting how important she feels it is to bring the Divine Mercy message to people, especially the elderly, she added, it is "so important because Jesus asked St. Faustina to spread Divine Mercy throughout the world, and he's promised that anyone who says the chaplet, at the hour of death, he'll defend them."
Mrs. Ambrozy, who felt called to co-lead the prayer group after seeing a couple of church bulletin ministry notices, also enjoys helping the residents and their families.
"We're trying to build a family - a family atmosphere," she commented, noting that when they see someone struggling, such as a resident who was recently having difficulty hearing and another whose brother in Florida passed away, they try to assist and comfort them. She later added, "We just love doing it."
It's clear that Mrs. Coolidge feels the same. She's been leading a weekly rosary group at the same nursing home for about 20 years, and she had participated in praying the Divine Mercy chaplet at her church. So, when Mrs. Ambrozy asked her if she would co-lead the group, she didn't hesitate. "It's always delightful to be with people at nursing homes," she said. She further mentioned that in her rosary group, she had frequently prayed a decade of the chaplet and read from St. Faustina's "Diary." She added, "Some of them are already aware of the Divine Mercy."
Mrs. Coolidge believes that St. Faustina - whose relic is at Our Lady Immaculate also thanks to Father Souza - may have brought the group together. She's happy that the group gives the nursing home's residents an opportunity that they don't always have.
"It's nice to pray with a group of people; it's nice to be in a room away from your room," Mrs. Coolidge said, explaining that private shared rooms and common areas don't generally provide a peaceful atmosphere. Additionally, she commented, "I enjoy it. I enjoy being with the residents."
Mrs. Higgins is enjoying seeing the ministry touch more hearts. "The difference this ministry has made in my life is that now this ministry is my life," she shared. "My retirement was officially approved the Friday before Divine Mercy Sunday in 2019, and the Monday after, I was assured that I could put all my time and energy into developing this ministry. So now, I desire even more to thank the Lord for all the goodness he has shown me, by spreading his love and mercy as far and as wide as I am able."
She's already seen lives transformed.
"One gentleman who joined our prayer group near the very beginning always prayed for his daughters," she said, elaborating that he had been estranged from them for a long time. "In the years following, his daughters came back. They visited him, and he was blessed not only to have them back in his life, but also his grandson and his great-granddaughter. This was a family reconciled by God's mercy."
In the future, Mrs. Higgins hopes to continue spreading that mercy. She hopes that more potential volunteers from the Worcester diocese will contact her at DivineMercyMinistrytoseniors@gmail.com. She wants the ministry to reach beyond the dioceses of Worcester and Springfield.
"I hope to train many volunteer coordinators in places that I cannot easily travel to myself," she said. "Coordinators would take on the task of contacting parishes for volunteers and contacting senior communities to find places with interest in offering their residents this program. I hope to eventually expand to include not only senior communities but also prisons, so inmates can find hope and healing in God's merciful love."