After a stroke left him paralyzed on the left side, Joe Brogan moved into the Gainesville Health and Rehab Center. Though he was raised Protestant, he started attending the weekly rosary there led by members of the Legion of Mary.
“It was calming,” said Brogan. “And honestly when I started praying it every day, nice things started to happen.” He began to read about the Catholic Church, and one day at the rosary when they asked if anyone wanted to become Catholic, he said yes.
Brogan and others who live in residential facilities can’t make it to the parish for evening Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA) classes at Holy Trinity Church in Gainesville. So, the catechesis came to them. Deacon Gerard-Marie Anthony created a curriculum and taught the legionaries, who in turn taught Brogan.
At these retirement homes, “all their physical needs are met — they have food, they have shelter — but they’re out of the mainstream of life,” said Debbie Brigham, president of the Our Lady of Grace Legion of Mary praesidium, or chapter. “Many of them can’t leave, they can’t just go to church. They’re at the mercy of us coming to them.”
At the Wellington at Lake Manassas, Jeanie Trimper began attending the rosary and Mass when she visited her Catholic fiancé, Melvin Engbert. “I found great comfort in it,” said Trimper, who was Methodist. She, too, became interested in becoming Catholic, but wasn’t able to drive to the church after dark when the classes were held, so she began to receive instruction at the nursing facility.
“It was a little daunting at first but the ladies made it very easy and interesting. They displayed such love,” she said. “I learned by their example. I can’t say enough good things about the Legion of Mary ladies.”
Brogan and Trimper came into the church at Holy Trinity in May. Trimper received first Communion and confirmation. “It was very moving,” she said. “All my family was there and all of Mr. Engbert’s family was there — it was very touching.”
Brogan almost didn’t make it to the Mass after his driver canceled that morning, but the Legion came to the rescue. “I started praying the rosary and one of the people who was giving the (RCIA) class texted me and said, ‘We’re here, please come out front,’ ” he said. Brogan received baptism, first Communion and confirmation. “I made sure to fast beforehand, so when I had my first taste of the Eucharist I was nice and hungry,” he said.
The mission to minister to the homebound continues, said Deacon Anthony. In addition to preparing people for the sacraments of initiation, “We’ve had three couples from some of these facilities that we help prepare for marriage,” he said. “You can see the need because a lot of the people in the nursing homes want to be right with God if God calls (them) home. This is on their mind. So, the harvest is definitely plentiful.”
Maraist can be reached at [email protected] or Twitter @zoeymaraistACH.
