| Every day, every moment, the sisters take turns tending to Pearl, condemned to an untimely death. They provide food and care, change her clothes and sheets, trim her toenails, and show her immense kindness. Pearl, for her part, hurls insults and abuse at the sisters in despair, as if seeking revenge for all the atrocities during her miserable existence. Yet the sisters, unperturbed, continue to serve her, their smiles undiminished.
One day, a glimmer of hope pierces the antechamber of death. Pearl begins to open her heart, seeing the sisters’ continued kindness toward her. She asks one of them, “Why are you so nice to me when I constantly insult you?”
This is the moment the sister has been waiting for, the moment to break the ice. She must seize the opportunity. She replies, “Our God told us that you are the body of Christ. That is why we treat your body with respect and love.”
Pearl is stunned. She thinks she’s dreaming. No one has ever spoken to her like this! The sister isn’t joking! After a moment of silence, Pearl’s tone completely changes. She asks, “Now wait… You mean your God told you that?”
“Yes,” the sister replies.
“Well then, I would really like to know your God! If this God tells you to treat me this way, I want to know that God!”
The sisters then quickly called the priest, the Chaplain of the home. He came to see Pearl several times. He shared the Word of God with her frankly, explaining the most significant moments in the life of Jesus. Pearl didn’t miss a word of it. Fascinated, she listened intently, her eyes wide with wonder. She was thirsty for more. When the priest spoke to her about the Eucharist, explaining the meaning of the Last Supper and the Mass, she exclaimed, “If that’s what Mass is, then I want to receive Communion!”
There wasn’t a second to lose. The priest baptized her, administered the sacrament of Confirmation, and gave her her First Holy Communion. After welcoming Jesus into her heart, she said, “This is the first time a man has entered into me, not to take advantage of me, but to give me everything!”
She then confided the tragedy of her life: “My mother was a drug addict. When I was ten, she forced me into prostitution on the street. She needed the money I earned to buy her drugs. How many men, and sometimes women, have abused me these past ten years… I can’t even count them anymore! I contracted AIDS and now I’m going to die; I’m only twenty… But now I’m so happy to have Jesus!”
For the first time in her life, Pearl felt a profound inner peace. The next day, Pearl exchanged a few words with the nuns and noticed they were wearing wedding rings. She asked them, “Are you married?”
“We are not married to a man,” they replied. “But we are the spouse of Jesus.”
“What? One can become the spouse of Jesus? Is that true? Is that possible? Then I want to become His bride too! But… why would he want to marry a failure like me, who was a prostitute for ten years and is going to die of AIDS?” The sisters had tears in their eyes. They looked at each other in silence, overcome with emotion, unable to hide it.
As night fell, they wondered, “What can we do? How can we give her what she wants? We must call Mother Teresa immediately! She will tell us what to do. This girl is going to die soon…”
Mother Teresa’s answer seemed obvious to them. She understood everything at once. There was no room for discussion. Not a single moment should be wasted.
Now what happened the next day remains a secret of their community. Nevertheless, a few days later, Pearl went back to the heavenly Father, wearing the habit of the Missionaries of Charity. (See PS1 and PS2) |
