Yesterday, Feb. 17, the Carmelites in Alhambra hosted a book signing of In the Face of Darkness: the Heroic Life and Holy Death of Mother Luisita by Sister Timothy Marie, OCD.
The celebration consisted of signing advance copies of the book by Sister Timothy Marie, plus a mariachi band and singing by the Carmelites. A Mexican dinner was followed by of a screening of For Greater Glory (2012), a film about the religious persecutions in 1920s Mexico that forced Mother Luisita to flee to the U.S.
The introduction to the book was written by Los Angeles Archbishop Jose Gomez. Here is an excerpt of the introduction:
“I first ‘met’ Mother Luisita when I came to Los Angeles in the spring of 2010. A friend told me about her, describing her as a virtually unknown local saint. I became captivated by the story of Venerable Mother Maria Luisa Josefa of the Most Blessed Sacrament.
“A wife and widow from a privileged background, she became a contemplative nun who ran hospitals and orphanages for the poor before being driven underground and eventually into exile during the bloody persecution of the Mexican Church in the 1920s. She was welcomed to Los Angeles, along with thousands of refugees from the violence in Mexico, by my predecessor, Archbishop John J Cantwell.
Mother Luisita and her Sisters ministered throughout the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, working without pay, teaching children, and caring for the poor and the sick. Working closely with local pastors, the Sisters shared in the poverty of those they served and responded with calm and grace to the occasional flare-ups of anti-immigrant prejudice they faced, even at times from fellow Catholics….
Typo in title of book in first paragraph of text.
Thank you. We have updated the story.
I respect these nuns. From my retreats there they are joyful, holy, respectful, kind, spiritual, prayerful, concerned with the spiritual welfare of the retreatants. Mother Luisita’s spirit is alive and well in the souls of these nuns.