What did you feel when you were diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)?

The first sensation was one of crushing, as if a truck had run over me. Then my first thought: my time is up, I will no longer be able to hug my children. But in that first moment, hope also appeared; something told me I had to face it and not stop enjoying every day I had left.

Living with ALS (Photo: courtesy) (by Rosa Jané)

A few weeks ago, a large group of your friends participated in a novena to Sister Clare Crockett, Servant of the Home of the Mother, praying for your healing. The motto of the recently declared Servant of God was: “All or nothing.” How do you feel knowing that so many people are praying for you and your family?

I feel so grateful and comforted. I feel very close to all the people who care for me and pray for me; they make me know that I am not alone. They make me feel that we are supporting each other, that the need of one is the need of all. It has made me understand that human beings live by love, and it has made me see the power of prayer and the strength that comes from living together. What Sister Clare did was beautiful, seeing how prayer through her intercession spread, organized by a good friend who empathized with my pain and knew how to give form to this impulse of love that has reached so many people.

Print with the prayer to Sister Clare (Photo: Mother’s Home)

For several years, you have been a teacher and tutor at La Vall de Bellaterra School (Barcelona). Many of your students are aware of your illness and admire your testimony. What would you tell them about the attitude you have adopted in the face of the difficult trial you are going through at this time in your life?

I would tell them that life should be savored every minute, not to get upset over trivial things. I would tell them to build bridges with people to enjoy life together. I would also tell them that it’s the little things that make us happy. And above all, that we must make true friendships, take care of our family and friends, and that making the most of our time means loving others. Look to the Virgin Mary and kiss her every day.

Rosa, during your marriage, you had to care for your husband because of his long illness. How did you manage to survive in front of the family?

It was truly everyone’s business. I devoted myself to caring for José Manuel, and my children showed a fortitude that still amazes me. But José Manuel continued to be the pillar of the family. Despite being so ill, he never stopped being a father for a single moment; he never stopped being there for us, laughing, scolding… whatever was needed. I recall his last week of life, already completely hopeless and with his last remaining strength, organizing the entire birthday party for my son Lucas, who was turning eighteen. We weren’t in the mood to celebrate, and he gave us the key: we must never stop celebrating life. Life is such a great gift that not a single minute can be wasted.

Family birthday celebration (Photo: provided by Rosa Jané)

You recently had to experience the illness and death of your mother, to whom you were very close. How do you think we should care for our grandparents and the elderly in their years of dependence and fragility?

Accompanying the people we love until the end is like giving them a last kiss. Besides, when we care for the most fragile people, we become better ourselves. They enrich us because they bring out the best in us. It’s hard to understand, but in pain there is love, and so the more sacrifice you make, the more you love a person, and the feeling of love and unity grows the more the other person needs you and depends completely on you. That union creates the need to be together in order to love them. I also notice it now in the people who care for me.

When you see so many trials that the Lord has placed before you throughout your life, what do you say to Him in the intimacy of your heart? How do you give meaning and purpose to all that suffering?

I thank Him for giving me a very full life, but I can’t help feeling that everything has passed too quickly. I ask Him to let me savor everything He has given me with time and patience. But my plan is not God’s. I give meaning and purpose to my suffering by asking God to bear good fruit. I also ask Him to protect my home, my family, those who are here, and those yet to come. I ask Him to keep them all protected and pampered. I also look forward to heaven, that place that is better than anything we can imagine.

Enjoying the company of some of her grandchildren (Photo: provided by Rosa Jané)

How do you relate to each of the three persons of the Holy Trinity?

I ask God the Father to hold me in His strong hands and give me confidence. I know that He is filled with joy and happiness for me, and that He never ceases to look upon me with His loving gaze. I ask Jesus, the Son of God, through the Eucharist and the Word of the Gospels, to transform my life, so that my steps may not be my own, but His. I constantly invoke the Holy Spirit to fill my whole being. I ask Him for peace and light and to make me an instrument of God in the here and now.

Your family is very close despite the physical and geographical distances. You have wonderful children and grandchildren. What is the way to fill this stage of your life together with joy?

Those who were away came as soon as they heard the news. They put aside their personal projects and work to be by my side. It was the impulse of love. That’s the key: being united for whatever it takes. When I realize how incredible my family is, I also realize that José Manuel is in heaven and that from there he continually blesses us, protects us, and unites us. He gives me many signs, and it’s wonderful how the family is growing. There is so much grace in my home; I see it in my children’s desire to live, enjoy, and love everyone, to unite and fight for me; it’s supernatural. We are a family deeply pampered by heaven.

Family gathering (Photo: provided by Rosa Jané)

The Gospels tell us that the Blessed Virgin Mary kept all the things she experienced with Jesus in her heart. How does our Mother help you in your daily life?

The Virgin Mary is constantly with me. I feel her smile present every day, and in private, when I have no one else but her, I offer her what I’m experiencing. Especially when I’m suffering, I feel her close to me. I feel her mantle, her peace, her smile. She tells me: calm down, you’re doing well, don’t worry, everything will be okay.

I’ve seen you many times before the Blessed Sacrament, praying and contemplating Jesus in the Eucharist. How do you think He looks at you?

With tenderness. When I look at the tabernacle, I feel José Manuel embracing Jesus and looking at me. Like the Virgin Mary, the Blessed Sacrament tells me that Jesus will take care of everything, that I shouldn’t worry, that I just have to be calm and talk to Him, praise and love Him, and desire to be more united to Christ in the Eucharist every day.

Saint Joseph cared for Jesus during His childhood, adolescence, and early youth. He also cared for Mary, His wife. How would you explain the help you and your family frequently receive from this great saint?

Saint Joseph acted as a father to a family. My husband, who was very devoted to him, took that task to heaven and asked him to help me. José Manuel left with the same concern as me: that we could sell the apartment we lived in and move to a house. It was an odyssey, but the circumstances under which we finally achieved it demonstrated the intercession of Saint Joseph. The first time I saw the new house, I met the man who would become my neighbor. The new house had been occupied, and he and his family had suffered greatly because of it. He told me that he had been praying to Saint Joseph for two years to send the family to make that place a place of good.

We are in the Jubilee Year of Hope. Where do you base your hope at this stage of your life? What message would you give to those who are tired and burdened and find no relief in their existence?

To those who are despairing, I would say to look at the Cross and look to Christ; there is the way. Only in Him is true peace and the light that reveals the meaning of things. I would tell them to raise their eyes to God. Not to seek happiness in material things, which never in themselves bring happiness.

Often, speaking about God and Our Lady to someone who has lost hope is the only way for them to remember their spiritual side and find relief and comfort.

For me, this Jubilee year means strength. The Church has blessed us with a celebration that has personally helped me overcome the circumstances of my illness and find happiness. This is what the Church does: she continually celebrates on this earth that which is anchored in heaven, thus uniting earth with heaven, natural gifts with supernatural ones, so that we may live here, but with the joy of the Lord. For me, the Jubilee means the celebration the Church proposes to us so that the Holy Spirit may fill our hearts with joy.

Rosa, thank you so much for opening your heart to us and showing us, with humility, your attitude full of faith and trust in the Lord and Our Mother in the face of the current personal circumstances you have experienced.

It is during trials that these words of Jesus resonate most meaningfully: “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light” (Matthew 11:28-30).

Immaculate Conception. Monastery of Sant Cugat del Vallès (Photo: Albert Cortina)