Dedication:

These writings are dedicated to Marie Rose Ferron, the original "Mary Rose".  As a small child in Woonsocket RI, she was asked by the bishop to pray that a heresy that was rampant in the diocese to be eliminated.  She prayed and it was gone.

At age 12, she was stricken with polio and was unable to move from the neck down.  About all that she could do from that point on, was to accept her sufferings with grace and dignity, and offer her prayers to the world, for the sake of her beloved Jesus.

He rewarded her with the gift of bearing the signs of his own suffering on earth- but while the suffering for the sake of the world was welcomed by this dear soul- the fame and attention that came with the suffering was not.  So she prayed to have the pain remain, but that all visible signs of the stigmata be removed- and the Lord granted her request.

When my mother married, she was told by her physician that she and my father would never be able to have children.  My father had suffered from rheumatic fever as a child, so was likely to have a low sperm count, and my mother had broken her back as a child in such a way that impregnation was almost impossible.  A blessed nun gave my Mom a tiny relic of Marie Rose's bone and she began a novena to have children over and over again.  She promised Marie Rose, that if she should have the gift of children, then she would name her first daughter after her and dedicate her life to Marie Roses' memory.   I was born less than one year later.  My mother had seven children, thirteen grandchildren, and 4 great grandchildren (and counting).

Did my Mom keep her promise?  It turned out that Mary was my maternal grandmother's name and Rose was my grandmother's sister's name.  My father's mother was very insulted that his side of the family would not be recognized in the birth of their first child- so I was named Mary Karline (as Karline was my grandmother's name in German).  But my Mom told me the story, and I took Rose for my confirmation name and added it to all the documents except my driver's license. 

Many years passed.   Then one day, I decided that I did not want to be "Mary" anymore.  Mary was the name of the child and the woman who had been a victim of family violence her whole life.  I did not want to be a victim any more, I wanted a new life and a new name.  That is why I insist on being "Mary Rose".

Here is a link to the shrine dedicated to Marie Rose Ferron.