Friday, January 25th, three days after visiting with Sister, I
went for my surgery. The tech read the PET scan and started
the ultrasound. She asked me if the doctor had given me
medicine for the fluid. I told her that he had not prescribed
anything but that he had explained that the only way to get
the fluid would be with a needle and tube because it would
be too dangerous to extract all of the fluid.
She called the Radiologist who was doing my surgery.
He looked at the PET scan and told me that there was maybe
3
oz of fluid, which wasn’t even enough for testing . The
radiologist was amazed when I told him about Sister Dulce
and what Papa had done. One nurse teared up and gave me
a hug and we all agreed that this was a miracle.
The followingWednesday the doctor was also amazed. He
told me that he didn’t want to scare me but he really expected,
that by the time we did the surgery, there would be at least
2
litres of fluid. He closed my chart and said, “I don’t know
what to say, I have no idea where the fluid went.”
I asked him if he believed in miracles. He said yes! I told
him what Sister Dulce and Papa did and he told me when I
go back to see my nun, give her a big hug and tell her Dr.
Schuller said, thanks for the miracle.
In 22 months, I’ve had 40 radiation treatments, 27
chemos, a lot of sickness, a lot of medicines, and a lot of
testing but most of all, a lot of support. I’m writing my
story in hopes that it may help others believe in their faith.
Remember, Papa is there with you the whole time and so is
Sister Dulce. She’s my angel.
Prayer is always the answer. My husband, his family, my
family, our friends and friends of friends have been praying
for me.
Being serious, I know times get tough when you go
through sickness but, please never give up on your faith.
What Papa, through Sister Dulce, has done for me was
amazing and I do believe when I shared my story with my
two doctors and their staff, which is a wonderful team, it
made them all believers.
I still have a way to go but, I do believe as long as I keep
my faith its going to be ok.
Thank you Papa, Sister Dulce and the prayer partners
who are so kind.
Rhonda Burke
Testimonials
A Tribute to St. Joseph
Sunday, March 17, 2012 was a beautiful, sunny day
where over 700 people gathered at the Cypress Springs
Mercedarian Prayer Center to enjoy the Catholic tradition
of honoring St. Joseph. The Fourth
Annual St. Joseph’s Altar filled the
Dolphin Room in the Ministry
Center and included items that were
symbolic of St. Joseph and Jesus’
lives. Besides these symbolic items
such as mudica which represents the
sawdust from St. Joseph’s occupation
as a carpenter, and pignolattis
which represents the pine cones
that Jesus may have played with as
a child, the altar was also adorned
with personal items from hundreds
who contributed paintings, statues,
crucifixes and much more.
Many
local
restaurants
and friends of Cypress Springs
Mercedarian Prayer Center shared
their blessings by providing meatless
dishes to be shared with all who
visited the Altar. The generosity of
those who donated was so abundant that we also shared food
with the Bishop Ott Homeless Shelter and several retirement
centers here in Baton Rouge.
Again, we would like to
acknowledge and thank everyone who
made this Fourth Annual St. Joseph
Altar such an inspiration and spirit-
filled event, from the local restaurants
to the hundreds of volunteers who
worked relentlessly to make this event
a huge success. It brought Catholic
tradition and the community as a
whole together. Even those who
visited the Altar from other Christian
faiths shared that they had a better
understanding and respect for this
great tradition.
On behalf of Sister Dulce Maria
and the Mercedarian Sisters of the
Blessed Sacrament, a heartfelt thank
you and blessing to the Friends of St.
Joseph. If you would like to volunteer
to help with this event next year, please
call the Center at 225/752-8480.
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