Dear Brother,

I would like to notify you that I have ordered and asked a florist in your area to deliver roses to the Shrine on Saturday, May 8th.  Could I please ask you to place these on Mary’s altar in honor of my mother, who passed away one year ago Mother’s Day weekend.

My Mom had made a vow 48 years ago upon her first visit to the Shrine that, if she could have a child, she would return with that child every year on Mother’s Day as a thank you.  We did return every year, even after the death of my dad in 1978, on Mother’s Day.  We brought with us every year a dozen roses for Mary.  The love my Mom had for Mary cannot be measured.  I was the only child she had and she believed that if it hadn’t been for her prayers to Mary for help, I would never have been born.

Mom passed away when she was 91 years old in 2003.  This is just my small way of letting you know I am trying to continue the “tradition” even though I will not be making the trip physically to Carey this year.  I miss both my mother and dad terribly, but I am happy to know they are together, in a much better place.  I have a loving, understanding husband, and my mother-in-law is still with us as my “other mother!”  Thank you for helping me continue the promise my mother made so many years ago.

AE: Ohio