A Shower of Roses reopens in time for Advent

By Christina Galeone
CFP Correspondent

In February, Patricia Quintiliani, the co-owner with her husband Donato Quintiliani of A Shower of Roses religious gift shop in West Boylston, experienced intense weakness. One night, when she was particularly frail, her daughter, Lisa Quintiliani, convinced her to go to the hospital emergency room. However, after receiving a blood transfusion to treat anemia, her health continued to decline and her blood pressure spiked. The Quintilianis had to close their shop.
The months that followed included a hospital stay, time in a rehabilitation center, medical appointments and three seasons of much-needed rest. The Quintilianis struggled to keep the shop from permanently closing. But their faith remained strong. And just in time for Advent and Christmas, their prayers were answered. Their shop, which is located at 360 West Boylston St. and sells books that are in line with the teachings of the Church, beautiful Nativity sets, rosary beads, religious jewelry, medals and a variety of inspirational gifts and delicious local honey, reopened on Nov. 30.
“I’m so happy!” Mrs. Quintiliani effused. “It feels really, really good to be back.”
The faith that kept Mrs. Quintiliani’s dream of reopening alive is the same faith that inspired her to open A Shower of Roses on Sept. 20, 2004. When she and her daughter visited an exhibit of the relics of St. Therese de Lisieux – the beloved saint who wrote that she hoped to send down a shower of roses once she was in heaven – in 2000, it had a profound effect on them. She had been an extremely active member of The Blue Army, which is now called the World Apostolate of Fatima, but she needed to find a new way to serve God since she didn’t think she could handle the demands of being chapter president for much longer. The shop, which has relocated a couple of times, was the solution.
“It means … I should always be doing something for God,” she said. The shop has become a cherished calling. “I don’t want to go before God with empty hands.”   
Mrs. Quintiliani loves how the shop and its small chapel affect people’s lives. A customer recently reminded her of how much comfort she felt going there when her mom was terminally ill. Now that, sadly, her brother is in the hospital with cancer, Mrs. Quintiliani gave her a St. Peregrine medal to pin to his pillow. St. Peregrine is the patron of cancer patients.
“I feel like that’s why we’re here,” she said. “St. Therese wants to give comfort to these people.”
And while Mrs. Quintiliani is also thankful for all the “roses” – paper and living ones – that the saint known as the Little Flower has showered upon her, she’s infinitely grateful to God for carrying her through her struggles.  
“God really gave me a lot of grace – a lot of blessings,” said Mrs. Quintiliani, who prayed the rosary two to three times a day and made rosary beads and chaplets while she was sick. “I never felt afraid.”  
And she’s so thankful to her customers who have stopped by to welcome her back.
“I can’t thank everyone enough; they’ve been so good to me,” she remarked, noting that her children, grandchildren and customers have been a blessing. She warmly added, “People are so wonderful. People are so good.”
Currently the shop is open noon to 5 p.m. Thursday through Saturday. Mrs. Quintiliani hopes to return to running the shop full time. She laughed when confiding that she also hopes to do so until she “drops.”
“It [her sickness] was a cross to carry, but I learned so much to make a difference in my life and in my family’s life,” she assured, noting that she realized she has to let go of stress and worry over things she can’t control and take everything one day at a time. “He [God] showed me more how to rely on him for everything.”